20′ x 7′ x 7′

There is was. Not pretty. Tired. A witness to many previous voyages to countries, kingdoms and military dictatorships far away. Who knows how many other livelihoods this worn steel shell has transported across the seven seas. In the weeks leading up to our departure, I was contemplating over and over again if I was confident that 980 square feet would hold all of our belongings. Two motorcycles, two sea-kayaks, nine bicycles, and plenty of large furniture.

June First under a Blue Moon

Kim and Olaf celebrated their commitment and vows to one another on a beautiful evening on Friday, June First in Marshdale, a small mountain town about 40 miles outside of Denver. With all of our family far away, we celebrated with about 60 of our closest friends, Kim’s parents Don and Sue, her Brother Troy and Olaf’s Mom Christine. It truly was a gathering of friends: Barbara performed the ceremony as if she had quietly moonlights as a wedding minister. We could not have asked for more. Susan, the Monster, presented us with our wedding bands in a rather unconventional (yet very appropriate) fashion, and Jason & The Atomic took care most excellently of both the ceremonial music and the throw-down at the reception. And there are many others who contributed to the success of our special day, like Paula, Christine and Heather.

We could not have asked for better friends and family on this day, and will dearly miss all of you. But until we meet again in New Zealand, we have a honeymoon to complete, a container to pack, and a new home to find. On the other side of the world.

Click on the photo below to see more from the wedding.

Reptiles. Bikes. Tourist Traps.

Gators! One more thing to check off our list to before we check out to less reptile-saturated lands and waters. The ability to ride our bikes through Shark Valley made the experience complete. Friendly little buggers, I thought.
But there was more: Tortoises of all shapes and sizes, herons, egrets, barking frogs and a few whatchamacallits.

Check out our photos from this yet another 2-day express trip, by clicking on the photo below.

 

March 14. The day everything turned nuts.

Albeit almost three months late, a photo worth sharing regarding our engagement: Being frustrated with the task of opening a walnut without some form of traditional nut-cracker, Kim tossed this very special nut back in the bowl, muttering “…I can’t open this ..”

Dropped “it” off.

I just got back from dropping off our main application at FedEx. 80 Dollah! Ouch! Scheduled to arrive at the London Branch by Friday. What a feeling! Not only got my pack a lot lighter after dropping off nearly 2 pounds of documents, but the whole experience. Even though it is not as if we have reached the point-of-no-return, nor that we have our residencies in our hands, but yet it seemed as if that moment had a certain weight and finality to it. For the past 8 months, the “emigration funnel” became narrower and narrower, and so far, this is the largest culmination of our efforts. Now the waiting game starts again, but the excitement level is a lot more elevated this time around. Hopefully the next post reagarding our status will be a very, very positive one.

What’s left to do until then, is further exploring our shipping options. Our goal is still to find a meat exporter from New Zealand who rents out its empty units for the ride home. So far we have found a few pretty reasonable (Kim disagrees) proposals from shippers who would ship straight to Christchurch. In the next weeks, I will try to add the “Resources” page, where I will discuss the shipping in more detail, along with a list of logistics companies that we or others have had experiences with.

And lastly, here is the latest immigration headline from NZ.

Winter escape to AZ’s desert.

Our beloved Denver got mercilessly punished over and over again by snow and unseasonably cold temperatures. A city that usually takes pride in providing a dry base for all wintersports adventures in the Colorado Rockies, measured the highest levels of consistent snow coverage since 1918. Needless to say, our bikes didn’t see much action since it all started in the middle of December.

It was time for a biking trip to Arizona’s lush desert around Phoenix and Sedona. Being back in my old stomping grounds conjured up feelings and memories of both love and hate: The desert (especially between November and April) accupies a special place in my heart. As hostile most of its fauna and flora is, it always seems like a special treat to be allowed to roam around in an environment, normally exclusive to creatures such as the Western Diamondbacks, Javelinas or the Gila Mosters. On the other side, there is the heat – a constant reminder that these lattitutes were never intended to be settled within by soft-skinned people.

After getting back in touch with my old friend Greg, Kim, myself, and 8 more sun-hungry Denverites emabarked both by air and ground for four days of riding in sunny AZ. And sunny it was. We enjoyed terrific temperatures and trail conditions on all four days, making it hard to leave back for snowy Denver. With only a few mechanicals and little blood we enjoyed four days of extraordinay riding:

Day 1: Hawes in East Mesa.
Day 2: National Trail, Telegraph Pass, Desert Classic at South Mountain in Tempe.
Day3: BuddhaBeach/Cathedral Rock, Submarine Rock, Chicken Point, Llama Trail in Sedona.
Day4: Jim Thompson, Soldier’s Pass, Secret Trails in Sedona.

Click on the picture below to view the photos.

Snorkeling, Lobsters and fake Wrestling. Welcome to Puerto Rico.

Finally got around to posting the pictures from our quick weekend trip to Puerto Rico last March. Check them out by clicking on the picture below. Lesson learned on this trip: Don’t eat the native flora.

Thanksgiving Roadtrip

What a trip!

We spend 5 days covering the heart of the Southwestern desert by exploring Canyonlands, ruins of the Cedar Mesa, Lake Powell, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce and Goblin Valley. Did I mention 5 days? Check out our photos by clicking on the picture below.

Phew!

6 Moths ago, on a roadtrip to Montana, an idea was born. Rather than repeating our annual Colorado lifestyle cycles year after year, we decided that moving to the other side of the planet seemd like a fine idea. New Zealand, to be exact.

Having both lived in Colorado for more than 4 years, we truly fell in love with a lifestyle that was centered very much around the mountains, long summers and rich winters. Yet we both longed for more balance in our lifes, an opportunity to slow things down a bit and remind ourselves on a daily basis of the things that really matter most.

New Zealand, a country second to none when it comes to its dramatic landscapes and geological uniquess naturally attracted the adventurous side in us. Politics, social policies, energy and environmental stands and a strong economy convinced our rational voices. Quickly, a plan and timeline were forged, and upon our arrival from Montana, we lodged our Expression of Interest to NZIS.

This blog is not only intended for our friends and families, but also as a resource for other future emigrants, as we will try to document the entire immigration process, and provide as many resources along the way as we can.