Anne-Louise McWilliam wanted to do something to honour her sister who died from cancer, so the mother of two joined a walk on the Great Wall of China. She took part in a six-day hike, which began on September 23, and negotiated more than 70km of steep ascents and descents with 20 Australian compatriots who were also raising funds for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.

'They're really progressive in thinking outside the box. They developed the vaccine for cervical cancer,' McWilliam said. 'I lost my sister in May 2003. It was very aggressive and she was gone in six weeks.'

The trauma left McWilliam with a desire to make something good from the bad experience. Eventually she learned about the fund-raising excursion and joined it. As a Hong Kong resident, she quickly fitted in.