A 23-year-old New Zealand man’s love for adventure has taken him on a chaotic ride across India in auto rickshaw — all to help keep one of the most treasured aircraft in the skies.
According to the Otago Daily Times, Matt Highsted, along with two South Island mates, is competing in the Rickshaw Run — a 3000km journey from Jaisalmer in northern India to Fort Kochi in the south.
Dubbed “two weeks of being slapped about the chops with everything India can throw at you and your glorified lawnmower,” the challenge has no set route and no rules, with teams navigating three-wheeled auto rickshaw through India’s unpredictable terrain.
But for Highsted, it’s about more than thrills. He is using the run to raise funds and awareness for the de Havilland 89 Dominie, a vintage aircraft owned by the Croydon Aviation Heritage Trust.
The Dominie is the only one of its kind in New Zealand still licensed to carry passengers, but engine troubles threaten to ground it after more than 80 years of flying.
“Aviation has been a passion of mine, and what better way to support a project back home than drive across India with no plan and no guidance, just a final destination.”
The run has already tested the team’s resilience. “On day one, we overheated, got lost in the desert, and rolled the tuk tuk,” he said.
Despite an unexpected 2000km detour to India’s east coast, the group is determined to cross the finish line.
Highsted is no stranger to tough challenges. While studying aerospace engineering at Canterbury University, he helped build rescue housing in Fiji and later walked the length of New Zealand to raise funds for charity.
Croydon Aviation Heritage Trust chairman Tracy Hicks praised his efforts: “We are very grateful to Matt for his enthusiasm and community commitment,” he told the Otago Daily Times.
The Rickshaw Run, first launched in 2006, is a chaotic and adventurous 3,000km journey across India between Fort Kochi in Kerala’s tropical south and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert. Dubbed a “stupid yet glorious” challenge, the unplanned route takes participants through everything India can throw at them, making it one of the most iconic and unpredictable adventure rallies in the world.
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