I left the UK in 1986 to do my big overseas trip and because I was going to Australia I popped into see New Zealand for a couple of weeks. Twenty one years later I’m still here.

When I arrived in Auckland I didn’t know a soul. I met a Danish girl who convinced me to travel from Auckland with her. We wound our way down through the North Island taking in the sheep, greenery and friendly people, and cruised across the Cook Strait on a beautiful clear, sparkling August winter’s day. We arrived on the South Island and Wow! I stayed in Nelson for 5 months, basking in the laid back atmosphere and the beauty of looking out across the sparkling Tasman Sea, to the white capped mountains on the horizon. I returned to the UK and within a couple of months was back in New Zealand for good.

I have had my three children here, and although I miss my family and friends horribly, I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to settle in such a place. The education system has provided my children (the eldest is now at Canterbury University) with an education which has given them more opportunity to lead a full life, than I ever had in the UK.

Life is slower here, but so much more pleasant. When I go back to the UK I can’t believe the difference in pace of life, population and traffic on the roads, and litter! There have been hard and sad times over the years, being away from what I presumed at one time would be home forever, but if I had the choice again I would make the same one.