Many Minis make Pork Pie pilgrimage

JOHN HAWKINS/ The Southland Times 140964

END OF THE JOURNEY: Members of the Pork Pie Rally recreate a scene from the classic Kiwi movie with a drive through Invercargill's Eastern Cemetery yesterday.

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The Blondini gang tore through Invercargill's Eastern Cemetery yesterday, 28 years after their first visit, but this time there were no police or armed offenders squad members on their tail.

Instead, 76 fans of the movie Goodbye Pork Pie enjoyed a drink at the Ascot Park Hotel the night before as they reminisced about the movie's iconic road trip from Kaitaia to Invercargill, which they had just recreated.

And in true Pork Pie style, one group of "Westies" almost didn't make it after the engine in their Mini began rattling as they entered Middlemarch on Monday.

Driver Aaron Eagle said, rather than give up, the Westies organised a replacement engine in Dunedin, which got them the remainder of the 2800km journey just a few hours behind the 36 other cars.

"They opened up the foyer doors of the Ascot and we drove right in," he said.

"We had a whole lot of Monopoly money, which we chucked out the window as we rode in, like they do towards the end of the movie."

Fellow Westie Brett Ireland said the group bought its yellow Mini as a shell on Trade Me six weeks ago and completely rebuilt it.

The Westies had previously decided to put the Mini back on Trade Me to raise funds for Starship children's hospital. However, they now couldn't bear to part with the car and faced a fight to keep it, with bidding already up to $8000, he said.

Ray Faith and Nik Rhind, from Bethells Beach in Auckland, said they too fell in love with the humble Mini on this trip.

They bought theirs off Trade Me the night they signed up for the rally and decided to bring their 10-year-old daughter Danika along for the ride, Ms Rhind said.

"We actually picked up a biker who had run out of gas, about 20km out of Greymouth," she said.

"We gave him a ride into town, but he couldn't fit in the car so he sat on the bonnet the whole way."

Pork Pie Rally organiser Rod Harris said the convoy left on Good Friday and, along the way, raised more than $120,000 for Starship.

The journey was also timed to coincide with Mini's 50th birthday, he said.