FAQ

Please be assured that The Fred Hollows Foundation is monitoring the situation closely and will ensure all regulations are adhered to. We plan to implement all social distancing rules applicable and make sure proper hand wash and sanitising set-ups are available at all event facilities. We are keeping you Covid-19 safe

To increase the safety and comfort of everyone involved in the Sydney Harbour Hike ALL participants, volunteers and event staff will have to download and activate the offical COVIDSafe app during the duration of the event. Depending Goverment CV-19 guidelines on event day, all participants may be ask to sign-in prior the start, using the NSW Covid Safe QR code.

The Fred Hollows Foundation is in constant contact with the councils involved and we will keep all participants informed about any changes. Should the event be cancelled due to Covid-19, in a first instance we will try to postpone the event. In case of a change of date or cancellation we offer all registered participants the following three options:

• 1) Transfer the current entry to the new event, date to be advised.
• 2) Option to donate the entry fee to The Foundation as a tax-deductible gift to help restore sight.
• 3) Claim a refund*) of the entry fee.

*) Please note that most of your entry fee has already been spent to prepare and organise this event (paid for council permits, organising logistics, training), therefore to cover some losses we will deduct a $20 administration fee from your entry, your refund will be processed within 7-10 business day of receiving them.

Your registration fee helps cover the costs of running this event. This includes paying for insurance, logistics, signage, traffic management, toilets, first-aid, security and more. It does not include a donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation. Therefore we encourage everyone to make their walk count by fundraising for The Foundation. Over 43 million people are blind on this planet and 9 out of 10 don't need to be, a small donation of $25 can help restore sight to a needlessly blind person and change their live forever.

To participate in the Sydney Harbour Hike our General Admission Entry Fee is $110 (incl GST). However, look out for our special Early Bird entry in September and Super Saver entry fee in October.  Children aged between 16 and 18 years participate free of charge but must be registered*). Registration fees are non-refundable**) and are not a donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation. The entry fee covers costs of the event such as First Aid, Traffic Management, Volunteer and Support training, Website, Mailing of bib numbers, T-shirts and more.

*) Parents or guardian have to register and invite the child during their registration. Please contact 1800 627 892 for payment code to register child for event.

**) see exception due to Covid-19 

Unfortunately, we are unable to refund your entry fee, as this fee is used to pay for the event, which is organised by a third party. However you are allowed to transfer your entry to someone else. You need to inform us about your withdrawal and send us the form with the name, email and phone details of your replacement. This is important for the safety of the person who will take your spot in the event!

Once you have informed us about your withdrawal, we will contact the new participant to arrange their full registration on-line and we will withdraw your entry from the event.

Please note that your own fundraising tally at the time of your withdrawal can not be transferred to your replacement and any entry fee transfer has to be arranged between you and your replacement, and does not involve the Sydney Harbour Hike organisers.

Cut-off date for all on-line entry transfers and registration is 10th October. Due to Covid-19 safety procedure at start, there will be LIMITED ENTRY TRANSFERS ALLOWED on event day. For any questions, please email or call us on 1800 627 892.

The Sydney Harbour Hike will be held on the second Saturday in October.

There are two starting points: 

• Manly Beach, start from 7:00am
• Bondi Beach, start from 7:00am 

Both walks will finish at the north end of Sydney Harbour Bridge, Cnr Burton & Alfred Street, Bradfield Park (Kirribilli Markets). The event will close at 7:00pm on Saturday night.

You can register for this event right now and be one of the first hikers who save on their entry fee. Make sure you share with your friends so they can take advantage of the Early Bird fee too.

Check out our other FAQ and please contact us with any question you may have on 1800 627 892. 

No, you need to register by 10th October the lastest. Number of participants are limited, on-line registration may close as soon as maximum numbers are reached for each course.

