The four boys, one aged 11, another aged 12 and two aged 13, fled Christchurch on Monday after stealing a car and began their roadtrip south, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said.
They got to Temuka where they dumped the car and stole two more vehicles.
The group then began travelling in convoy.
When they reached the Waimate Highway, they were signalled to stop by police but sped away at speeds over 160kmh.
Police spiked one of the vehicles, and the occupants of that car ditched it and piled into the other one before fleeing again, Snr Sgt Bond said.
They got as far as Oamaru before it ran out of gas and the boys ditched that car as well.
They then popped over to the McDonald’s in Oamaru and used the payphone outside the store to call police to hand themselves in.
All four were referred to Youth Aid, Snr Sgt Bond said..
