Moto-Boy received an amazing opportunity.
He was invited to race in New Zealand.
Wait, what?
True story.
So this is how I came to spend three weeks in New Zealand.
And it was incredible!
Yep, a team owner in New Zealand invited Moto-Boy, and two other riders from the U.S., to race under the team banner of MX Antix.
This MX team is owned by a woman, btw.
Quite an amazing woman, I might add. Her goal is to provide motocross opportunities and build international relationships for amateur riders.
We were honored and privileged to participate. I mean, seriously, you don’t turn this sort of thing down. Sell your soul if you have to, you just don’t miss this.
Team owner Robynne and her family opened their home to all of us, treated us like family and gave these young people an experience of a lifetime.
So Moto-boy raced.
He finished at a respectable 16th overall out of a full gate, which is 40 bikes.
Very respectable.
Without much practice on a different terrain, different bike and different time zone, he was pretty pleased. We all were!
Did you notice the helmet?
Had to take a little graffiti with us!
We had M-B’s helmet custom painted by our favorite local graffiti artist, Jody Harris. Jody included Moto-Boy’s American racing number, the American flag and his name. I love the way it turned out!
Robynne lives right outside of Auckland and the race was in Taupo (over 3 hours away), so we were able to mix some sight-seeing in with our travels to practice tracks and the race. The BHE and R-G came just in time for the race. After the race, we headed back to Auckland, rested a day then began our
journey across New Zealand!
Considering a large part of the expense was going to be getting to New Zealand, we decided to take advantage of this and make a vacation out of the trip.
Some of the wonderful cities we visited were:
Rotorua//Paihia//Lake Tekepo//Christ Church//Queenstown
I’ll be sharing more about these beautiful cities over the next few weeks.
NEW ZEALAND FUN FACTS:
The population of New Zealand is estimated at 4.5 million.
The estimated population of sheep?
Over 30 million.
The entire country of New Zealand is about the size of Colorado.
There are no snakes in New Zealand.
New Zealanders are called ‘Kiwis’ but it’s not because of the fruit. The National bird is a hairy looking, nocturnal, small bird – about the size of a chicken – and is named the Kiwi.
No part of the country is more than 79 miles away from the sea.
New Zealand is home to the smallest species of dolphins.
In 1893, New Zealand was the first country to give women the right to vote.
And, of course, all of the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed in New Zealand…
or Middle Earth.
New Zealand Slang:
ute: small pick-up truck
sweet as: means OK, yes or awesome
swimmers: bathing suits
wop-wop: middle of nowhere, boonies
dairy: corner market or small store
take-aways: to go food
long drop: outdoor toilet
good on ya: congratulations, job well done
Trust me, this trip was sweet as…
If traveling to New Zealand, be sure to grab a good travel guide.
This is my favorite:
The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide for New Zealand *
(*This is an affiliate link, if you purchase I make a small commission. It does not, however cost you one red cent more. That’s a win/win in my book! )
I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand! It always looks so beautiful in photos!
Amanda, it is incredible! It wasn’t really on my list but I was certainly excited when this opportunity came about. After the visit I realized it should have been in my top of places to see. You will love it!
What an amazing opportunity. I am glad you took it!
Thank you Lauryn!!
What a great opportunity for you and your family to travel to New Zealand. I have always wanted to visit there. Glad your family had fun and love the Graffti Helmet ..its awesome!
Kim, put it on your list. It’s amazingly beautiful. I had always heard that and thought ok…it’s pretty. No – it’s incredible!!
That helmet is AWESOME! She did a great job, truly. I would love to travel to New Zealand. It’s beautiful and now that I know there are no snakes there, I’m totally game to going there. I didn’t realize how small it was!
I know Yanique, I was shocked at the size when I started doing the research. It really made it easy to see many different areas though. It’s a fascinating Country! Oh and yes the helmet! Jody does amazing work. (-:
Oh my gosh, that sounds like an amazing opportunity! And it is so so beautiful!
It is incredible! Moto-Boy actually went back in February and lived with the team owner for 2 months. He got to see even more spectacular places!! We all definitely want to return.
Oh wow Kellie you got to travel to the most beautiful place on Earth in my opinion. I went there three months ago and Queenstown took my breath away. Did you by any chance visit Hamilton and the Hamilton Gardens. Absolutely beautiful !
Anam, isn’t Queenstown amazing? We did not see the Hamilton Gardens – another reason to return!! New Zealand is amazing no matter where you visit. I loved every city for different reasons but Queenstown was probably everyone’s favorite. My son wants to go to college there! (That sounds cheap doesn’t it?? lol!!)