All downhill to the bottom of India

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.

The race rules do allow the occasional hitching of rides on trucks or trains. Tuktuks are so slow that finishing the race in two weeks would otherwise be impossible.

The pair struck gold on day 11 when they had all but given up negotiating a decent price for a truck. A new-found friend intervened and got them a better rate.

"Many chai teas later and a truck was ready and waiting. A team of men lifted our beast up on to the deck and she was secured with rope," Kristin said.

"We had to travel on the back of the truck, but it was an amazing experience watching everyone's reactions as they passed us. Tried to give the guy who helped us out for about three hours the equivalent of $10 and he refused to take it. Nearly brought me to tears. Such a generous man."

The day before they were pulled over by Tracee's counterparts in the Indian police force. The officers insisted on escorting their tuktuk for the next 125 kilometres, even taking them to a hotel and inspecting the room to make sure it was up to standard.

For updates go to northernadvocate.co.nz and look for the 'Chickshaw Blues blog' in the right-hand column or check out the Chickshaw Blues Facebook page. Go to givealittle.co.nz/cause/chickshawblues to donate.