Chickshaw Blues are ready to roll

WARMING UP: If Tracee Knowler can survive being pushed in a hand trolley by Kristen Edge, travelling 3500 kilometres on a rickshaw should be a breeze. PICTURE/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Houhora's Senior Constable Tracee Knowler and Northern Advocate reporter Kristin Edge, aka the Chickshaw Blues, are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime to raise money for a Northland charity. Their mission is to drive 3500 kilometres aboard a seven-horsepower, two-stroke, three-wheeled auto rickshaw from the top of India to the bottom in 17 days.

They won't be alone; others will also undertake the Rickshaw Run, but travelling the equivalent of Whangarei to Invercargill aboard what has been described as an unreliable, glorified lawn mower will be daunting, not least thanks to roads that make the Far North's look like highways.

Tracee and Kristin aren't doing it purely for fun though. They are raising money for the Whangarei-based Miriam Centre, a non-profit charitable trust that supports victims of sexual abuse in Northland.

It's a cause that's close to Tracee's heart. Having policed in Kaitaia for 16 years (12 of those years with the CIB) before taking up her role as New Zealand's northernmost officer at Houhora, she was part of a team that investigated and prosecuted paedophile teacher James Parker and businessman Daniel Taylor, but they were only a very small portion of her sexual abuse investigation workload. Sexual abuse cases would come across her desk everyday, and more cases involving children continued to be brought to police attention, she said. And in small communities if was often difficult for victims to reach out and seek help.

"The Miriam Centre not only helps at-risk people/families in a prevention role, but is one of the very few good agencies that can give on-going support after the investigation and prosecution," she said.

She had used her upcoming adventure as an opportunity to visit schools in the Far North, teaching children about keeping themselves safe and who to ask for help.

"Let's help make speaking out against sexual abuse and offenders normal, and focus on the victims and their well-being," she added.

"Why should victims be ashamed of something that an offender has done to them? Let's get it out there and make it harder for offenders to continue to offend."

Kristin, a journalist for 18 years, has covered many court cases involving sexual abuse.

"The whole court process for victims of abuse is a traumatic experience. They have to be so brave to speak out, and quite often there is no support for them after the cases are finished. They and their families are basically left to get on with their lives," she said. "If we can help those who help these Northland families well, it will all be worth it."

She and Tracee were meeting all their expenses, and all donations would go to the Miriam Centre.

The Rickshaw Run is the brainchild of The Adventurists, a Bristol-based travel company that tempts thrill-seekers to join them in "fighting to make the world less boring". The race rules are there are no rules.

After a two-day initiation into rickshaw (tuktuk) driving and the mechanical basics, the participants are let loose. They can take any route they choose but are expected to return the vehicle at the finish line - otherwise they pay for it.

Kristin and Tracee will join about 60 other teams at the race start in Shillong, in the north-east, before setting off for Kochi, 3500 kilometres away in the south.

"We are basically given a start point and a finish point and left to our own devices. There are still all sorts of challenges along the way, including the quite common failure of the mechanics of the rickshaw - not to mention navigating the rural roads and dodging everything from camels to giant cockroaches," Tracee said.

"Although we expect to enjoy the experience, and see it as an opportunity of a lifetime, it will certainly not be spent in luxury. We are both determined to do this on the smell of an oily rag. We will be staying in basic roadside guesthouses, and food will generally be from traditional roadside stalls."

Rickshaws reportedly have a top speed of about 60km/h, but their engines have been known to burst into flames.