Family makes most of escape from Pike mine

NOW ONE OF LOCALS: Yolande Strydom runs the Rusty Tractor and Trading Store in Kerikeri, a "second chance" for the family after a close call at Pike River. PHOTO/CHRISTINE ALLEN

Yolande Strydom's father was one of three survivors of the Pike River Mine explosion, a tragedy which resulted in him moving to Kerikeri where his daughter would eventually follow and open a cafe.
Admittedly, the Rusty Tractor is a strange name for a cafe; Ms Strydom claims she'd be wealthy if she had a dollar for every time someone noted there was no rust on the Rusty Tractor sitting outside the cafe.
It's a little hat tip to her native South African hometown of Clarens, where an iconic red tractor sat, adorned, in a water fountain in the town centre.
She bought "Alice" the tractor from Kerikeri vintage trader Milton Randell and restored the old Allis-Chalmers.
"It reminds me of home, and that I'm just a small-town girl," she said.
Her father Thys now works with Top Energy. Her parents moved to Kerikeri after the 2010 explosion.
"We had moved from South Africa for our safety. It really rattled us but dad was so lucky."
The family felt as though they had been given a second chance.
Ms Strydom had worked as a food and beverage manager at Rydges in Christchurch and Auckland before taking the plunge and leasing the Kerikeri cafe, which opened in July.
"It had been empty about two years. I drove past it a few times, I just fell in love with it."
Watching her sister, Candice, struggle with her toddler in family unfriendly cafes made her determined that the Rusty Tractor would not make parents feel guilty about bringing children.
Now, some of her patrons cry when it's time to go.
"We have a playground outside and parents do find that their children don't want to leave."
She also wanted a small gift store incorporated into the cafe - The Trading Store.
"I supply local products - soap, olive oil and Kerikeri art."
This has helped her settle into the community, which she said was hard to penetrate.
"It takes time for the locals to warm to newcomers," she said.
Employing a team of 12 and serving all local produce and local wines also helped her cafe get the thumbs-up from the community.
How did she know they had accepted her?
"So many locals now bring me gifts of fruit from the surrounding orchards. I must be a local now."