Your registration receipt was emailed to you after payment of the entry fee. Please check your Junk or Spam mail box. If you are still unable to find your entry confirmation, you can download a copy from your fundraising account or don't hestitate to contact us by email or call us on 1800 627 892

Yes, depending availabilities you may be able to update your starting point or time. To request a change, please email us or contact us on 1800 627 892

Once you are registered for the event you will receive regular emails from us informing you about the event, the route, training updates and fundraising. Another excellent source of information is our private Sydney Harbour Hike Facebook Group. There you can meet fellow walkers, find most answers to your training and fundraising questions, and find out everything about the event.

Yes, we encourage this! When you register, you can select to join an existing team or create your own team. You can also create a team after you have registered. Simply click 'Create Team' in your fundraising dashboard if you want to create a team and invite a friend. Remember to share your team link and ask your friends to join you for the challenge

Your team captain will initially register your team. The captain has two options; pay for all team members (preferred option for companies) and you simply receive a confirmation to finalise your fundraising page, alternatively the captain may only pay for their own entry fee, in which case you will receive an invitation to join their team by paying for your entry yourself.

Both Manly and Bondi Beach offer a range of accommodation and are also easily reached by public transport. Here are two links for Manly and Bondi destination. Manly Pacific Hotel supports the Sydney Harbour Hike by offering a special rate for the event weekend as well as accommodation vouchers as prizes for fundraisers

We encourage all hikers to use public transport to and from the event. You can find all options and time tables here. Both Manly and Bondi are easy reached by public transport and from finish line there are trains and buses to get home too. Paid parking is very limited at both, the start and finish area.

Anyone over the age of 16 years can participate in the Sydney Harbour Hike. Entry is free*) if you are under 18 years old, however you must register for event and be accompanied by your parent or adult guardian at all times. If your parent or guardian leaves the course or withdraws, then so must the under age hiker.

*) Parents or guardian have to register and invite the child during their registration. Please contact 1800 627 892 for payment code to register child for event.

No, we believe that everyone who signs up for this challenge is motived enough to help our cause to continue Fred Hollows' work, restoring sight to needlessly blind people.

With over 43 million people being blind but 9 out of 10 people don't need to be we hope you are encourage enough to help us.

As little as $25 can help restore sight to a needlessly blind person. We will give you all the tips and tricks to make fundraising easy and fun.

Our goal is for each participants to embraces this challenge and commits to help raise $500, which goes towards restoring sight to up to 20 blind people. 

Thanks to some generous sponsors we will be able to offer small prices and incentives to our top fundraisers, just to make it worthwhile your efforts :)

Sydney Harbour Hike is owned and organised by The Fred Hollows Foundation. 100% of the money raised goes to The Foundation. Details of how we spend your donation can be found in our annual reports here.

Yes, of course. Our fundraising pages will stay open until 20 December, so yes, you can make an online donation on the day or even afterwards. Use the Sydney Harbour Hike website to donate to a fundraiser or give a gift direct to The Foundation.

Simply send them the link to your online fundraising page and invite them to donate to you. People who use their Social Media to spread the word and engage their network for support usually raise twice as much as fundraisers who only send out emails.

You either have received an invitation from your Team Captain to join the team or you can simply go online, register yourself and then search for the team you like to join.

Yes, it is not only simple to do but highly recommended. A personalised fundraising page with photos and personal message will attract more donors and help you reach your fundraising goal quicker.

While the cost of cataract surgery varies depending on the specific operating environments in the countries where we work, in some countries it is possible to restore sight for as little as $25.

Our $25 cost includes the three key things needed to restore sight – the surgeon’s time, the consumable equipment and the intraocular lens (IOL) which replaces the cataract.

The most important element in modern cataract surgery is the IOL – Fred Hollows used to refer to them as "the most expensive pieces of plastic in the world". Reducing the cost of the IOL was the fundamental factor in making cataract surgery affordable.

Today, IOL prices vary significantly – including in low and middle-income countries.

In October 2021 The Foundation evaluated our program costs for small incision cataract surgery in countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia to ensure the $25 cost remained accurate.

Our assessment showed IOLs start from $4 in Pakistan, about $6 in Cambodia, and about $14 in Bangladesh.

The other key costs are the surgeon’s time (which is less than $1.50 per patient in those three countries) and consumable equipment (as little as $5.46).

