Team A

“Today is an experience of stunning scenery. Under the calm peace-filled stillness of the towering Remarkables, we run with a crisp breeze and the lapping sound of Lake Wakatipu. Encouraging motorists cheer us along the way. What a blessing to be immersed in nature’s beauty.” – Suradhuni Anderson (team member)

Today our route carried us alongside Lake Wakatipu, from Frankton to Te Anau, after a sound sleep at the Queenstown Top 10 Holiday Park, who so kindly put us up for the night.

This being a sparsely populated stretch, the day was largely one of scenic experiences, but there was the odd tourist with whom we were able to meet and offer the chance to hold the Torch.

I met a couple from Washington D.C. along the roadside. Though they had never heard of the World Harmony Run, they had no hesitation in taking the Torch and making a wish for peace – so universal is this message.

It is the lambs who are the main occupants of this land, and we are in their country.

Arriving in Te Anau it was still light, with plenty of time to take a side trip to Te Anau conservation reserve where we saw Kea, Kereru, and Kakariki.

Further along the road, the beginning of the Kepler Track, and back the other way, the start of the Routeburn – two of New Zealand’s internationally renowned walks.

– Susan Marshall

Team B

Today our journey took us away from the skiers' paradise of Queenstown to the much quieter Te Anau, a small town overlooking New Zealand's most expansive and remote National Park. If any remnants of the flightless Moa (formerly the world's largest bird) still roam the earth, then Fiordland's Ranges is the place. The road in between the ranges was long, silent and its surroundings breathtakingly beautiful.

Hands on the World Harmony Torch once again, I felt the solitude of the lone runner in a vast empty space – yet it was not empty. The lack of people only accentuated the artistic splendour of our surroundings, in which a mosaic of living hues blended perfectly. Here we were in lamb-land, where sheep are far more plentiful than people. These soft, docile creatures were everywhere – running, playing and eating grass.

Here in these idyllic surroundings, it felt easy to remain calm and serene. How good it would be to always remember and bring forward this sense of peace while plunged into the ordinary life of hectic activity.

A vicious wind left many of us red-cheeked and struggling through the last few miles, but a rewarding sense of accomplishment descended on us as we approached our destination.

– Tom McGuire

Team C

This morning down at the shore of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown we met Jude, whose husband had seen our regional co-ordinator Tim Cranfield running into town yesterday. He stopped Tim and said: "Hi, my wife is a reporter. Would you like to talk to her on the phone?" A fortuitous introduction it was! So, today Jude came and took some photos of us for The Otago Times – and we reciprocated with our own snaps of her with the Torch.

We began our running toward Te Anau out on the tussock grasslands which strongly reminded the writer of his former training grounds in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales.

We found ourselves running into a strong headwind in the coldest temperatures yet encountered on our run through New Zealand.

Our first runner ambled in at the end of his section just as some small unmistakably icy pips of hail began to fall. He passed on the Torch to Simahin Pierce who, on a most auspicious day for him, completed his first run on the open road carrying the World Harmony Torch since 1995. Go Simahin, rolling back the years!

We continued on and while the headwind refused to grant any respite, we did enjoy the various moods that the weather had on offer as the sun's rays playing hide and seek with billowing cloud formations. Well OK then, we'll admit there may just have been a brief period of calm sometime in the middle of the day when the sun shone. Those brief minutes when the air was calm, seeing the lambs frolicking in green fields, could have made us believe that Spring was indeed well and truly on its way. But then Ol' Windy was back with a vengeance ... and on we slogged.

Tim Cranfield and Lubos Svec (from Czech Republic), each put their shoulder to the wheel for a stint, then Tim and Nigel ran the last long leg together across the fields, through the town centre and down to Lake Te Anau.

Thank you to the kind staff of Fiordland Great Views Holiday Park for your generous hospitality!

– Nigel Webber

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!