Walking Off The War Within returns to Warrnambool's Lake Pertobe

He was one of about 200 people who took part in Warrnambool's Walking off the War Within which finished with a community event at Lake Pertobe on Sunday, October 29.

Some participants walked up to 20 kilometres carrying 20-kilogram packs on their backs, which represented the heavy burden of mental illness.

The walk was held in honour of Ballarat's Nathan Shanahan, a returned soldier, firefighter and advocate for mental health and post traumatic stress disorder who died in 2016.

Mr Rantall completed the walk for the fourth time, two years after doing it on crutches following his skydiving accident.

"Last year was off the crutches then this year I've done no crutches but I've got a three-kilogram weight in my pack, so I'm slowly building up," he said.

"Hopefully next year I'll be able to have an even heavier weight - we'll see how the recovery (from the skydiving accident) goes."

Mr Rantall's advice to others was to find a happy place or places, with his being scuba diving, bible studies, watching the fish in his pond at home, walking and bicycle-riding.

"So for mental health, from my experience you can't just pick out one thing and expect it to work," he said.

"You need multiples - your family, friends, community and you need your outlets."

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Another ex-serviceman who took part in the walk was Nathan's friend, Lee Dukes - the pair met in the Australian Army in Darwin, serving together from 2005 to 2010.

"Sometimes in life you grow apart, but there was always that knowledge that he was there," Mr Dukes said.

"It was really hard to hear about his passing and his struggles.

"It was really great to know his family could keep his walk going, that was an inspiration for me to do that as well."

The annual event replicates the journey Nathan took in April 2015 from Mildura to Adelaide, when he walked more than 400 kilometres carrying about 20 kilograms in his pack to raise awareness and funds for PTSD and depression.

"It was a big wake up call for a lot of Nate's veteran friends and his other friends that we needed to do something about this and we can't just pretend it doesn't exist anymore," Mr Dukes said.

Nathan's father John Shanahan - who was at the walk with his wife Lesley - said similar walks across the country were becoming more common.

"The whole idea is to spread the word that mental health is not something to be afraid of and to get out there and get help," Mr Shanahan said.

Organiser Adam Kent from Warrnambool RSL Active said the event was just one of the ways veterans engaged with the community.

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