In this line of work, one can get wrapped up in the unveilings, prototypes, new cars, safety, technology, emissions, efficiency figures and everything else in between. It’s easy to lose sight of arguably the most important aspect of the automotive industry, the people.
The car as an entity represents so many things to so many people and over the course of a week, a group of 50 Minis (and their owners) from across New Zealand would use theirs for the best purpose possible. In that process, they would also help me rediscover some of my enthusiasm for cars but more on this later. First, a history lesson.
What is the Pork Pie Charity Run?
Regular readers/viewers will know how much I love a good history lesson so I couldn’t help myself here! In this context, ‘Pork Pie’ does not refer to the British savoury food item. Instead, ‘Pork Pie’ is a nod to ‘Goodbye Pork Pie‘, a 1980s Kiwi film which follows an infamous duo and their yellow Mini as they drive from Auckland to Invercargill, wreaking havoc, evading the police and partaking in other dodgy activities along the way.
The ‘Pork Pie Charity Run‘ on the other hand draws inspiration from the route taken in the movie and the car at the centre of it, the Mini. That’s about where the likeness ends gladly, no police were evaded, herbs sourced or any of the other miscellaneous activities that took place during the movie. It’s all (mostly) above board on the Charity Run. And as you can probably gather from the latter half of the event’s name, the convoy of Minis drive the length of New Zealand to raise money for a worthy charity. The event has been running since 2009 and has raised over $2 million in the process. KidsCan have been the chosen charity for a few iterations now and 2025 would be no different. A goal to raise $500,000 was set for this particular event and 50 teams plus their Minis were tasked with raising it!
The Route
As mentioned previously, ‘Pork Pie Charity Run’ takes inspiration from the movie’s route but with the convoy going one step further. The run kicks off from Paihia, a town in New Zealand’s Northland region before snaking down the centre of the North Island through Auckland, Pokeno, National Park, Whanganui and then Wellington, the country’s capital.
From there, the group take the ferry across into the South Island, driving from Picton to Kaikoura on the East Coast before crossing the Southern Alps and heading to Hokitika on the West Coast. Continuing along the same, the group passes through Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers and Haast before heading into Cromwell in the Otago Region. From there, the final day will see the group stop in Dunedin before culminating in Invercargill, New Zealand’s southern most city.
Day Zero: Auckland to Paihia
For myself and many others on the Run, Thursday (3rd April) was ‘Day Zero’ or ‘Zero Day’. Across New Zealand, the participants would be departing for the meeting point in Paihia, Northland and preparing for the week to come. My journey would begin in Auckland where I collected a Mini Countryman S which would be my car for the North Island leg of the event. And for once, when Google told me to “head North”, I knew exactly which direction to go!
Weather conditions were certainly not in our favour, the further North I travelled, the more torrential the rain. It continued its intensity well into that night. However, the torrid weather did little to dull the spirits of the drivers as they poured into the hotel’s parking lot over the course of the afternoon/evening.
In the end, all of the 50 teams made it to the first driver briefing, an achievement in itself given the conditions! A special shoutout here to ‘Team Effort’ who braved a few electrical related breakdowns and persevered despite the weather to arrive in time for the briefing.
Side note, the last time I visited Northland, the area experienced a “once in 500 year weather event” so make of that what you will. For those curious, I wrote about the experience here.
As the clock struck 5 PM, more than a hundred faces gathered in the Scenic Hotel’s lobby to hear from the event’s organizers Kevin & Keri Hollamby and Peter Bjarnesen as well as Mike & Barbara Burr. The session was a brief insight into the Run’s motivations, support for KidsCan and its history with 2025’s iteration honouring a few loyal icons whose presence was sorely missed. The event may have lost a few participants but it also gained new ones in Alex Brockhoff, GM Mini AU NZ and Adam Shaver, GM BMW NZ, marking the first occasion where the head office of each respective company was present on the Pork Pie Run.
Shortly after 6 PM, the first briefing was done and the room that once served as refuge from the lashing rain was now empty. Dinner soon followed and I like many, spent the evening reflecting on the road ahead.
Day One: Paihia to National Park via Pokeno and Hampton Downs
The first day of the trip was one of, if not the longest legs that we would come across during the course of the event. Covering approximately 550 kilometres, the convoy departed from Paihia before sunrise with the aim of beating the rush hour traffic in Auckland. With an umbrella for shelter, I quickly plastered our Countryman S with ‘2025 Pork Pie Charity Run’ stickers as well as signs from my two sponsors, Employee Lab and Mortgage Lab before hitting the road. To my surprise, all of this stayed on the car for the duration of trip, anyway, I digress.
Throughout the day, the weather continued to lash at the cars, the conditions taking a particular toll on the drivers too as misty windscreens and wet seats were wiped away. A photo opportunity in Auckland was on the cards for some of us but with the skyline barely visible, the plan was promptly ditched and we all agreed to continue on to Pokeno for the first stop, lunch!
Pokeno serves as one of the key stops taken by the movie and the residents were promptly surprised when a huge convoy of Minis rolled through on an otherwise regular Friday afternoon. Even in the pouring rain, the cars sparked plenty of curiosity, urging onlookers to ditch their shelters for a closer look. Hosted by Mini, lunch was a generous spread of Kiwi favourites which included pies, sausage rolls etc, the perfect antidote for such a day.
