Kimbell resident Louise Wynn visited 224 Four Squares over the past three years, and marked her official 225th visit last Thursday with more than 30 family and friends gathering to celebrate.
Mrs Wynn had longed for some time to visit all the stores featured on a beloved tea towel.
But when her sister Cushla Jones — who owned the Franz Josef Four Square with her husband Chris Roy until last year — alerted her sister two Four Squares were about to be "debannered", Mrs Wynn was forced into action.
The pantry pilgrimage began, visiting the store in Hampden in North Otago on June 12 in 2021 where she bought a pie and a cream bun.
She has kept photographs and receipts — along with a diary entry — of every store she has visited across the country since.
Mrs Wynn jotted down who had accompanied her — like her husband Ian, her grandchildren or her sister — along with conversations with the owner.
Some of the dairy entries were more action-packed than others, such as her entries after February 10 last year.
She said her friend Jo O’Neill had accompanied her to the North Island so the two could take part in the 52km Tarawera Ultra Race.
Mrs O’Neill was a travel agent and made a detailed schedule for the pair, so they would fit all of the stores in the region into their one visit.
However, as they landed in Rotorua, Cyclone Gabrielle was approaching the country.
The forecast cyclone forced Mrs O’Neill to rejig their itinerary, and the duo headed off to the Coromandel earlier than predicted.
By the time the pair were due to set off for the East Cape the forecast had worsened.
"We decided we’d wing it."
She said as they arrived in Gisborne, heavy rain was starting to fall.
The pair managed to neatly avoid the chaos, and got back to their accommodation safely that night.
For Ms Jones, tracking Four Squares with her sister had been "just a great way to see the country".
She said that it took you to places you would not normally visit.
The last tour of the North Island was in Northland, and the very last shop was in Parua Bay on April 24 of this year.
Ms Jones and Mr Roy had planned to surprise Mrs Wynn at the final store by dressing up as staff members and serving her.
However, she had arrived earlier than anticipated.
Ms Jones said she and her husband had watched her sister walking through the door via the security cameras in the back of the store.
Back home in Fairlie — for her final visit — Mrs Wynn bought a bottle of bubbles and a Lotto ticket to mark the end of the journey.
