Their shoes were made for walking...

The Long Walk of Hope is an initiative of the Hope and Dream Trust, founded by UCT students.

It was during the last stretch of their 16-day trek when they began seeing CA registration plates that Mzingisi Mase and Giyani Joseph began to feel a sense of anticipation.

Having joined 25 UCT students on the fundraising Long Walk of Hope, 1 700km from Pietermaritzburg, they were almost home.

Now, sitting on the Jammie Steps among bemused first-years on Orientation Week, Joseph laughs at the question: "How did you bear up?", and looks ruefully at his shoes.

He pulls his feet together and flexes them for inspection. The body has withstood the strain, but the shoes – They have kissed tar sticky as molasses, been waterlogged by torrential downpours, and have been rested while the walkers slept under trees.

The duo was among a group waiting to set out on the last leg of the journey from UCT to the Red Cross Children's Hospital, in the company of some local stars: the Western Province cricket team, wizened competitive walker Philip Rabinowitz and the festive Kaapse Klopse.

Twenty-five students started the walk on January 16 to raise fund to upgrade the HIV/AIDS Research Laboratory at the Red Cross Children's Hospital.