KIWI
IN
BC
I
’m a Kiwi living in Kamloops, B.C. Canada and
moved here with my wife in 2014 where we
have since expanded our family and become
permanent residents. To me, Canada is a
great lifestyle opportunity which has a great
mix of outdoor activities and all four seasons.
British Columbia, the province we’re located
in, is a lot like home back in New Zealand with
dense forests and mountains in every direction.
We’ve found Canada has more advantages for
a young family like us to live a more comfortable
lifestyle. Living costs are less and wages are
very good, which means that I can afford to
race at a competitive level again and still have
funds for important things like family holidays.
Since being in Canada we do miss our friends,
family and especially Tairyn Whata. It’s also
weird the small things you miss from home,
like pies, L&P, doing bombs off the wharf with
all the boys, and fish and chips on the beach.
Where we live in Kamloops there are endless
amounts of riding trails and the best bit is you
Expatriate Kiwi Jeremy Whata wrote
to tell us what life is like riding dirt
bikes in British Columbia, Canada.
ride for free on the Crown Land. I do put in my fair
share of trail maintenance with Quintin Raasch, who
is the off road coordinator for the GKMA motorcycle
club. The trails are a lot more technical than what
I was used to riding back home. There are a lot of
single track and tight trails, these Canadians like the
more extreme style of riding along the lines of hard
enduro. The dirt is a range from Tar Hill, Riverhead
to Woodhill and then huge open fields. If you like
hopping logs and riding some of the best trails BC
has to offer then you’d love riding in Kamloops.
The race season here is about to start, its called
the PNWMA series which will take me all around
British Columbia and I even get to ride two races
Photo: Jason Hamborg
KIWI RIDER 17