Border open to road trip
A Taranaki motorcyclist and his best mate are heading off on the road trip of a lifetime, a journey with a special mission.
Gary Anderson, of Kaponga, and his constant companion, a blue merle border collie Kairo, are getting ready to spend a month on the road touring the North Island on a Yamaha XJR 1300, raising money for suicide prevention charity I Am Hope.
On April 30, they will be farewelled from New Plymouth with a gathering of bikers, dogs and their owners.
When Anderson decided to get a motorbike again three years ago, he bought one with a sidecar so Kairo could go too.
‘‘He’s been with me 24/7 since I got him, I couldn’t think of going out for rides without him.’’
Anderson knows every cafe and pub around Taranaki where dogs are welcome.
‘‘He gets me out and about. As any biker will know, when you pull up at somewhere like a cafe with a black jacket and leathers sometimes people give you a wide berth but since I have had Kairo, people just come up and ask to pat him.
‘‘He gets attention wherever we go, and he just laps it up. He has such a beautiful gentle nature.’’
Kairo, 11, travels in a sheepskin-lined sidecar with his photo on it and has his own biker jacket and a Facebook page, ‘‘Kairo’s Suicide Awareness Ride’’.
‘‘He’s the main story, I’m just the chauffeur,’’ Anderson said.
Along with his owner, the dog is an official member of the Taranaki RATS (Riders Against Teen Suicide).
The pair regularly attend bike rallies in Taihape, Napier and other places, and make regular trips away to visit Anderson’s adult children.
‘‘We’ve done just over 27,000 kilometres now,’’ he said.
‘‘We haven’t been able to do so many rides this year because they’ve been cancelled, so I decided I’d come up with my own.’’
After 11 years running his South Taranaki lawnmowing and home handyman business, Anderson said he needed a break.
‘‘I’m waiting for an operation on my knee and I decided the time is now or never. Ever since I got the bike I have been thinking to do a tour with Kairo, then I thought ‘why not do it for a cause, bring awareness to people?’.’’
He chose to fundraise for I Am Hope because he had lost friends to suicide, and some years ago a previous dog helped him get through a very dark night.
‘‘I was sitting on a park bench about 2am and I couldn’t see a way out. The next thing I felt this little pup press against my leg, as if to say, ‘I’m here Dad’, and I thought ‘I can’t leave this little fella’.’’
Anderson will turn 63 during the trip.
‘‘I might have to stop at a fishing spot for a few days and relax to celebrate my birthday,’’ he said.
Where the pair haven’t got a friend or family to put them up on their journey, he’ll find dogfriendly accommodation, and intends to do a lot of camping.
‘‘We’re already getting offers of places to stay,’’ he said.