Jonny Beardmore – aka The Galápagos Postman – is a Kiwi on a mission to deliver letters left by travellers in a remote post box on the islands off the coast of Ecuador to people around the world.
That mission brought him to Christchurch this week, where he was searching for an address written on a postcard over 10,000km away.
“I get super excited over letter delivery days, as I call them. I get goosebumps now,” said Beardmore.
It’s a mission he assigned to himself.
“I was in the Galapagos Islands, and I came across this post box in this unique way to connect the world through letters and postcards,” he said.
“People will stop, write a postcard, stick it in, and then they’ll go through the letters that are already there,” he said.
Beardmore decided to pick up 50 of them, determined to visit all seven continents.
“I’ve been going for nine and a half months, 39 countries, 115,000 miles…and some of the messages are very poignant. You know, there’s like love letters, there’s thanking family members for helping them follow their dreams.”
The inspiration for the trip was his father, who died of motor neurone disease.
“I wanted to get out and reconnect the world one letter at a time and raise awareness for motor neurone sufferers who lose their mobility and their ability to communicate, which are fundamental traits of somebody who travels the world like I do,” Beardmore said.
Letter number 43 has brought him to Christchurch in search of Jude Knight.
The task was not so smooth sailing at first when she didn’t answer the buzzer, but after a quick phone call to touch base he was back on track.
“I can’t believe this, it’s unreal,” Knight said.
She dropped off three post cards while she was visiting the islands in January 2023.
“I just thought this was such a cool thing to do but I wondered how many years it would be,” Knight said.
Once Beardmore completes his New Zealand deliveries he’s bound for South Africa.
“Africa’s the one last continent that I have to do of the seven and I’m going to Johannesburg, and I’ve got a couple in Morocco and then I’m up through Europe for a big finish across Europe and finishing in London on the 1st of March 2025,” he said.
His Christchurch deliveries proved successful.
“There you go folks, The Galapagos Postman always delivers.”
Follow the adventure on Instagram here. or follow his progress at this tracking map. Support the fight against motor neurone disease here: https://mnd-new-zealand-fundraise.raisely.com/thegalapagospostmanchallenge2024/
