Scooter gang hits the streets in Ha¯wera
There are just four members in South Taranaki’s newest club on wheels, but they have big plans to recruit a crowd.
The Wacky Scooter Club was launched last month with a scavenger hunt that saw members piloting their mobility scooters all around Ha¯wera’s CBD.
So far, they don’t have official insignia, but they’re considering getting hoodies or caps, Pat Nixon, a founding member, said.
The club was his idea, and it was Estelle Barnes of Age Concern that got it started.
Like some of his clubmates, Nixon uses a scooter to get around now he’s no longer driving.
‘‘If I didn’t have this scooter, I’d be stuck in my house looking at four walls. It gives you freedom,’’ he said.
The club is keen for new recruits to join them on outings twice a month. There’s a few advantages to travelling by scooter, Nixon reckons.
‘‘You’ve already got your chair,’’ he said.
And Nixon’s scooter has other advantages that fellow ‘‘gang’’ members claim gave him the advantage in the recent scavenger hunt.
‘‘He got all the clues. And his scooter goes 10 times faster than most of them,’’ Marian Gallichan said. ‘‘He beat me rotten.’’
Andrea Worsley said the social aspects of the group appealed to her.
‘‘Just being out with other people, doing things with other people,’’ she said.
Estelle Barnes said the scavenger hunt was a great success, with participants visiting murals, carvings and other points around the town, as well as stopping at the RSA memorial arch to remember the fallen.
The club will have two outings a month, weather permitting.
‘‘We’ll have picnics and outings. Our objective is to try and bring more people in,’’ she said.
‘‘This club is to help get the elderly out of their homes and to get them to be involved in activities.’’
For information contact estelle@ageconcerntaranaki.org.nz or phone 06 7599196.
‘‘If I didn’t have this scooter, I’d be stuck in my house looking at four walls.’’ Pat Nixon Wacky Scooter Club