“I suppose I can blame my mother. After all, it was her that said to me: Don’t just sit there, do something with yourself.” So I became a mechanic, travelled the world and ended up on the Barrier. --- All thanks to Mum, you could say. ”

 

For Nik Coban that journey has far from finished. But nevertheless there is a sense of arrival, even if the makeshift workshop at the yard of Warwick and Twomey is not yet quite the family business that needs to allow room for the next generation.”

“I like being self-employed. I have always worked for others and it is satisfying to be responsible for yourself. And it is a business alright, what with all the paperwork that goes with it.”

At last Nik got the wires clear of the dashboard and looked up. “You know, people think working for yourself is just about kicking back, but it’s not. I actually spend more time working than ever before, instead of just knocking of at 5pm. Getting wages was much easier.”

Nik was brought up in the city, but never thought of himself as a city kid. There is no doubt for him that there is more to life than just sitting in the traffic. “I like being out here. I go fishing, we play touch rugby at the club and I am involved in rural fire fighting. I suppose there is not much nightlife here, no movies or clubs, but I don’t mind.”

“I like the people here – they are not as pretentious as in town, always following the latest trends.” Nik explained as he reached for a screwdriver. “Well,” he paused, “not to the same point anyway.”

But it is the kind of place where one would like to bring up children. Nik and Rachel have discussed this and it did seem like a good idea. “But you do have to be careful. Good schooling and social experience should remain a priority. Don’t say it’s for the kids if it is really only to justify being here yourself.”

 

According to Wan Pen Mendoza, it is striking how much is given away within the community. “When people here have a lot of something, they very quickly share with friends.” she said as she removed my plate. “Would you like some more?”

Where Wan Pen comes from there would be a lot more people one would have to share with. Her hometown is on the fringes of Thailand’s second largest city – Chiang Mai.

“I had a restaurant in Thailand also. So I like having this place.” she said as she gestured around the new restaurant with its distinctive Thai decorations.

It took Wan Pen 12 years of living on the island, to start the first Thai restaurant on Great Barrier Island, which opened just before Christmas. “We had to have two evenings, because over a hundred people tried to book for the opening!”

Wan Pen’s Thai cuisine had already become well known around the island even when she was still only catering irregularly. “I began to cook at Great Barrier Lodge for Thai evenings which became very popular, with sometimes 40 or 50 people booking in.”

The restaurant has become very popular. It is often booked for parties or by groups just wanting to have a night out together, eating some excellent food.

When Wan Pen arrived, she took a look around Great Barrier Island and wasn’t impressed. After 3 months she returned home again. But the following year she came back out and stayed a little longer. And still longer the year after that ... Now she has been a New Zealand citizen for 7 years.

Yes, GBI is home. “I still go back to see my family in Chiang Mai every year. But after a couple months in Thailand, I really get homesick to come back – it is too busy and too noisy over there.”