If you know the Kiwi cult classic Goodbye Pork Pie, you'll also know that the Blondini Gang in their high-speed dash down the West Coast didn't stop over in Franz Josef.
But this year, the drivers recreating the famous Pork Pie run did stay a night in the remote tourist town, which has been doing it tough amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pork Pie Charity Run is a biannual fundraising road trip for all Mini owners, based loosely on the route taken by the Blondini Gang in the original movie.
The Run has raised over $1 million for Starship Hospital, Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand and KidsCan over the past six events.
This year the event runs from March 26 in the Far North to March 31 in Invercargill, with money raised once again going to KidsCan.
More than 60 per cent of jobs in Franz Joseph and Fox Glacier have been lost, according to a new report.
But the added stop in Frans Josef is hoped to support those struggling — with 50 Minis rolling and tooting into the town.
The 2021 run is as much about raising money and enthusing about Minis as it is about spreading cheer.
"So many people have lost their jobs, lost their incomes. There's a lot more struggling families in New Zealand," charity run entrant Irene Benfell-Herron said.
She's a motelier from Te Anau, but sponsors a KidsCan family in Auckland even though times are tough in her own town.
"We've lost 11 businesses in the last few months in Te Anau. Little towns are struggling, the families are struggling, the kids are struggling and that's really why I came on the run.
"We can't afford it, our motel couldn't afford it but I did it anyway."
Franz Josef community development officer says tourism has picked up, but they're eagerly waiting on a trans-Tasman bubble.
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