Prolog...

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Greetings everyone,

Well, the hour is nearly upon me. It is Monday, December 20th 2010 and I'm exactly one week out from the start of what I hope to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. Contemplating the epic nature and potentially transformative properties of a trip of this size is difficult. Nevertheless, I shall try.

When I first began considering the crazy notion of traveling so far, for so long, I had no idea it was remotely within the realm of the possible. There are some ideas that seem relegated to pie in the sky notions, seemingly doomed to forever remain fanciful delusions of grandeur. I always assumed that a New Zealand adventure was such. Happily, in one week I shall be proven wrong. There are some opportunities in life that must be seized upon, and this is one of them. I have to go. It's one of those, "if not now, then when?” things. As my papu used to tell me, "he who hesitates is lost". With some careful thought as to the consequences of a trip like this, I won't hesitate. This is my time to act.

I'm traveling with two of my favorite people: One of my best friends, Chad Stoesz (tramperchad)
. And my younger brother, Andrew Arkis (Procrastinatingblogger). I couldn't ask for two finer traveling partners. Together, we've already shared in several adventures. In particular, I will be grateful and greatly aided by Chad. He has been to New Zealand twice before on expeditions of this nature. His knowledge and insight into the country will prove invaluable. I'm just going to follow his lead, and try to keep up (results may vary).

At this point I find that I'm incapable of grasping the reality that I'll finally be there in a little over a week. It still doesn't seem real. Luckily (read: unfortunately) I'll have a 15 hour plane ride or so to contemplate it... The last of the trip preparation is nearly finished, the necessary gear all but acquired.

A week from now we set out from Colorado. We'll be using a rental car to drive to California, and we fly out of L.A. After a brief detour through Australia, we arrive in New Zealand on December 30th, and dive into our first tramp immediately with a New Years hike with some of Chad's friends. I can't wait.

I look forward to sharing my adventures in New Zealand. Soon it begins!

-Nick-

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Comments

[chad]

Welcome
Welcome to the great adventure my friend. This is a life-changing experience that I'm glad I get to share with you guys.