Twenty-one men and their trusty 110cc motorcycles are based in Albert Town this week for their annual ‘Postie Run’, which started ten years ago to raise funds for the treatment of prostate cancer. 

“We’ve evolved into a group of friends who meet annually and go for a different ride around on the postie bikes,” group leader Lindsay Smith told the Wānaka App.

“[The bikes] are not really designed for long distance travel but it’s amazing what they can do and where they can go.

“Pretty much every farmer in the country has had one. Just about everyone we meet says - ‘Oh I learned to ride on one’.”

Most of the group (from as far north as Hamilton and Raglan) arrived at their backpackers in Albert Town on Monday (February 26), and yesterday they ventured out to Dingleburn Station, with a backup truck at the rear.

“[It was] beautiful’,” Lindsay said.

Today they will take their bikes to the summit of the Crown Range and along the Pisa Range to the Southern Hemisphere Proving Ground (SHPG), where they will learn about the facility from one of the staff. The group will also meet with Cardrona farmer Willy Scurr on the way.

Lindsay Smith (left) and Neil Robinson.

On Thursday they’ll be off to West Wānaka Station, and on Friday they will ride up Hāwea’s Mt Grand, before dispersing on Saturday.

Access to the areas has been facilitated by Wānaka man Neil Robinson, who has been an Upper Clutha shepherd for 18 years, an employee of Ridgeline Wānaka, and is now a “newbie” to the Postie Run.

Neil demonstrated to the Wānaka App the advantages of the 110cc motorcycle.

“They’ve got a centrifugal clutch so all you’ve got to do is stop and it will sit there and idle, and then you just open the throttle and drive away - it doesn’t matter if you’re in gear or not in gear,” he said.

“That’s why the posties liked them: they could stop, put the mail in the box, open the throttle and go.”

When asked if the bikes were comfortable, Lindsay took a moment before saying: “They’re totally functional.

“This one has a high low ratio gearbox and can go anywhere you want to walk.”

The Postie Run’s first event in 2014 took the group from Picton to Queenstown, going via Molesworth Station, Danseys Pass and Thomson’s Track. It took a week. Lindsay said.

“We go to a different place every year, and drive off the road as much as possible.”

Lindsay said only one member of the group had been on every ride. A few of the original members of the group have died.

The average age of the members was “70 plus” and the oldest member was 88, Lindsay said.

“He’s still out there doing it. He’s inspirational. There’s half a dozen young guns but I don’t think they’d bring the average age down much.”

PHOTOS: Wānaka App