Taupo couple Murray and Barbara Stanley tackled the charity run for the third time - proving once again that anything senior that has gone round the block once or twice can often still be good for another lap ... or three.
The fun kept them coming back, he said.
A longer route than usual, which took in the East Cape, Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, was created to celebrate the event’s 10th anniversary - turning the rally into what Mr Stanley described as ‘‘the best two-week holiday you’ll ever have - with homework’’.
Daily assignments, nightly happy hours, roadside chats and communal meals were a big part of drawing people back - along with the cause.
The rally raised funds primarily for Multiple Sclerosis, something he admits he knew little about before signing up.
Drivers had to buy a car for under $2000 to drive to Bluff, and later donate to charity to be auctioned off.
‘‘So I thought, why not lean into it and turn it into a Rubik’s Cube?’’
It took a month to fit each of the individual coloured squares to the 1.4L automatic.
‘‘It keeps an old man out of trouble.’’
Despite starting the 3000km journey as a tongue-in-cheek adventure, the retired engineer was impressed with the little car’s performance in comparison with its thirsty counterparts.
‘‘It performed well - it didn’t use a drop of oil; didn’t use any water. The only thing I had to top up was just the water wash bottle.
‘‘And because we’ve got such a small engine, we were buying hardly any petrol - we were just sipping petrol.
‘‘I love this car... I’m hoping it’ll go to a good home.’’
The Cube sold at auction on Saturday for $2500
Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay, Rotorua and Bluff to Bangers to Bluff organiser David Jamieson said all 12 vehicles on the charity run sold at auction on Saturday afternoon raising $35,000, on top of the $32,000 raised by individual teams during the event.
- By Toni McDonald
