Scooter Safari

Ever fancied riding a 50cc scooter across the Southern Alps in the middle of winter? No? Funny that. And yet earlier this year, more than two hundred mad men and women did just that.

An unofficial motto for all those who take part in the Tranz-Alpine Scooter Safari

This 250km endurance ride is the brainchild of Rangiora couple Mike and Jayne Rattray. Spectrum producer Justin Gregory visits them at Safari headquarters the day before the big ride, and Mike introduces him to his favourite scooter.

The Red Baron. He’s the one wearing the goggles

The Tranz-Alpine Scooter Safari pits putt-putt bikes against our biggest mountains, to raise money for the New Zealand Cancer Society.

The Molestrangler

Scooters ranged from the rare and the beautiful, like this exceptional Molestrangler motorized bicycle, to well-maintained city bikes, to scooters you wouldn’t want to ride across town, let alone over the Southern Alps. Nevertheless, almost all of them made it to Hokitika.

The Cezeta

The oldest, and according to its owner, the ugliest scooter in the Safari. Peter Marshal’s 1959 Czechoslovakian Cezeta Scooter. Every rider travels with a support crew, just in case of breakdown. The Cezeta made it, and even won a prize.