This was meant to only be a brief stop as the convoy was booked in to do a lap around Hampton Downs racetrack after lunch but with the rain not letting up, the plan was ditched to the relief of many!
Instead, we quickly got word during lunch that ‘Team WCML’ had been promised an extra donation for the event if they could round up as many Minis as possible to drive through Roofing Industries’ Waikato factory. Director, Gary Martin had a beaming smile on his face when he and the team were greeted by more than a dozen Minis!
After the additional donation was secured, the gaggle of Minis fired up, tooted their horns and headed onwards for National Park where it was not just rainy but also cold for once! Still, the restaurant staff at the accommodation had turned up the heat from the fireplace and put the kettle on so no spirits would be dulled.
Warm cups of tea & coffee served as some much needed respite from the weather outside and it was here where I had a chance to catch up Mini Australia New Zealand GM, Alex Brockhoff. Alex had first heard of the Pork Pie Charity Run when he was working for BMW Mini back in Germany and made a promise to himself to take part in the run if given the opportunity. True to his word, here he was!
Day Two: National Park to Wellington
The next morning, we all poured into the restaurant once again, enjoying the warmth of the roaring fire. Although misty, it wasn’t raining outside for once which was a pleasant surprise so I popped outside for a quick look around the carpark and what a lineup it was. The group included a wide variety of Minis, from the earliest hatches to some newer Cooper S models. All in all, the lineup was split about 70:30 with classic Minis making up the majority. The classic cars included some completely stock versions as well as those modified to look like utes. There was even a roofless short wheelbase Mini driven by ‘Team Maverick Maniacs’ made up of Dan and his long suffering uncle.
We had a particularly relaxed day ahead of us, the goal of which was to simply get to Wellington with two group stops along the way. The first of which would be at Horopito Motors aka Smash Palace, the location of a famous scene and ensuing chase in the movie. The plan was for the group to drive through a pre planned route around the yards, similar to that taken in the movie, albeit at a lighter pace.
First though, we would bid goodbye to Alex, whose time on the Run would be coming to an end in Wellington. The organizing team had put together a commemorative certificate and trophy to thank Alex and Mini for their continued support of the event. He has promised to return for the next event with the hope of completing it entirely!
From the hotel, we convoyed out of National Park, heading towards Smash Palace. A few of the older Minis needed a helping hand to get going, the deceiving altitude was to blame here. Remember that National Park is at the foothills of Ruapehu and as pointed out by the air density outside, meant we were rather aloft of sea level. It’s actually the highest urban township in the country! The newer cars with fuel injection had little trouble but it highlighted just another reason why the true Pork Pie experience is one had behind the wheel of a classic Mini!
Watching the entire convoy of Minis snake through the grounds of Smash Palace was quite a sight and sound, many of the drivers stopping along the way to take their own commemorative photos on the second lap. It’s not everyday that the gates are opened to cars, let along such a large group so it was important to savour the moment as well!
After the group of Minis had their parade through Smash Palace, I jumped in our trusty Countryman S and set off on my own little lap of the place. During which, I spotted a couple of Easter eggs, two older Minis hidden amongst the other treasures. The yellow one in particular set in place to resemble a scene in the movie where the duo hide their car underneath another’s shell to avoid the police, some procreation also takes place later on but there was none of that to be found here.
As Smash Palace is also home to Australasia’s only classic car dismantler, few of the owners hung around to go treasure hunting while I took off for the next meeting place, Whanganui’s Moutoa Gardens, with the event’s cameraman, Peter in tow. The local Mini club there had organized a gathering for us there, and we reached just in time for the sun to finally show its face too!
A warm afternoon continued with plenty of happy toots and cheers aimed at the passing Minis, the local historic steamship, Waimarie also belting out a whistle or two in support of the group.
On a Run like this, it’s easy to lose track of time and I certainly did! Turned out that this leg was on a Sunday which meant the local market was on, the perfect lunch stop then and the fact that we finally had some sunshine made it even more worth the while. From there, our next destination would be Wellington to close out the day.
Day Three: Wellington and the South Island
The theme of the Run seemed to be early mornings and day three was certainly up there on the list! For our international readers, New Zealand is made up of two main islands, the North and South, separated by the Cook Strait, hence why a rather large ferry was needed for this part of the leg!
With our Bluebridge check in scheduled for 7:15AM, we had a bright and early start with the ferry’s coffee shop suffering the consequences. In the time that I have called New Zealand home, I have only done this crossing twice, coincidentally in the same year too! Fortunately, both trips have been rather smooth sailing thus far to my stomach’s relief.
As the gates opened and the Minis were allowed to cruise onto the ferry, this seemed like a fitting time to bring the North Island article to a close. Join me shortly as we pick things up on the South Island for the remainder of the 2025 Pork Pie Charity Run.
A heads up that the event and teams are still accepting donations until the end of April so please do consider making a contribution to help Kiwi kids!
Thanks for reading! For more of everything Mini, visit Tarmac Life.
Thanks to Mini New Zealand & the organizers of Pork Pie Charity Run for the opportunity!
Words and photos by Matthew D’Souza.
