Hamish, 23, is almost 2m tall and found bending for hours at a time while piloting his tiny moped was tough going as he and four of his mates rode from Cape Reinga to Bluff (about 2400km) in the the Grunter’s Moped Mission.
The lengthy mission aimed to raise awareness and funds for the Rural Support Trust and Hospice New Zealand. It also honoured Goatley’s late father Grant ‘Grunter' Goatley who died of esophageal cancer 10 years ago.
"I wanted to do something pretty cool to remember dad by and to also raise awareness for the Hospice and the Rural Support Trust, which I think dad would have been right behind, as they support mental health and looking after people in the community," said Hamish.
The former Lincoln University student along with Kayla Calder from Duntroon, Jed McCready, of West Melton, Caleb Smith, from Duntroon, and Aidan Fleming, from Upper Hutt, set off on January 4 from Cape Reinga and reached Bluff by January 11.
They were three-quarters of the way down the country, when the intrepid team passed through Amberley on Thursday, January 9, trying to keep to their tight schedule.
After facing snow and sleet on the Desert Rd, a rough inter-island ferry crossing, and then battling strong southerly headwinds on the ride from Picton to Kaikoura, they paused at Amberley to visit the Hurunui Library to research the fix of a minor problem on one of the mopeds.
Hamish bought his moped to help during his studies at Lincoln, while several of the other riders only saw their mounts for the first time when they were unloaded from the support vehicle at Cape Reinga.
Over the long journey the team has faced multiple punctures, mechanical gremlins, sore behinds and stiff backs, plus the daunting prospect of navigating through the four main centres on a tiny moped that can only average 45km/h with a tailwind.
"It has been a tough ride," says Caleb Smith.
"We didn’t know how it would go, but people have been amazingly supportive all the way down the country."
As they motored from Picton to Blenheim, one passing motorist slowed and handed Caleb a $20 note, while others pulled up alongside them when they stopped in Amberley to give them what money they could spare.
Hamish said once back in ‘home country’ - the South Island - their morale was high and they started having a lot of fun on their marathon ride.
"We have been humbled by the response to our Givealittle page appeal, and thank all our supporters and sponsors.
The 'Fundraising for Grunter`s Moped Mission' Givealittle page had raised $7881 as of Monday morning.
"The traffic has been very respectful of us, and all the truckers go by hooting and waving.
"It has been a lot of fun on the road so far."
