A Love Letter To New Zealand

I never thought another country could steal my heart, the way the California did. (And yes, I know that technically Cali is not a country, but I’ll save that argument for another day.) And yet, here I am, flying back from an amazing week in New Zealand exploring the South Island with a group of likeminded entrepreneurs, investors and friends, and seriously feeling sad about leaving. 

This is my 9th or 10th trip to New Zealand since 2011, but most of those have been all-too-brief work trips that put me in mountains of meetings vs. stunning mountain ranges; and sailing through back-to back meetings vs. well, you get my drift.

Each trip, however, has been marked by one thing: the amazingly warm, fun-loving people who seem to have found the key to a joie de vivre and lifestyle that is altogether enviable. It strikes me that there is a genuine goodness and often-present kindness in Kiwis and the way they walk through life. Not to mention their wicked sense of humor. And while I shouldn’t generalize, I have yet to be disabused of this opinion.

What made this last trip so different was the chance I was given (infinite thanks to my good friend, Rob who put on this entire adventure to showcase all the NZ has to offer) to explore Aotearoa/New Zealand’s South Island. We got to see everything from the rugged beauty of the Southern Alps, to the land used for sheep farming, forestry, arable farming, wine growing and more, and witness the rebirth of Christchurch.  Along the way we also visited some of the country’s hottest tech startups who showed off their potentially world-changing innovations.

On a quick stop to Wellington, I was also able to visit Parliament and headed up to the speaker gallery – something I’ve done in neither the U.S. or the U.K. The arguing back and forth (surely, some of it performative) reminded me strongly of the House of Commons back home.

New Zealand feels like I’m putting on a very comfortable pair of shoes. As we were driving from Blenheim towards the Rainbow Road (more on that later), I commented to my fellow road-trippers that looking out of the left side of the car, we could easily have been in England: cropped green grass, dotted with fluffy white sheep, verdant hedgerows and wildflowers; while flying by the right window were majestic gold and purple mountain ranges, covered in pines, that could so easily be mistaken for parts of Montana. And behind us, in and around Blenheim, row upon row of beautifully manicured vines reminding me of my home in California.

And then there are the heritage buildings: from red brick Victorians that remind me so much of parts of the U.K., to the ornate wooden-sided homes in areas like Ponsonby, Auckland, which echo of San Francisco. Not to mention the fact that Auckland, Wellington, and so many other cities and towns, are built along the water.

There is also a strong equestrian culture, which is perhaps surprising for such a small country with a population of around 5.5 million; but there’s plenty of space for people to keep horses at home, and I’ve been lucky enough to visit a couple of Kiwi friends who do just that, and frankly I’m a tad jealous. Yes, yes, the grass is always greener – quite literally in this case.

The Rainbow Road

Before I sign off, let me take you on a trip down the Rainbow Road which is a stretch of land owned by Rainbow Station, who charge $60NZD for cars/4×4 vehicles to cover the 112km from St Arnaud down to Hanmer Springs.

The gravel road is only passable in the summer—there is a small ski slope near the Blenheim-end in winter. For much of the journey you travel alongside the river, fjording through it is a pretty fun experience in a 4×4 truck, and as part of a convoy of about 18 vehicles we had a great time egging each other on, and radioing back and forth about gates that needed closing, hikers up ahead, and the depth of the swollen river at certain crossing points – it has been a wet summer. 

After stopping for lunch at Lake Tennyson, we continued on the journey towards Hanmer Springs. Typically from there, it’s a journey of just under two hours to Christchurch, which has been entirely rebuilt since the devastating earthquake in February 2011.  We made an unscheduled stop at Hanmer Springs and enjoyed the mineral hot springs to wait out a road closure caused by a severe traffic accident, before doing the final leg of our journey. While it was a loooong day with over 12 hours on the road, it was so well worth it to experience the natural beauty.

So would I move to New Zealand?

Back in 1998 I made a huge life change: I moved to San Francisco solo from London. At the time I thought it would be a fun thing to do for a couple years, maybe three max. But as the saying goes, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. So here we are, 28 years later—that sounds wild to say out loud—and I am still living in California. While New Zealand really is appealing, at this point in my life, it’s too far away from my other center of gravity: England, to be anything more than a pipe dream. But if life has taught me anything, never say never.