# Dunga Run — cheap cars, epic roads, big hearts

The Dunga Run is a New Zealand charity road rally. Teams buy a cheap car (a
"dunga"), drive 2,600 km of remote North Island roads over seven days and seven nights
and raise funds for the TimeOut Charitable Trust.

## Key facts

- **Event:** Dunga Run Spring 2026
- **Dates:** 21–28 November 2026 (7 days, 7 nights)
- **Start:** Orewa Beach Holiday Park, Orewa, Auckland, New Zealand
- **Finish:** Turners Cars, Otahuhu, Auckland — car auction and finish celebration
- **Distance:** 2,600 km across New Zealand's North Island
- **Field size:** 20 team places
- **Car rule:** Your "dunga" must cost no more than $2,000 to buy
- **Beneficiary:** TimeOut Charitable Trust (timeoutnz.org)

## What entry involves

1. Apply as a team of two (driver and co-driver) at https://dungarun.co.nz/ — applications
   are reviewed and places are limited to 20 teams.
2. Buy a road-legal "dunga" for $2,000 or less, warrant it, register it and hold
   at least third-party liability insurance (proof required at registration).
3. Pay the team registration fee, which covers event stickers, team name and
   number, organising volunteers' accommodation and meals, and equipment hire.
   Any surplus is donated to TimeOut.
4. Budget roughly $195 per team per day for camping and three meals a day, plus
   your own fuel and repairs. A support and triage crew helps keep dungas going.
5. Carry a radio telephone (RT) for convoy communication.
6. Fundraise for TimeOut — every team has a public fundraising page on this site.

## How to donate

- Donate to the event: https://dungarun.co.nz/donate
- Donate to a specific team: https://dungarun.co.nz/donate/<team-slug> (every team is listed
  at https://dungarun.co.nz/teams)
- Sponsor a team or the event: https://dungarun.co.nz/sponsors/teams
- Donations are processed by card and go to the TimeOut Charitable Trust.

## Who TimeOut is

TimeOut Charitable Trust provides free holiday-home breaks — "time out" — for New
Zealand families living with incurable illness. The Dunga Run is run by the trust
and all funds raised support that work. Trust website: https://timeoutnz.org

## The route (Spring 2026)

| Day | Date | Overnight stop | Distance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Sat 21 Nov | Orewa Beach (registration and kickoff) | 0 km |
| 2 | Sun 22 Nov | Houhora Heads | 430 km |
| 3 | Mon 23 Nov | Ahipara, via Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach | 175 km |
| 4 | Tue 24 Nov | Whangaruru South, via Hokianga ferry | 290 km |
| 5 | Wed 25 Nov | Raglan | 425 km |
| 6 | Thu 26 Nov | Whangamomona, on the Forgotten Highway | 435 km |
| 7 | Fri 27 Nov | Lake Waikaremoana, via the Gentle Annie | 523 km |
| 8 | Sat 28 Nov | Otahuhu, Auckland — auction and finish | 406 km |