The most frequently asked question during our factory visits—which, by the way, we highly recommend (think part scientific factory tour, part stand-up comedy show, if I say so myself)—is:

“Why New Zealand?”

Why move to the other side of the world when we could have picked anywhere?

Well, the answer is simple, albeit somewhat surprising: We moved to New Zealand because of a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

I love telling this story how one night in Budapest, I went to a wine tasting, had a sip of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and that was it. Mind. Blown. The flavor (which, let’s be honest, is New Zealand in a glass) was so unexpectedly incredible that I went home, looked Lez straight in the eye, and declared:

“We’re moving to New Zealand.”

No joke. The next day, we bought the tickets and set our course for the other side of the world.

Now, technically speaking, the plane that brought us to New Zealand didn’t actually take off for another two months. But the decision was made, and the tickets were booked. That gave us two months to responsibly resign from our jobs, pack up our lives, and inform our unsuspecting friends and family that we were off on our big OE (Overseas Experience).

Would I recommend this decision-making process to anyone? Absolutely not. But we were young, foolish, and at the perfect stage in life for a bold, life-altering adventure.

And to be clear—we weren’t running away from anything. Life in Budapest was pretty damn comfortable—good jobs, movie nights, rowing tours with friends, and traveling around Europe.

For a brief moment, we considered Australia. Then, we grabbed the Lonely Planet Australia edition, flipped to the sections on spiders and snakes, and promptly scratched it off the list.

So How Did We End Up in the Waikato?

Which, as you might have noticed, is not a wine region. At all.

Because of rowing. Obviously.

For Lez, there was a bigger dream.

He was already an experienced boat builder, working at a sprint canoe/kayak workshop—you know, the Lisa Carrington kind, which is basically the national sport for us Huns. But at heart, Lez was a rower.

The ultimate goal? Get to New Zealand and add rowing skiff manufacturing to his kayak-building skills.

New Zealand Just Ticked All the Boxes for Us:

✔ Wine country for Vera. Tick.

✔ High-level rowing for Lez. Tick.

And so, in 2006, we landed in Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud.

If you’re wondering how to start a new life on the other side of the world with absolutely zero preparation—and make other life-altering decisions based on completely minuscule events—join us in the next log.

🚣‍♂️ We’re here for rigging and grinning – The Laszloz