So with the cost of the IOL, the surgeon and the consumables it is possible that The Foundation can restore sight for as little as $25 in some countries.

We acknowledge that not all surgeries in all countries are as little as $25. The cost of surgery depends on factors including the country of treatment, the age and circumstances of the patient, how and where the treatment is delivered, the type of procedure, the IOL used, the hospital type (government or private), the facilities of the hospital, inpatient or day procedure delivery mechanisms, and the economic status of people in the country or region.

We recommend you DO NOT accept the Facebook prompt and only post your personal message with a link to your fundraising page.

Facebook donations are handled by a third party website and we are unable to sync these donations with your Sydney Harbour Hike Fundraising page due to limitations with the Facebook donate functionality.

Therfor we suggest you ignore the Facebook Fundraising prompt.

Yes, it will. However, unfortunately at this stage we are unable to link any donations back to your fundraising page.

We suggest that you don’t use the Facebook Donate button for that reason.

Should you already have set-up such a fundraising post, we suggest you delete that post on your Facebook page and re-post a message with your personal link to your fundraising page instead. Please call us on 1800 627 892 if you need assistance or have a question.

Facebook donations are handled by a third party, and unfortunately, we can not sync these donations with your personal fundraising page due to limitations of the Facebook Donate functionality.

We advise you against using the Facebook Donate button to raise funds and recommend that you simply share the link to your fundraising page on your social media pages without using the Facebook Donate button.

Simply delete the post, as this is the only way to remove the Facebook Donate button and then create a new post and share the link to your fundraising page instead. Do not click on the 'Donate' buttoned if prompted to. Please call us on 1800 627 892 for assistance or questions.

Download the Sydney Harbour Hike app to your phone iPhone Map or Android Map. 

The map will contain important event information as well as a course map. There will also be event signage and volunteer along the route to point you in the right direction. The course will follow the Bondi to Manly Walk, so you can also follow their signs if lost. 

Yes, both courses are set up for you to walk towards the Harbour Bridge, where the finish line is located. The course is mostly along the harbour foreshore and well marked.

Please look out for each other on the course all the time. If you plan to run the trail, remember the general public and slower walkers have right of way all the time!  For walkers, please keep to the left to allow others to pass. Make sure you hydrate along the route, there are many public water fountains and cafe shops along the course to help you with this. Have plenty of rest along the way and at our checkpoint to re-hydrate and eat. This is not a race, so enjoy the hike, scenery and camaraderie along the way. 

Please refer to the Course Map for the location of stairs and inclines around the course. The vast majority of the trail is well maintained bush trail, with the occasional stairs. As some parts of the route are in National Park no pets are allowed (guide dogs excepted). Unfortunately not all sections of the trail are mobility friendly as some of  the trails in National Park areas are uneven and unsuitable for wheelchairs.

Refer to the course map for the Check Points along the course. Check Points are the best place to withdraw from the event. They are also usully close to public transport.

VERY IMPORTANT! If you leave the trail anywhere along the route, including at Check Points, you MUST inform the event organiser and advise us of your withdrawl.

Make sure you have the event phone number - 0436 453 308 - saved in your phone for event day!

Refer to the app and course map. There are a few sections which are more remote from public transport.

No, simply follow the course map on your app, the markers along the way and the instructions of our volunteers along the route and you won't get lost :)

We will have one checkpoint along both routes, which are roughly at half-way. Refer to our maps section on the website for details. Along both routes are plenty of public water fountains as well as cafe shops allowing you to have a rest to hydrate and refuel. Remember this is not a race, so enjoy the hike, the view and camaraderie along the way and have regular rests. 

Yes, we encourage you to support local cafes and takeaways in the communities we pass through.

To increase the safety and comfort of everyone involved in the Sydney Harbour Hike ALL participants, volunteers and event staff will have to download and activate the offical COVIDSafe app during the duration of the event. Depending Goverment CV-19 guidelines on event day, all participants may be ask to sign-in prior the start, using the NSW Covid Safe QR code and sign-out at the finish line.

