Once upon a time there was a small girl and a small boy who visited the same playground in their village every Te Rā O Ngā Tamariki – Children’s Day. Come March 7th, the two would slide and swing and seesaw. But this year, something was different. They knew every dent in the red slide. They knew how high they could swing. They knew the seesaw didn’t see or saw anymore. The girl and the boy wanted a new adventure. A big, grand, hold your breath and release it in a scream and a holler type of adventure, the sort of adventure they read about in books.
“Do places like that even exist?” The boy asked.
“Let’s find out!” The girl said, running to their whānau. “Where can we go? Where can we go to have an adventure?”
Their mother looked at their father and their father looked at their mother. Their eyes lit up, “To the Waitaki we go!”

The Goldfields Cavalcade adventure
The horses trekked across the Otago goldfields and the cyclists pedalled. The high country ahead was a long stretch, rugged, and beautiful. Early in March, the Goldfields Cavalcade transported horse riders, walkers, runners, and 51