A Christchurch woman had only three weeks to prepare to join her Queenstown mother on the $10 Queenstown Challenge for Cure Kids, but the dynamic duo were all smiles at the finish line.
Checkout manager Kath Wright and taxi driver mother Mandy Gardiner, dressed as Where's Wally characters (inset), were among the 23 pairs of weary but happy costumed challengers at the end of their journey in Queenstown on Saturday (main picture).
They all arrived on three KJet boats at O'Regan's Wharf, then triumphantly marched, waving to crowds, through the resort.
They were led by young Cure Kids ambassador Sophie Newbold, of Gibbston, and a piper and drummer from the Queenstown and Southern Lakes Highland Pipe Band to their final destination, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside.
The teams of two managed to travel from Auckland to the resort in three days on just $10.
Miss Wright and Ms Gardiner said they had to complete secret, tough physical and mental challenges for points along the way, such as scaling dizzying heights up a pole in Taupo and sampling stomach-churning wild foods in Bulls.
They thanked their sponsors and while they did not yet know how much they had collected, all challengers had to raise the entry fee of $7000 each for the charity, which supports the search for cures for life-threatening illnesses that affect children. REPORT & PHOTO: JAMES BEECH
