Dear Diary, we moved to New Zealand

Thinking of moving to New Zealand, we did it and you can too.

moving to New Zealand

Dear Diary, we moved to New Zealand. Yep, we did it! If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know our original plan was to settle in Capetown, but to put a long story short that proved a nightmare to get a work visa for. Basically, we’d have been waiting months for an answer from the South African Government and even with a job offer we wouldn’t be guaranteed a place! And why waste months waiting for a visa when we can be off exploring the world. Sensible sorts ain’t we?! So, moving to New Zealand quickly became our Plan A.

moving to New Zealand
Cable Bay, New Zealand

To be brief, in the midst of all the stresses of trying to get a South African visa –  I got an opportunity I couldn’t turn down in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. So, in typical ‘us’ style we gave ourselves two weeks to pack our bags, book our flights and say our goodbyes. Needless to say, our families were a little relieved we weren’t moving to Capetown, ‘cos ya know danger and all that (that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to move to South Africa to prove the naysayers wrong). Oh well, one day we’ll get there!

moving to New Zealand
Pink Beach at Kauri Cliffs Hotel New Zealand

New Zealand has been top of Paul’s Bucket List for the longest time, so even though it was ‘Plan B’ for me it was ‘Plan A’ for him, he was simply going along with my African dreams because I wanted to live in Capetown so badly. I’ve visited New Zealand before – over 5 years ago and only explored the South Island on a mini-roadtrip with my best friend. And from, what I saw then country is worth its hype. Thus,  plan ‘Moving to New Zealand’ kicked into action.

moving to New Zealand
The beach ‘down the road’

So, on August 18th we said our goodbyes for another year and boarded a plane to Kuala Lumpur (‘cos ya can’t do long-haul without a week stopover). Then, finally we landed in Auckland on August 25th. First impressions – so far so good. It took a while to adapt to living in an expensive country again, especially when we hadn’t started work yet. But overall it seemed like we’d made the right decision. Auckland is small for a “big city” and has more of a big town vibe, we spent a few days strolling around and adapting to the ‘Kiwi’ way of life. But, jet lag hit us bad here so most nights we were back in our hotel room for 8pm. We done all the “admin stuff” as we like to call it like getting a sim card, setting up a bank account and buying a car. The joys of expatting!

moving to New Zealand
One of our favourite spots – Matauri Bay

Then, after a few days it was time to depart for our new home in the Bay of Islands in our recently purchased Audi (don’t get too excited it’s not that fancy, but is perfect for us). The Bay of Islands is just under a four hour drive from Auckland ! It’s so pretty here, kind of a perfect mix of Hawaii and Ireland – if you can even imagine that. You can read more about our adventures in the Bay of Islands here. I feel at home here because I love small places whereas Paul is a city boy. But he’s adapting well. The most important thing is we’re happy here and kind of feel like we were meant to end up in this country all along. Moving to New Zealand was a great decision.

moving to New Zealand
Views for days

Everything happens for a reason, and this new plan was obviously meant for us. I learned a long time ago that the best things in life, come with the biggest risks, moving across the world, pursuing a crazy dream. Don’t be afraid to jump in the deep end.

**Tell me: are you considering moving to New Zealand. Any challenges you have come across? Do you have any more questions about the process? Let us know in the comments below.

Oh and by the way you can read lots more about our move to New Zealand here 

moving to New Zealand
Current Address: Matauri Bay, New Zealand

13 thoughts on “Dear Diary, we moved to New Zealand

  1. That looks gorgeous! We’re here visiting but love your new home so far. Waving at your from Rotorua 🙂 Best of luck on the new adventure.

    (PS – when you make it back up to Auckland stop in for dinner at Blue Elephant!)

  2. Congratulations!!! So jealous looking at your beautiful pictures. It was a dream to visit NZ, which I achieved this year. And now it’s a (far-fetched, probably not going ot happen) dream to live there one day. Or at least visit again and for longer. It’s the most magical, beautiful country with the nicest people. Good luck on your new (ad)venture!

  3. Being fixed and having a routine work I really admire people who have courage to move to completely new places.loved reading your blog. Looking forward to more on new Zealand

  4. Haha, I wish I could do a week’s stopover every time I flew long haul! That would be awesome. I’m glad your move there is working out well. It definitely helps to know you’ve made the right decision when you’ve settled down somewhere! Beautiful photos of a beautiful country.

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