Excitement filled the air at Gonville School as Princess Claire and Plumber Dan rolled in with their epic Minis, giving our tamariki a sneak peek at the cars they will be driving in the KidsCan Pork Pie Run!

The Pork Pie Run is an adventurous journey from the top of New Zealand to the very bottom, with a ferry crossing along the way. It’s all in support of KidsCan, helping tamariki across Aotearoa.

Our tamariki had some impressive and curious questions for our special visitors, including:

"Will you be driving down State Highway 3?"
"How do you get fuel?" (especially in the shortened Mini with no doors or roof!)
"How do you get in?"
"Are there holes at the bottom?" (concerned about what happens when it rains in the roofless Mini!)
"How are you going to survive if it is hot?"
One of the highlights of the visit was when a keen-eyed student asked about the ducks on the back of the Mini. Plumber Dan’s legendary reply? "Because they haven’t ducked off yet!" 🦆😂

As if seeing the Minis wasn’t exciting enough, some lucky tamariki and teachers even got to go for a ride! Mrs. Gray and Miss Comrie took Plumber Dan’s Mini for a spin all by themselves, much to the delight of everyone watching.

A huge thank you to Princess Claire and Plumber Dan for visiting Gonville School and sharing their Pork Pie adventure with us. We wish them all the best as they take on the challenge from the top to the bottom of Aotearoa!

For those keen to know more about the Pork Pie Run, check out the website: https://porkpiecharityrun.org.nz/. For those of you who are keen to see even more of the action, all 50 Minis taking part in the Pork Pie Run will be at Pakaitore on Saturday, 5 March at 11am for everyone to check out! 🚗✨

Article added: Wednesday 26 March 2025