NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Poles of Inconvenience car rally: Group of Hamilton boys on adventure of a lifetime

Danielle Zollickhofer
By Danielle Zollickhofer
Multimedia journalist, Waikato Herald·Waikato Herald·
7 Aug, 2023 12:00 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hamiltonians Kip Bardsley, Simon Miles and Jim Pepper have embarked on the Poles of Inconvenience car rally.

Hamiltonians Kip Bardsley, Simon Miles and Jim Pepper have embarked on the Poles of Inconvenience car rally.

Three weeks of getting lost and stuck in different countries sound like a nightmare to many, but to four Hamiltonians, it is the ultimate adventure.

Jim Pepper, Simon Miles, Kip Bardsley, Cody Findsen and eight of their friends are amid the unsupported car rally Poles on Inconvenience, which sees participants taking 1200cc cars for a trip around Europe and northern Africa to seek out inconvenient locations chosen by the rally organisers, The Adventurists from the UK.

The rally only has a set start and finish location near Prague, Czech Republic, as well as a total of 87 poles in inconvenient places that participants can pick from - everything else, including routes, accommodation, food, visa, insurance and how many poles to head to, the rally drivers have to sort out themselves.

“We’re pretty worried. We expect things to go wrong, but that’s the fun of it. For us, it’s all about having an adventure,” Simon told the Waikato Herald ahead of the event.

Read More

  • Carload of Hawke's Bay friends prepare for insane Mongol ...
  • 'An adventure of a lifetime': Hawke's Bay friends complete ...
  • Kiwis off on Mongol charity run
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Jim, Simon, Kip, Cody and their friends are all “outdoorsy” people, they say - a lot of them are hunters, some are volunteers at Land Search and Rescue, they all love hiking and are into cars.

Most of them have a job in the trades - Jim is a fitter and turner and Simon is an engineer - so the quartet thinks they are well-suited for the trip.

The Poles of Inconvenience car rally sees participants seek out inconvenient places with 1.2 litre cars - or smaller.
The Poles of Inconvenience car rally sees participants seek out inconvenient places with 1.2 litre cars - or smaller.

“We’re always up for an adventure. A few years back, we were thinking about doing something for the Christmas holidays. One of our friends ... said that Queenstown was cool, so we decided to make the trip down - from Hamilton - on 50cc scooters,” said Jim.

It was on that trip that they heard about the Poles of Inconvenience rally. A stranger at a gas station in Christchurch suggested that the boys check it out. When they did, they were hooked immediately.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“It’s one of the best adventures of our lives,” Jim said.

“We are never going to be as care-free, mortgage-free and kids-free as we are now,” Kip added.

Simon said: “We’re doing it for a laugh. It’s more interesting to us than sitting on the couch. Just doing what everyone else is doing is not us.”

Poles of Inconvenience: Simon and Jim with a rally mate in Spain.
Poles of Inconvenience: Simon and Jim with a rally mate in Spain.

Because the group of Kiwi friends is so big, they split into teams of three. Jim, Simon and Kip make up the team Game of Tows. In total, there are 70 teams from around the world participating in this year’s rally - seven are from New Zealand.

Since the rally organisers have not created a set route and lots of things can go wrong along the way, Game of Tows haven’t bothered planning too much. One thing is certain though: they are definitely not sitting on a couch a lot.

“We [are] going off the beaten track as much as possible. The idea is to go from the Czech Republic to northern Italy, France, Morocco, [the] western Sahara, maybe Albania, Bosnia and Croatia,” Simon said.

“We want an original experience that no one else has had and to come back with stories that we will keep on telling for a long time,” Jim added.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Game of Tows - Poles of Inconvenience 2023 (@gameoftows)

The rally kicked off on July 15, and people can follow the teams’ journeys online via The Adventurists’ website. Jim, Simon and Kip, like the members of a lot of other teams, also share their journey on their Instagram pages.

Game of Tows mostly stuck to their rough schedule, having driven past Milan (north of Italy), Montpellier (south of France), Malaga (Spain), Agadir and Dakhla (both Morocco), just to name a few milestones along on their way.

They are currently in Bari, Italy, and have clocked up close to 13,000 kilometres while driving to 15 poles of inconvenience.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As expected, not everything is going smoothly: so far, spark plugs needed changing, several tires got damaged and a wheel bearing needed replacing, all while the trio is battling heatwaves.

“In Morocco, [it was] over 55 degrees! We have no aircon, so we are using a spray bottle of water to wet ourselves and wear wet t-shirts to keep the temps livable in the car,” Jim told the Waikato Herald during the journey.

The purple line is Game of Tows' route. The blue dots with the numbers are the locations of the poles of inconvenience set by the rally organisers The Adventurists.
The purple line is Game of Tows' route. The blue dots with the numbers are the locations of the poles of inconvenience set by the rally organisers The Adventurists.

All teams have until August 8 to get back to the finish line in the Czech Republic, so there is a bit more time for Jim, Simon and Kip to get stuck in inconvenient places.

“When we told people, ‘We are going to do this [rally]’, some told us, ‘You are crazy, you’re never gonna make it’, but that just made us think, ‘We’re gonna show them!’ We are all in and we’re gonna make it,” Kip said.

The Poles of Inconvenience rally supports the UK-based charity Cool Earth, which protects endangered rainforests. Every team has to raise a minimum of £500 for this charity.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Money hungry': Patient upset at $300 fee for Auckland menopause consultation

03 Jun 09:40 AM
New Zealand

'Boom, boom, you can all die': Man's explosive outburst ends tenancy

03 Jun 08:00 AM
New Zealand

'Like a brother to me': Friend of Kiwi killed in Ukraine pays tribute to mate

03 Jun 07:22 AM

‘No regrets’ for Rotorua Retiree

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Money hungry': Patient upset at $300 fee for Auckland menopause consultation

'Money hungry': Patient upset at $300 fee for Auckland menopause consultation

03 Jun 09:40 AM

Her doctor suggested up to four appointments were needed for hormone replacement therapy.

'Boom, boom, you can all die': Man's explosive outburst ends tenancy

'Boom, boom, you can all die': Man's explosive outburst ends tenancy

03 Jun 08:00 AM
'Like a brother to me': Friend of Kiwi killed in Ukraine pays tribute to mate

'Like a brother to me': Friend of Kiwi killed in Ukraine pays tribute to mate

03 Jun 07:22 AM
Lawyer claims she took $200k of client funds to escape abusive relationship

Lawyer claims she took $200k of client funds to escape abusive relationship

03 Jun 07:00 AM
Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design
sponsored

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search