New Zealand · 2008–2013

A one-way ticket to Aotearoa

In the summer of 2008, aged 26, I left the UK with a one-way ticket to New Zealand. There’s a photo of me at the airport in a checked shirt and bum bag. I remember feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement. Ahead of me was Auckland, roughly 11,000 miles from home.

Tom at the airport before leaving the UK — Leaving the UK, summer 2008.

Finding our feet

For the first few months, I lived in hostels and explored. One of our photos shows a distance marker reading “London 18,339 km”. That puts a number on just how far away we were.

A brass distance marker reading London 18,339 km — London, 18,339 km away.

Another has me in a woolly hat on a boat out of Auckland, possibly heading to Devonport. I can’t remember exactly where we were going now. Those first months were about getting out to see places and finding my feet. I did some work for Orion Health in Auckland and had a lot of fun there, before Jhana and I moved south to Wellington.

Tom wearing a woolly hat on a boat with Auckland behind him — Out on the water in Auckland, possibly heading to Devonport.

Sunset over Auckland from the top of Mount Eden.

Up a very steep hill

Windy Wellington lived up to its name. It’s a beautiful city, but it was very windy and very cold while we were there. We lived in Brooklyn, up a very steep hill, and I worked right in the heart of the city.

We loved walking along the harbour, spotting seals and swimming in the pristine water. We also experienced a couple of earthquakes—minor ones, I should add.

I really liked Wellington. We spent about six months there, working and saving for a grand tour of the South Island.

The South Island, and a wedding

We saw so many beautiful places on that trip. It culminated in Jhana and me getting married just outside Queenstown, another beautiful location and one that will always mean a lot to us.

Tom standing in snow beneath the South Island mountains — Among the South Island mountains.

In late 2009, we returned to the UK. About a year and a half later, we decided to go back.

Back for good, almost

In 2011, we moved back to New Zealand. This time, we thought it would be permanent.

We had another two happy years there. I’ve got nothing bad to say about New Zealand. But when Jhana became pregnant, we realised we wanted our support network nearer to us. We were missing our friends, and we wanted those people close by as we became parents.

We missed things about England, too: cosy pubs, winter walks in the countryside and all the culture of London. And the dry humour, although the Kiwis certainly share that.

We came home in 2013. We’d loved our time in Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, and we were ready to be nearer the people and places we missed.