When Jendi Paterson goes on holiday she is unlikely to be found sitting around reading books.
The Dunedin City Council recreation planning and facilities manager loves an adventure. She got all the adventure she could ask for when she travelled across India in a three-wheeled rickshaw in April, as a participant in the Rickshaw Run.
The event's website describes it as "a 3500km pan-Indian adventure in a 7-horsepower glorified lawnmower'' and "easily the least sensible thing to do with two weeks''.
She was talked into doing the run by her Arrowtown friend Stacy McTaggart and the pair did not just participate - they won.
"It's basically a race across India in a rickshaw tuk-tuk,'' Ms Paterson said.
"They have a top speed of, maybe, 60kmh if you're going downhill. We sort of averaged 48kmh. It was for adventure and charity.''
The pair raised $3000 for a rehabilitation and disability centre in Central Otago and $500 for Cool Earth, a charity that provides fresh water to countries which need it.
"It was such an incredible experience. There were 80 teams from around the world competing. It took us 11 days and we were the first team across the line,'' she said.
"India is really, really beautiful. Some of the biggest skies, sunsets and sunrises that I've ever seen. We played in some amazing places and we stayed in some dives. It was just an adventure.''
The trip was full of memorable experiences - some more frightening than exciting.
"On the second-to-last day we got stopped by machete-wielding female bandits. There was about 25 of them and they wouldn't let us through, but with a bit of charm, cricket knowledge and 100 rupees they let us past.
"There were men with machine-guns - you got used to seeing guns. The police stopped us in a lawless state and they were a bit scary. We sort of pleaded ignorance and used cricket knowledge, that saved us during the trip. It was good to know about Sir Richard Hadlee and Brendon McCullum.''
The team won because it looked after its rickshaw.
"The teams that went hell for leather pretty quickly blew pistons. The roads are rubbish but we took it easy through pot holes and things. Our rickshaw had a sweet spot at about 48kmh so we'd just sit there. They overheat, so every 100km we had to stop.
"I'm a really competitive person, so I always wanted to win.''
The trip had made her realise how good life was in New Zealand, she said.
"We got a great respect for what we have here. We really do have it good. India's infrastructure just can't cope with the amount of people it has there.
"It was a beautiful country but we saw very wealthy and very poor. We take a lot of things for granted. The condition of some of the animals - I grew up on a farm, so that was quite hard to see.''
