Cars travelled from north of Auckland and from the deepest south to participate in February’s Moutere Hop, and a week later organiser Shane Kemp was still riding high from the region’s support.
The event included a drive-in movie, entertainment, market stalls, a pin-up pageant, and 250 vehicles including classic cars and hot rods.
Shane says that on the Friday night cruise through the area, “half of Motueka was out on the footpath supporting us”.
“It was amazing, actually,” he says. “It was pretty humbling in a way.”
He says that the Hop came about from an idea that he had five years ago and “pitched to the boys”.
The “boys” in question were his friends Miles Drewery and Graeme Walker, and between them they form the backbone of the organising committee.
They are already planning for next year, full of enthusiasm from the recent success of the 2024 event.
“If this monster’s growing, we’ve just got to get on top of it.”
