Evelyn didn't need the spare keys

When 79-year-old Kaikohe farmer Evelyn Reilly was asked to call in to Mid-North Honda to see if a quad bike that had turned up there was the one that had been stolen from her home two weeks ago, she took her spare keys, just in case. She didn't need them.

She was hopeful that she'd be heading home from Waipapa with a bike, but never in her wildest dreams expected it to be a brand new one, a gift from Mid-North Honda, with the help of distributor Blue Wing Honda.

"They showed me a bike and asked me if my key fitted it. I said 'That's not my bike'," Mrs Reilly said after Friday morning's surprise.

"I came over here to pick up my old bike and I'm leaving with a nice, shiny, brand new one. I'm a bit speechless, I really don't know what to say."

Husband Shaun Reilly and other family members helped keep the secret by spinning a yarn about the stolen bike possibly being found.

"When we got there I didn't recognise anyone around me, then all of a sudden there were my two granddaughters and my great grandson," a delighted Mrs Reilly said. Northland Age photographer Debbie Beadle was also under strict instructions to hide until the surprise was sprung.

Mid-North Honda owner Craig Blunt-Mackenzie was almost as excited as Evelyn when he handed over the brand new TRX 420 FPM bike.

"It's fantastic to be able do this for her," he said.

The bike was duly delivered to Evelyn's (and Wally's) place on Friday afternoon, and even then Evelyn was struggling to find the words to express her gratitude.

Craig said the Blue Wing Honda team had been moved by Evelyn's loss, given that at 79 she was still farming the family-owned 16-hectare property.

Shaun received a phone call from Blue Wing on Monday last week, and a lot more were made between then and Friday morning, involving the police, Mid North Honda Waipapa and media. And it was all kept very hush hush.

Evelyn couldn't hide her disappointment when she couldn't see her bike, then, when Craig gave her the keys to the new one, a brief moment of disbelief followed by tears.

After a cup of sugary tea to calm her nerves, Evelyn said she had worked hard all her life, bought and owned everything herself (but never a new vehicle of any sort), and had never received such a gift. Wally probably agreed.