Team A

We began today at the picturesque setting for our overnight accommodation overlooking Lake Te Anau – gateway to the hauntingly beautiful snow-covered mountain peaks of Fiordland, which soar skyward above the shores of the lake.

Occasional openings in the drifting mist would reveal fresh, pristine layers of overnight snow and provide memorable glimpses of the majestic silence, power and splendour of creation.

The first 60 kms of today’s run was through gently undulating farmlands with a few moments of real awe when the mountains would suddenly loom on either side of us, only to suddenly disappear under the spell of the lingering, reclaiming mist.

In the afternoon we ran another 30 kms near the awesome Southern Ocean, where we were greeted by waving and tooting motorists plus a relentless barrage of cold, strong south-westerly winds, which accompanied us until we reached Invercargill.

At Invercargill we encountered a statue of the Takahe, a rare bird thought to have become extinct, until rediscovered in 1948. Today there are less than 200 takahe, though their numbers are gradually increasing.

We were welcomed by our very kind and gracious hosts, Alan and Rhianne, from the Coachmans Inn Motor Lodge.

Here we happily performed Sri Chinmoy's World-Harmony-Run song and presented Alan and Rhianne with a Certificate of Appreciation.

– Simahin Pierce

Team B

Cool, calm conditions with a little light rain welcomed us this morning – what a relief it was not to have to face those winds which tried so hard to stymie our progress yesterday! The running was enjoyable, our pace steady and all was well with the world...

That is, until the skies began to darken, the rain became heavier, a lightning bolt flashed before us and a huge clap of thunder rattled us all to our very bones. Amid this impending maelstrom, Tim Cranfield jogged in to finish his leg and Prachar Stegemann took the Torch. Prachar loped off into the tempest, his tall frame soon to be the target of a fierce ambush of hail, driven in horizontally by a furious wind which had been lying in wait.

The force of this meteorological onslaught compelled our intrepid runner to bend over double as he eked his way forward, leaning in to the storm, while thousands of tiny spears of ice marauded the whole right side of his body. Peering askew through one eye, he struggled thus – mightily or pathetically – for the remainder of his 6 km. With the end of his leg the hail fled as suddenly as it had struck, the winds subsided, the sky at least partially cleared and warmth and calmness pervaded the countryside around our team – for now.

The day was still young, there remained a long way to go and the wind-gods were not quite finished with us yet. We continued on unharassed for a while, but no sooner had we crested a rise in the landscape than we found ourselves in view of the rough and wild Southern Ocean in full splendour – and of course roaring across that ocean, direct from Antarctica, rushed one almighty gale. For the rest of the day each runner took turns having his T-shirt ripped at, being blown sideways and sometimes even running on the spot in an effort to move forward to complete the team's mission.

Even Nature's sturdiest sons, the trees, have conceded their very shape and form to this wind's will.

Lo and behold, as our course changed direction and headed towards Invercargill, who should find himself bounding along effortlessly with the wind now behind him to complete the team's leg for the day? That's right, the guy upon whom 'twas hailing, who's no longer ailing, his humour now unfailing...

Our thanks to Antonia, Peter and Silas for providing us such a warm welcome and shelter for the night at the Kackling Kea Backpackers in Invercargill.

– Nigel Webber

Team C

This morning our team departed Te Anau for Invercargill. We drove straight there in order to make it in time for our presentation at a School Holiday Program.

We arrived at the School Holiday Program – run by OSCAR and held at Windsor – in freezing cold rain and gale-force winds. We sang our song and taught it to the children, along with the actions. They did some beautiful artwork for us, and each child held the Torch and made a wish for harmony.

After that, the organiser of the local OSCAR School Holiday Programs took us to our next school, where the kids had made a huge banner for us. We divided them into two groups and asked them see which group could say the World Harmony Run motto the loudest. Then we asked them to say it together, which showed them that it is much more powerful if they all say it in harmony!

We also met a friendly reporter and photographer from the Southland Times.

Then we began our run from Invercargill to Bluff, which is the southernmost point of mainland New Zealand.

There was an extremely strong headwind, which made us all feel as if we were running in slow-motion, but we battled through the wind and hail and made it to Bluff for beautiful views of Stewart Island, fading off into the distance.

– Rupashri Brown

Team Members:
Muslim Badami (India), Erika Pongracz, Gabor Horvath (both Hungary), Lubos Svec (Czech Republic), Anubha Baird, Nina Diaz, Grahak Cunningham, Nigel Webber, Prachar Stegemann, Simahin Pierce (Australia), Rupashri Brown, Suradhuni Anderson, Tania Williams, Kate Carvalho, Susan Marshall, Tom McGuire, Tim Cranfield, Andrew Davies (all New Zealand)

Gallery: See more images!