Expat life in New Zealand: Kiwi Kindness, comfort and Coffee

Exploring expat life in New Zealand—lazy mornings, farmers’ markets, and small adventures as we settle into our new home with coffee and kindness.

After our first trip outside during the jetlag days, I finally felt the excitement again that I hadn’t felt in a loooong time. The sun was shining every day, the skies were impossibly blue, and the landscapes were stunning. But beyond all that, I was simply enjoying being home with my little family. Taking care of Elsa together with Patrick felt like such a big shift. Back in Belgium, he had worked long hours while also managing everything for our move, leaving me to care for Elsa mostly on my own. Now, for the first time in months, I had time—real time.

Time to take a shower without rushing because she had woken up earlier than expected. Time to get dressed, go to the toilet (yes, even that was a luxury 🤪). On nights when Elsa hadn’t slept well, Patrick would tell me to go rest while he took over, or he’d get up with her in the morning so I could sleep in just a little longer. And honestly? That relief was immeasurable.

But maybe, most importantly, I started enjoying motherhood so much more. I had the space to just watch Elsa—sitting on the couch, seeing her interact with her toys or with Patrick, and falling in love with her even more. I was growing into my role as her mom, gaining confidence in myself again. After months of exhaustion and self-doubt, I realized something huge: I loved being her mother even more than I had ever imagined.

Our days were easy, sometimes even lazy. We gave ourselves time to rest after the chaotic months in Belgium—just the three of us, soaking up this new beginning. Every so often, we’d venture out, exploring new coffee spots, beaches, shops, and parks. We started keeping a list of places we wanted to visit again. We often walked to the village for coffee or lunch, and I even found a yoga studio and started taking classes.

One of our favourite discoveries was the farmers’ market in Hastings. Held every Sunday on a big grassy field. Local vendors sold fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and all sorts of delicacies. Of course, there was coffee cart, and right next to it, a food truck whipped up the most amazing breakfast egg sandwiches. Every time, I faced the same impossible decision: another sandwich or a fresh blueberry ice cream? These ice creams were something else—made on the spot with fresh berries and the softest, creamiest ice cream, in portions big enough to keep you full until noon. To top it all off, chairs and umbrellas were scattered around the field, and a live band played music in the background… a little slice of paradise. As you can imagine, this quickly became a regular Sunday morning tradition.

Of course, moving countries means constantly realizing oh, we need that—so another part of our days was spent tracking down random essentials. A cheese slicer, sunglasses for Patrick, baby supplies for Elsa, and, oh, getting our stroller fixed (more on that later…).

One of our very first purchases? Sun protection. Because, let me tell you, the sun in New Zealand burns. And this is coming from someone who usually just tans after a day in the sun! Here, though, we had to reapply sunscreen every 30 minutes. Mostly, I worried about Elsa, not wanting her tiny self exposed to those UV rays.

Enter: the world’s ugliest “dino cloth”—a weird, UPF 50+ cover that went over her car capsule so we could go for walks without her roasting. We also quickly learned that shade at the beach is not a given. Our first beach trip lasted about 15 minutes before we had to turn around and go home. Lesson learned. Next stop? Buying a beach tent.

On our second attempt, we came prepared: Elsa in her car capsule under the dino cloth, a laundry basket full of towels, books, sunscreen, snacks, drinks, Elsa’s diaper bag, two beach chairs, and our brand-new beach tent. Needless to say, we soon invested in one of those beach trolleys because, at this point, we were carrying enough gear to survive a week in the wilderness. Did this make us feel top family? Yes. Did Elsa cry the entire time in the tent? Also yes. 😅

Still, we were determined. And by now, we’ve worked our way up to a record four-hour beach day. Thank you, easy pop-up tent—you were worth it.

One thing that has truly floored us here? The kindness of Kiwis.

It’s not just a polite “hello” or a casual “how’s your day?” People here are genuinely interested in you. We’ve had full-on 15–30 minute conversations with strangers at the pharmacy, the coffee shop, or the bakery. At some point, I started wondering—if these people ever visit Belgium, they must think wow, these people are so rude!

Two moments, in particular, left us completely stunned by Kiwi kindness:

When we went to buy our beach tent, we were debating between a fancy, spacious one and a cheaper pop-up version. A store employee came over and asked if we needed help. Before we even had time to say, Oh, we’re just looking, she called over a colleague, and together, they set up the pop-up tent right there in the middle of the store so we could see it properly. She even helped us find matching beach chairs—on sale!

This one left Patrick so speechless he could barely talk through our lunch afterward.

Remember how our stroller got broken by China Southern Airlines? Well, one of the issues was that several screws had mysteriously gone missing (how??), making the whole frame wobbly and unsafe. So, we headed to a hardware store in search of replacement screws.

The store employees were already super helpful, but when Patrick casually mentioned that we had just moved and didn’t have many tools at home, they decided to fix it for us. Except… it turned out to be way trickier than expected.

What started as a quick fix turned into a 90-minute team effort, with three employees determinedly working on our stroller like it was an F1 pit stop. And they did it all with a smile. When they finally got it back in working order, we asked how much we owed them. Their answer? “Just $11 for the screws.”

As we made our way out of the store, even the security guard came over to check if the stroller was okay. I mean—what?! We felt so cared for that we immediately left them the best review ever. So, thank you, Mitre 10—you are absolute legends.

Looking back, those first few weeks in New Zealand were about more than just settling in. They were about rediscovering excitement, learning to slow down, and realizing that sometimes, strangers will go out of their way to make your day just a little bit better.