CRUISING INTO RETIREMENT

t’s funny how a single event can change the direction of your life. For Allan and Maxine Rees, Beach Hop has done just that. They were happily living in the Waikato running their motorhome business and beginning to plan for their retirement and working out where they wanted to live out their years, settling on — you guessed it — Whangamata. It had always been a popular spot, becoming famous not just for the amazing beaches, surf, and fishing but also as the home of Beach Hop, an event synonymous with rock and roll and classic cars. After attending their first event in 2004, and then again in 2005, Allan and Maxine were hooked, and they knew they had to be there in their own car for 2006. They were no strangers to cars, having owned plenty of classics over the years, from ’70s Falcon coupes to a V8 Pilot, an MGA, and a