Aotearoa Riding Pirates heading for Tonga [1]
Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 21:34. Updated on Thursday, September 11, 2014 - 15:03.
The Aotearoa Riding Pirates - a group of Harley-Davidson motor bike riders from Auckland, New Zealand - will roar through Tongatapu villages in February next year and visit 30 schools.
Melinda Seal, a spokeswoman for the group said that the charitable mission of the Riding Pirates is to take educational and health supplies to remote village schools in Tonga.
Melinda and a Riding Pirate, Bryan Bell were in Tonga for three days to make preparations for their visit. They were pleased with the outcome of a meeting with the Minister of Education to discuss their charitable project, and said that the Ministry will identify the primary schools and some secondary schools that the Riding Pirates may visit.
Melinda said that they aimed at raising $50,000 for their Tongan mission, and they had launched their fundraising program in Auckland four weeks ago, "the response has been overwhelming."
The Riding Pirates and Swashbucklers Restaurant will host a bigger fundraising event on Saturday, November 1 at Westhaven. Melinda said there would be cultural groups performances, live bands, and boat cruises.
The Riding Pirates planned for a container to leave Auckland in February 2009 with their supplies for the schools along with their eight Harley-Davidson motorcycles, on the way to Tongatapu.
Harley-Davidson motorcycles are renown world-wide for quality and are among the most comfortable to ride. The Harleys have a roaring sound and are dubbed the King of the Road. They are also not cheap
Melinda said the Aotearoa Riding Pirates include individuals "with passion for Harley-Davidson bikes and a little bit of adventure." The group have been drawn together recently after they lost a friend, Ginger Gibbs, the owner of the Swashbucklers Restaurant, Auckland. Since then they have done a few challenging projects together, such as setting the world record for the fastest boat across the Tasman Sea from Sydney to Auckland, and so far have raised $14,097 for the New Zealand Coastguard service. Most of the Riding Pirates are private business owners, and Melinda has a company that does adventure filming and photography, while Bryan owns quarries and is in the road construction business.
The Tonga project is their first in the Pacific Islands and it was chosen because Melinda has been visiting Tonga regularly during the past 26 years and staying at the Royal Sunset Resort, 'Atata.