Buskers Anika and Emily Franklyn, both of Dunedin, were at the Dunedin Railway Station on Saturday to raise money to attend the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships with the City of Dunedin Pipe Band in Auckland in May.
Their mother Karola Franklyn said her girls were proactive.
"I did say to them that there is a limit to what Mum and Dad could cough up.
"The lessons and equipment really add up."
Anika, who plays the bagpipes alongside her sister Emily on the tenor drum, said they were not out every Saturday, but were starting to come more regularly.
"We’re busking to get some money together to get to nationals in May, but it’s a good chance to get some practice in as well.
"Flight costs and accommodation are quite expensive.
"We’re both going with our mum, so we’re trying to raise enough to get us all up."
With a large number of cruise ships coming in this summer, the girls had a chance to play for Dunedin’s visitors to give them a soundtrack while sightseeing at the railway station.
The girls were seasoned buskers. In the past, they had busked to raise money for relief efforts during the Australian bushfires in 2019 and 2020.
Mrs Franklyn said the pair often raised money for charities.
"They made about $281 in one day for the relief efforts."
Both Anika and Emily had been playing the tenor drum for six years, and a couple of years ago Anika picked up the bagpipes out of "lockdown boredom".
She learnt the basics from her mother, but Mrs Franklyn said Anika had since surpassed her.
The pair would be at the train station more regularly over the summer holidays, and would play until "Anika starts to run out of breath."