Yes, you can. But please look out for other people along the course! The general public and slower walkers have right of way all the time! Slower walkers please keep to the left to allow others to pass on your right. Faster particpants, please let others know that you like to pass on the right. Walkers and General Public have right of way and you need to make all efforts to stick to this rules. Also be aware of a few road crossing which can be dangerous. All participants need to wear a fluro Hi-viz safty vest when walking on or crossing roads. Please follow all instructions from our volunteers and road marshals during the event.

No, this is a walking event supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation. There is plenty of time to comfortably complete the course, so there is no need to be riding a bike, skateboard or rollerblades etc. along the way.

Unfortunately not. Much of the course is using existing tracks through National Parks, which are not all dog friendly. Please note that only assistance and guide dogs will be permitted along both routes for this event.

Rain, hail or shine, the event will go ahead should the weather be wet.

We do advise that participants bring wet weather gear should the weather forecast be for rain. Check out our website for more information about gear and training

Also please make sure you have our event phone number (0436 453 308) in your phone. We may update you via SMS during event day, should there be any changes on the day.

Yes, each of the Check Points will have a water station for you to fill your own drink bottles. Additional public water fountains are marked on the course map. There are also cafe and shops along the course, where you will be able to purchase cold drinks. As this is not a competition you are free to take as many breaks along the course as you wish, to enjoy a lunch or to fetch a drink at anytime and rejoin the course. Please note that our event is a cup free event, so all participants will need to bring their own water bottle or hydration pack for the hike. And remember the checkpoints will close at 3pm and the finish line in Kirribilli at 7pm :-)

For a fit and active person to walk the course at a continuous brisk pace it will take between 4 to 6 hours. For someone with a moderate fitness level and/or stopping for breaks along the way it may take up to 8 hours. Check regulary the app to see where you are along the course and see how much further you have to go till the finish. You will have 12 hours to finish the 34km, so plenty of time for stops and rests along the way.

We recommend that you bring a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and wet weather gear if forecast is for to rain. Bring a refillable water bottle, some snacks and wear appropriate clothing, including footwear, to participate in the walk.

Please catch public transport to either start in Manly or Bondi Beach. There is also easy public transport from the finish at Milsons Point. There is limited public parking available at both start and finish.

There will be a drop-off and pick-up area at both starts and finish for your crews to drop you off or pick you up at the end. Please follow the instructions from our road marshalls at all times, thank you.

We suggest you take public transport to our event. There is paid public parking available at Bondi and Manly Beach and limited pay parking at the finish in Milsons Point. All three places have excellent public transport options to get to and from.

Each of the Check Points will provide you with water, some refreshments, first aid, toilets and free sunscreen. You will also find many toilets, water fountains and café shops along the route, where you can purchase refreshments along the way and have a break. 

All participants will receive a Certificate of Acknowlegement, signed by Gabi Hollows AO, which will be emailed the week after the event.

And yes, we are happy to celebrate your achievement by handing out a special Sydney Harbour Hike medal at the finish line to any participants who wishes to receive one.

Note, you can help us reduce costs and waste. At registration we will ask all participants to indicate whether they NO NOT wish to receive a medal at the finish. 

Remember we also reward the first 750 fundraisers, who raised $250 or more, with a special, limited edition of our Sydney Harbour Hike T-shirt, designed by Indigenous artist Ngandabaa. 

And for our top fundraisers, there will be special prizes waiting at the finish line ;-)

Average temperatures for October can be as low as 14°C and as high as 25°C, along with sunny days. Remember to Slip, Slop, Slap and hydrate regularly. Don't forget your hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and pack a rain jacket or sweater if the forecast is for cooler weather.

We do not sell merchandise however we offer Sydney Harbour Hike T-shirts (designed by Rhe Lotter @Ngandabaa) for FREE to first 750 participants, who has raised over $250, having helped restore sight to up to 10 needlessly blind people. We may have limited numbers of T-shirts, caps and other merchandise available at the finish line to give away for a small donation.