Tour of New Zealand 2025

NZST offers emotional and practical support to over 200 individuals who experience a new SCI each year, as well as their whānau. Our team embodies a tangible, inspiring, and believable glimpse of positive futures beyond the injury. This support begins in the Spinal Unit and continues out in the community.

Riding the Tour of NZ with the Permobil NZ Spinal Trust team is an awesome adventure, through breathtaking landscapes, enjoying the camaraderie of phenomenal people … all while raising money to make a real difference to the futures of people with spinal cord impairments.

In 2025 the Tour will ride from April 7th – 11th, taking the Tranz Alpine rail through the Southern Alps to the start point in Greymouth. As it did in 2023, the Tour will end at the top of the Crown Range. In between will be 5 days and 6 stages of riding through some of NZ’s most beautiful scenery. The TONZ entry fee of $1,300 per rider covers all accommodation and transport on the Tour, including the Tranz Alpine, the Celebration Luncheon on the final day and Day 4 lunch.

As part of the Permobil NZST team of riders, we’ll happily book your accommodation in Christchurch should you need it (Sunday 6th April) the night before the Tour starts; we’ll host a full team dinner on that Sunday; we’ll take care of your day bag for each stage, ensuring it’s waiting for you at the end of each stage; we’ll have a warm, dry campervan available for you at the end of each stage, with hot soup or a drink and snacks; we’ll have several team dinners/drinks during the Tour; we can book accommodation in Queenstown on the last day if you’d like to stay overnight; we can assist with transport to/from airports at the start and end of the Tour.

We’ll provide a cycling top and bib shorts for each rider in our team, with the option for you to buy further kit if you’d like.

This Tour has the potential to change others’ lives as well as yours. All money raised will support our Community Peer & Whanau Support service, so we’re looking for team members to raise a minimum of $700 each. We’ll set up a Permobil NZST Team fundraising campaign, with your own individual fundraising page feeding into the team effort. You will be able to email your professional looking page to everyone that you reach out to to support your efforts and share why you are going to such great lengths to support NZST.

Please get in touch if you have any questions – Su Marshall (Fundraising Manager and Team Camp Mother) su.marshall@nzspinaltrust.org.nz

So what do you need to do?

  • Register on the Tour of NZ website   https://www.tourofnewzealand.co.nz/rider-entry  as an INDIVIDUAL rider AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (and pay your $100 deposit – final payment of $1,200 will be required in November) Strictly speaking, we are a group of individual riders – not an official team. 

  • Let us know you’re all in  Register here with Su to let her know you’re riding for NZST

  • Wait

for Su to contact you and put in place the awesome support we’re known for

  • Start your fundraising

    – Su will provide you with your own URL to give to friends, whānau, work mates, etc

We are looking forward to welcoming past and new riders looking to be part of the Permobil NZST Team experience.

Team Leader

Hi I am Hans. I love the NZ Spinal Trust. 

I love cycling and I love fun.  Together with my friends we want to raise $50,000 through this ride and think we can do it too!  Thank you for your support – hope you’ll join me for this life changing week. 

Thank you everyone!!!!  

 

Posted on by NZST.

Wayne Kirk’s Tour of Aotearoa

Most of you will know I’m a pretty keen cyclist, but it has only been over the last few months that I have converted to riding a Mountain Bike, which will be my only mode of transport for the 30 days I expect the ride to take.

The reason I want to take part in this tour is not only will it be a fantastic experience, but I want to give back and raise funds for the NZ Spinal Trust.

On 29 September 2018 my son Sam was involved in a very bad car crash. He broke two vertebrae in his neck and dislocated one, putting pressure on and cutting the blood supply to his spinal column. He broke another disc in his back and cracked his pelvis.

The three month journey to get Sam home and back on his feet will be one I, my family, friends and work colleagues will never forget. It was a journey of incredible stress, but at the same time amazing to be able to tick off the many milestones that saw Sam return to walk again – and now be back at work doing an amazing job running Wayne Kirk Mitsubishi Hastings.

It was a long three months as Sam recuperated, but we had light at the end of the tunnel. As Sam made progress each day we realised how lucky we were. There were other families there and young adults – people the same age and younger than Sam – who were not so lucky.  It was a stark reminder of what might have been for us.

Thankfully Sam was able to progress from a wheel chair to a walker (we named Big Red), to two crutches then to one crutch, to being able to walk unaided. Some days were better than others – some days the thought of leaving Burwood Spinal Unit seemed so far into the future it wouldn’t happen. It was a super stressful time, but my goodness we had some wonderful and amazing physios and a spinal specialist who were incredible, who helped us along the way.

Because of the unbelievable support of Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch hospital surgeons and the dedicated support of the physios and medical staff at Burwood, it meant Sam’s recovery was much better than anyone expected and Sam has been able to return back to his life, slightly scarred but back to doing what he loves – selling cars!

The NZ Spinal Trust help many people like Sam, many not as lucky as he. Their help and support to families and people with spinal injuries is amazing, which is why I’m hoping to raise a substantial sum of money for them along my tour of Aotearoa.

I’ll be doing lots of daily updates on my Facebook Page along the way and you can track my progress here: https://touraotearoa2020.maprogress.com?bib=W%20S%20K&justme=yes&showPath=yes&showMarkerHistory=yes

More importantly you can help the NZ Spinal Trust by making a donation to support them so others are able to receive the wonderful care and support they gave Sam and families like us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully you’ll follow my progress. I look forward to giving you all an update of how much money we raised on my return in April.

Posted on by NZST.