Mike Graham, product manger for CHAUVET Professional, recently took a 14-day trip to New Zealand. The indigenous Māori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as land of the long white cloud.

Mike primarily went for a family vacation, his wife being a native New Zealander, but he also visited a CHAUVET dealer, MDR Sound and Lighting Ltd., and some other lighting companies along the way. Thankfully, he documented his trip and allowed us to go along for the ride. Take a moment to enjoy this virtual trip, no passport required.

But first, a few words from Mike.
“First, let me say traveling all the way to New Zealand is a feat of enormous proportions. The preparation that goes into such a trip is exhausting enough to warrant its own vacation. I have to give a big thanks from the top to my wife, Annie, for all that she did to make sure everything was in order before we left. She took care of all of the bills, making sure we had enough money put aside and the mail was stopped, packing, laundry, and lastly dragging myself and Connor, our four year-old son,  on one really long string of flights. (Which by the way could also warrant a vacation.)

After I left New Zealand, she and Connor stayed behind for an additional week. This is noteworthy because of the 6.3 earthquake that hit on February 22, 2011, almost the exact center of Christchurch, NZ, where our vacation was centered. My wife and son were there when the quake hit. Both are fine.

I also want to thank Angie Steffer from Protravel International. Her help in making sure that all of our travel requests and needs was instrumental in making sure that we got there and back in one piece.”