Summer fun raises goods

A day of fun in the water at the Tekapo Springs Summer Party has raised 800 cans for the Aotearoa New Zealand Canterbury Foodbank, as well as $600 for Fire and Emergency NZ. For a donation of a can of non-perishable food, members of the community were invited to run, bounce and climb through the Jumpernaught, a giant inflatable obstacle course or plunge down the 150m Aqua Drop waterslide on Saturday. Tekapo Springs general manager Jenny Koberstein said the event was a way to give back to the community that stood by the business through Covid-19. ‘‘Despite all the adversity, Kiwis have picked themselves up and shown tremendous support towards tourism businesses such as Tekapo Springs. This support has ultimately allowed our business to continue to operate and we are just so thrilled that we have been able to retain all our team members,’’ Koberstein she said. Aotearoa New Zealand Canterbury Foodbank spokesperson Lisa Bragg said the 800 food cans donated ‘‘was an outstanding effort and will most certainly help an organisation that is under extreme pressure at this time of the year’’. Earlier in the year Tekapo Springs celebrated its 12th birthday, and as part of the celebrations it gave away a holiday package to an Australian family affected by the 2019-20 bushfires. However, due to Covid-19 the holiday package was unable to go ahead. Koberstein said they decided to donate money to Fire and Emergency NZ.