The annual pilgrimage to Invercargill has begun for motorbike enthusiasts nationwide and beyond, with the Burt Munro Challenge to begin on Wednesday.
Among the first to settle into the rally campsite at Otatara early this week were mates Karl Marshall, from Westport, and Ian Harrington, from Blenheim.
They rode their motorbikes the length of the South Island to Invercargill, with the journey a big part of the attraction, Marshall said.
Southland Motorcycle Club president Andy Underhay at the Otatara camp site where many Burt Munro Challenge participants and spectators will congregate in coming days.
The two men, who both attended the event last year, will watch the races during the next five days and mingle with the masses.
"It's the whole town, everyone's behind it, that's the attraction, as well as the races," Harrington said.
The Burt Munro Challenge, the largest motorcycle rally in the Southern Hemisphere and now in its 13th year, will feature seven motorcycle events between Wednesday and Sunday.
Among the first campers at the Burt Munro Challenge rally site at Otatara on Tuesday were mates and motorcycle enthusiasts Karl Marshall, left, from Westport and Ian Harrington, from Blenheim.
The legacy of the late Wayne Affleck will loom large over this year's event.
Affleck, one of the founders and chairman of the Burt Munro Challenge, died unexpectedly in August.
A former competitor and event organiser, a trophy in his name will be presented at the prizegiving ceremony on Sunday.
Event organisers are keeping details under wraps but Southland Motorcycle Club president Andy Underhay said the trophy was organised in conjunction with Affleck's family.
Affleck's legacy to the event was the increasing numbers of people who arrived each year and the fact people attended the Burt Munro Challenge to have fun.
It had been suggested a minute's silence be held for Affleck but that wasn't what he would have wanted, Underhay said.
"Raise glasses and have fun, thats what he would have wanted.
"Our legacy to Wayne is we will carry it on and make it bigger and better ... it's a celebration, not a commiseration."
Affleck, 60 at the time of his death, historically organised the rally site at Oreti Park each year where about 2500 people congregate to camp, eat, sleep and socialise during the five-day challenge.
The events begin on Wednesday with a Have a Go Day at Teretonga Park followed by the hill climb at Bluff and drag racing at Teretonga Park on Thursday, the NZ Beach Racing Championships at Oreti Beach on Friday, Teretonga sprint races and Oreti Park speedway on Saturday and the Invercargill street races on Sunday.