The first rally attracted 350 faithful patrons, with attendance peaking to 5,000 in 1990 and levelling to 1,050 in 2018. I always thought one day to do the Monkey and 2021 would be the one to do it, for its swansong.
I set off from the South Island’s city of Christchurch on Friday, 4th June for the first 300km, heading South. The sun was shining for about the first 10km, but then a cold and overcast, but dry ride set in. Just days before the journey, the predominantly flat province of Canterbury, flanked by the Southern Alps to the West and the Pacific Ocean to the East endured over several days the worst rainfall in living memory. As an effect, several of the large rivers flowing from the mountains to the sea damaged some of the
