Christchurch, New Zealand – The Rocky road trip is on.

After two years of uninvited residence in a Heathcote Valley, New Zealand home, “Rocky” on Thursday embarked on the first leg of his journey “home” to Mt. Hutt ski under the watchful eye of new owners NZSki, which owns Mt. Hutt.

After a three-hour operation to partially demolish the house to reach him, bystanders clapped and cheered as Rocky finally saw the light of day.

Officially weighing in at 15 tons, Rocky was loaded onto a truck to start a two-day “Rocky road trip” through Christchurch, out to Methven and finally up to Mt. Hutt ski area.

Rocky gained media attention in the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes after crashing into the home of Phil Johnson. Johnson auctioned Rocky on Trade Me to raise earthquake relief funds, along the way amassing 3,000 Facebook followers, many of whom came to the scene on Thursday to witness the dislodging, craning and transportation of the volcanic basalt rock.

NZSki bought Rocky for NZ$50,000, which was donated to the Red Cross earthquake appeal, and have been waiting for two years for the all-clear from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to take Rocky to his new mountain home at Mt. Hutt.

In the tradition of all great road trips, Rocky stopped off for a beer Thursday night at the iconic Blue Pub in Methven. A dollar from each handle sold will be donated to the Red Cross, and limited edition numbered copies of a book recounting Rocky’s most famous Facebook “sayings” and special commemorative T-shirts were also be on sale, with all those proceeds also going to the Red Cross.

Weather and road conditions permitting, he’ll head to his final resting place on the snow at Mt. Hutt near the base building on Friday.