Emigration: A Journey of Loss, Survival and Love
Moving to New Zealand was meant to give us a better life. But we left behind more than we ever imagined
It was going to be the start of a new chapter for our family. You know how the story goes — you feel stuck, so you shake things up. Smiling faces on TV’s Wanted Down Under tell you it is going to be fine. A happier life beckons. What are you waiting for? Be brave. Just do it!
Things were so different twelve years ago when we emigrated. I was looking forward to the life we had glimpsed from a campervan a year before we moved. Living the holiday dream, we had enjoyed a whistle-stop tour of North and South Island and filled our cameras and hearts with the best of New Zealand.
On North Island, we were wowed by views from Auckland’s Sky Tower, dolphins in the Bay of Islands, hot water on Coromandel’s famous beach, and sulphurous volcanic lakes in Rotorua. A trip across the Cook Strait on the interisland ferry took us to South Island — the serenity of Marlborough Sounds and the cobalt blue of Tasman’s bays. We drove down the wild West Coast with mile upon mile of breakers and driftwood and not a soul in sight. In Hokitika, jade carvings, so exquisite, whispered native stories bound up in this rugged land. Inland, we were dazzled by Wanaka’s autumn…
