The Great New Zealand Mustang Run:
Background Information

This page provides background information on the event, and links to pages prepared before the event took place.
 For more information explore the  FAQ page, the Itinerary page,  the News page,  the Registration page, the Clothing page, and the Publications page.

For Post Event Coverage, Go Here

Why was the event  held?

2004 is the 40th Anniversary of the first Ford Mustang. To celebrate this anniversary there are several big events in the USA any of which will obviously be fabulous experiences for those able to attend:

1. Pony Drive USA 2004  a 10,500 mile major trek around America, from 10 April to 9th June 2004
2. Mustangs Across America, a 5 day convoy from LA to Nashville, from 11 to 15th April 2004.
3. A big celebration in Nashville Tennessee. 15 to 18th April 2004

However for Kiwis unable to go to the US events, (ie the majority of us), there was a celebratory event of our own, here in NZ. This was a national Kaitaia to Bluff Mustang run. This was the first time a national Mustang event of this type has been run in NZ.

Concept

The concept was a 12 day national North to South tour that individual owners could join and leave at any point, ie participate for part of a day, a full day, several days, tour a whole island or run the entire route. This also meant that the cost of participating could be as low as petrol and registration fees for a day, or as high as individuals were willing to spend. 

Nature of the Event 

The primary purpose of the run was to celebrate 40 years of Mustangs, and as far as possible to try to get every NZ Mustang owner to participate in some way in this historic event. This meant the run was basically social in nature, but where appropriate some publicity and news related stops were worked into the itinerary, and some short duration cars shows etc held to raise funds and/or support sponsors. Attendance was of course always voluntary.

Itinerary  and Maps

The run operated over 12 days starting Monday 29 March 2004 at Kaitaia and proceeded to Bluff tour arriving Friday 9th April which was Good Friday.

Detailed route maps and a daily schedule are located on the itinerary page.

The itinerary was structured so as to make it possible to complete a single island tour in a week (at least one clear weekend day at either end to get to the start and return home, and to have a full weekend at either end of the main tour to provide time for all participants to get to the start or return to their homes when finished. A full rest day was allocated in Nelson in the middle.

Costs

From as little as NZ$40 to register and join the event for a day, to upwards of NZ$3,500 for full accommodation and food for two plus fuel for the full 12 days.  Hotels each night averaged $100 + food. For more information see the FAQ page.

Organisation

The event was organised by co-ordinators appointed by each of the seven regional Mustang clubs. Each club organised its own sector, with national co-ordination by Wal Marshall. Local co-ordinators detailed the route through "their" areas, including selecting suitable locations for morning coffee, lunch and afternoon breaks, and one or two suitable hotels/motels for the overnight stops. etc. 

Registration

To organise a run of this size with the associated accommodation, events and ferries etc over the busy Easter period required that numbers be known and locked in early. This meant that early registration was essential.  A registration fee was charged, to cover organisational costs, printing of booklets, certificates, postage etc. All participants were requested to register.

The registration costs (per car) were as follows:

Note: The above costs are PER CAR (not per person).

To download a copy of the registration form click the thumbnail image below,

Regn Form

or one of the following links: MS Word.doc file.(90kb)        Adobe pdf File.(35kb)         

Registered participants gained access to preferential accommodation rates at the official venues, to all associated events along the way organised by each club, as well as access to the branded event clothing etc. 

Sponsorship and Publicity

Sponsors were sort for either local or national exposure to help with publicity, organisational costs, hosting lunches, evening meals, whatever is possible. 

Some Local posters were prepared to acknowledge local sponsors and where time permitted, (some or all) cars were parked up in prearranged spots for the public to see them including outside sponsors premises etc.

Associated Events

In addition to prearranged stops at selected local attractions, sponsors premises etc, some form of event or entertainment was arranged by the host club for most evenings. This was as simple as a block booking at the overnight hotel restaurant, visit a local car collection, karaoke singing or whatever the local co-ordinators thought was appropriate. Participants were free to take part, or not as they wished each day. More information is on the detailed Itinerary page.

Accommodation 

Participants were free to stay wherever they wanted each night, but one major accommodation option such as a motel or Quality Inn etc was chosen as the default event venue. To keep organisation simple, accommodation was booked and paid for individually by each participant. A list of default hotels and booking information was provided to each registered participant. Access to the block booked rooms was only available to registered participants. Those who registered late took their chances that rooms were still available, and were faced with very limited choices in some locations.

Ferry Bookings

It was the responsibility of individual participants to book their cars onto the appropriate ferry crossings. Because the return interisland crossings occurred in the peak Easter period, early bookings were essential. A rest day was provided in the centre of the run so as to provide the maximum flexibility on ferry crossings options and to cover for possible bad weather delays etc. Actual ferry crossings are noted on the FAQ page.

Finance

The event was organised so as to at least cover its costs as a worst case, and will in fact make a modest profit. Income was sourced from registration fees, auctions and event clothing. Seed funding sort from the clubs will be repaid with profit.

Conduct

All registered participants were requested to comply with an event code of conduct. This was to try to prevent poor behaviour causing bad publicity on what is quite a long event with high public profile. 

Event Poster

An official poster was developed and a copy can be downloaded below. All registrants received a free full colour A3 size glossy print.

 Click the image below to download a low resolution poster file :

 
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