March 28, 2023
Martha Garvey is a 40 year old loving mum of two teenagers and partner to Taru. Martha has breast cancer and was encouraged by the wonderful organisation Sweet Louise to request a wish that was very close to her heart. Martha wanted to get her moko kauae (a tattoo that represents a woman’s whānau), and share her passion of Te Papa with her family.
The family departed Kerikeri for Wellington, and thanks to loyal supporters GO Rentals, who help on countless wishes, they were gifted a rental car for the duration of their stay. While in Wellington, the family were spoilt for choice having vouchers from Kāpura to spend at one of their popular restaurants, donated vouchers from BurgerFuel, and of course New World vouchers donated by another loyal supporter North island Foodstuffs which enabled the family to stock up on supplies.
The first night out was a wonderful introduction to Wellington, as the family were treated to dinner at Master Kong, a Kāpura venue known for seriously great Asian street food 
The next day was Martha’s appointment with her carefully selected tattoo artist Sian Montgomery-Neutze. Sian listened carefully to Martha and then designed her interpretation of that conversation freehand. To Martha, the space felt sacred, and she remained in an incredibly meditative state during the whole process. Receiving a moko kauae was not only an incredible experience, but it also marked Martha’s journey as to where and who she is.
Martha then re-joined the family at Xcape Wellington, who incredibly gifted a second room after seeing how much they enjoyed the experience! Thank you to the amazing team at Xcape Rooms Wellington!
Next up was the all-important visit to Te Papa where Phil Louie treated the group to a money can’t buy back door tour. They were able to see and touch artifacts that were very special to them and see many historic items. The two guides were incredibly passionate and took their time to maximise the experience. We cannot thank Te Papa enough for going the extra mile!
With more thrills in store, the family also headed to Fear Factory Wellington for some fun and frights. There they recieved a video and photos which will be a lovely souvenir of their scary adventure! Thanks Fear Factory, you rock!
Dinner on the last night was made possible by Sweet Louise, and the family had fun night with great food at Fujiyama Teppanyaki Restaurant.
Not wanting to miss a thing, the family also visited Wētā Workshop on the way home, where they particularly enjoyed the stunning Gallipoli exhibition.
Race4Life would like to thank all who came onboard to support Martha’s wish and help the family create some beautiful memories together. This will be a trip that is remembered with much love 
