Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Pedal power to aid Samoa

By MARK STORY
Hawkes Bay Today·
12 Oct, 2009 12:30 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The tsunami that smashed into Samoa's southern coast sparked sobering memories for Haumoana's Lika Akeripa.
When he was 6, a massive hurricane flattened trees and caused widespread destruction in Samoa, including his birthplace, Manono Island.
"I was just a kid, yet I remember it as a really scary time - but it
was nothing compared with the destruction seen there in recent weeks," Mr Akeripa said.
Next Friday, the personal trainer will put his livelihood on the line by biking continuously for 24 hours to raise money for his stricken homeland. At his Haumoana home gym and Premium Fitness business base, the 48-year-old will begin riding at 6pm and spin his wheels until 6pm Saturday.
"I won't be able to walk for a week."
His small island, situated in Samoa's Apolima Strait, with a population of 770, was just one of many places completely transformed by the tsunami.
"Friends tell me the island is destroyed. In such a short space of time it became unrecognisable," he said.
Though the island had just one fatality, most of the fales and much of the four villages were in ruins.
"I've got a sister, cousins and friends over there that need all the help they can get. This is just my way of helping out. Although I haven't been back since my father died in 1998, it's still my island of birth and I've got really strong ties there."
* Donations to the Ride 4 Samoa fund can be made at any Westpac branch.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay TodayUpdated

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

10 Jun 08:27 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

10 Jun 08:12 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

10 Jun 08:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

10 Jun 08:27 PM

Just how important this highway is "cannot be overstated", project manager says.

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

10 Jun 08:12 PM
Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

10 Jun 08:00 PM
16-year-old accepted as volunteer firefighter, puts out his first flames alongside dad

16-year-old accepted as volunteer firefighter, puts out his first flames alongside dad

10 Jun 06:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP