A young Chinese tourist, whose bike and possessions were stolen from outside a Carterton church in January, has finished her south-bound cycle tour of New Zealand, thanks to the generosity of the Wairarapa community.
Maya Zhang, 26, proudly showed off her new bike last week as she posed for a photo at the Stirling Point signpost in Bluff.
She thanked all the people in Wairarapa who took care of her in her "most desperate period of time", giving her accommodation, employment, a new bike, tent and camping gear.
"With all your support today I made it to Bluff - 3000km cycled from Auckland," she said.
"The hardest part was the first step and dealing with myself when being alone, but here I'm still in one piece and kept my sanity. I have never felt more alive.
