It's all downhill from near the top of India to near the bottom (on a map), and two intrepid Northlanders are in sight of the finish line aboard their racing tuktuk that will take them almost the length of the sub-continent.
Houhora police officer Tracee Knowler and Northern Advocate reporter
Kristin Edge, AKA the Chickshaw Blues, set off earlier this month on a 3500km charity rally from Shillong in the north to Cochin in the south. The catch is that they are driving a tuktuk, a three-wheeled motorised rickshaw described as a glorified lawnmower.
The money they raise will go to the Miriam Centre in Whangarei, to provide counselling for sexual abuse victims in the Far North.
The pair have battled crazy traffic, giant potholes, almost daily breakdowns and (in Kristin's case) a bout of Delhi belly. They have also been amazed, at times reduced to tears, by the kindness and generosity of strangers in a poor land.
The pair are determined to reach the finish line in time for the post-race party on August 21, (local time), so twice loaded their tuktuk on to a truck in a bid to get ahead, although that hasn't necessarily proved to be a great deal faster.
