Jan and Jeff Hickey’s garden in Cable Bay was one of 13 stunning properties from Oruru to Hihi, including Coopers Beach and Mangonui, that were in this year’s Kaitāia Riding for the Disabled Garden Safari.
Jan and Jeff Hickey’s garden in Cable Bay was one of 13 stunning properties from Oruru to Hihi, including Coopers Beach and Mangonui, that were in this year’s Kaitāia Riding for the Disabled Garden Safari.
A sold-out Kaitāia Riding for the Disabled Garden Safari has raised more than $11,000 for the Far North disabled riding charity.
The safari visited 13 stunningproperties from Oruru to Hihi this month.
Jackie Simkins and a number of her keen gardener friends from the Victoria Valley Garden Club have organised the garden safaris for the past three years and said the weather was kind to the safari-goers.
“Gardeners from Oruru, the East Coast and Hihi put on a great show for their visitors. Preparing your garden for the scrutiny of others is a daunting, time-consuming and, let’s not forget, expensive exercise. So, thanks to all the gardeners for making it such a special event. Over 200 tickets were sold and the feedback from visitors was overwhelmingly positive,“ Simkins said.
This month’s Kaitāia Riding for the Disabled Garden Safari raised more than $11,000 for the charity. This stunning garden of Jan and Jeff Hickey in Cable Bay was among the properties on display.
“Once again, we can hardly believe the wonderful, and extremely generous, community support we have received this year. Many local businesses and individuals have contributed through giving their time, advertising in our programme, making donations in cash, produce or gifts for our raffles. Each contribution is valued and all at Kaitāia RDA.”
The core purpose of RDA is to provide interaction with horses to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing disability, or who have specific challenges or needs. RDA aims to enable and support riders to achieve good lives including meaningful participation in, and contribution to, important life activities and roles in their community.
She said the safari has been running since 1992, and caring well for horses and providing this community service locally is not inexpensive and, this year, the safari raised $11,300, which was a wonderful result.
Simkins said after running the safari for the past three years it was time for the Victoria Valley Garden Club members to pass the mantle on to others.
“We are looking for someone or a group to take on the event organisation of the Garden Safari and look forward to hearing from interested individuals or groups. Come on and give it a go.’’
She has put together a documented process from start to finish on what needs to be done to put together a successful event and she will provide that, and any further guidance required.
The next Kaitāia Riding for the Disabled Garden Safari will be held in November 2026 and will include gardens from Kaitāia to Ahipara. Anybody keen to get involved in running the event, or who wants to have their garden included, can contact Kaitāia RDA on 09 4080898.
