Young Germans find meaning, work, and beauty in Ōpōtiki life, writes Tanja Rother

Ōpōtiki is popular with Germans. There are those, like myself, who have lived here for many years and, when asked how long it’s been, are often considered “a Kiwi”.

Then there are those who can be identified by their vans or the way they look for bargains in the New World aisles when they first arrive.

Many of these “backpackers”, who nowadays rarely carry any type of backpack, are, in the first place, attracted by the prospect of work in Ōpōtiki’s kiwifruit industry.

I spoke to two of them: Mia, who has found local accommodation, and is spending this winter working in a kiwifruit orchard in Tablelands. And Lasse who, together with his girlfriend, Ida, lived and worked in the area for six months until earlier this year.

How have these young Germans experienced life in Ōpōtiki and what do they, other than a million photographs, take with them back to Germany?

Numbers have not returned to pre-Covid times when up to 16,000 Germans a year took advantage of the Working Holiday Programme with New Zealand, a scheme that since 2000 has allowed young people between 18 and 30 years to stay up to 12 months in the country.

But still more than 6000 Germans followed the trail to the other end of the world in each of the past three years.

In comparison – New Zealand has similar agreements with 45 countries – New Zealand appears not quite as popular with young people in China and the United States for example. (According to figure.nz 885 and 2700 Working Holiday visas were granted respectively to nationals from these countries in 2024.)

Is there a special connection between Aotearoa New Zealand and Germany?

Perhaps it is a new strand of the German romantic tradition that fuels the young people’s appetite for “the land of the long white cloud”, millions of miles away from the hustle and bustle of Europe; for “paradise on Earth” as it is sometimes described.

Mia, who originates from a small town in northern Germany, says here she perceives the natural world in fundamentally different ways.

The diverse landscapes and the weather (including the rather scary recent floods complemented by a tsunami warning) make her experience nature with greater intensity than elsewhere. She’s made it her everyday ritual to stop at one of Ōpōtiki’s beaches after work to view the sunset.

And, as the sun puts on an ever-changing spectacle of ‘“incredible beauty”, she feels rewarded every time.

Mia adds that living in Ōpōtiki has allowed her to completely decelerate and to appreciate the small things. The sunsets have certainly helped to create this feeling, but equally have the “positive vibe, the openness and a general feeling of content of the locals” – something she feels is absent in her hometown in Germany.

However, she also finds that her peers in Germany are perhaps more concerned and critical when it comes to climate change, animal welfare, etc; issues she does not perceive as playing such a big role in Aotearoa New Zealand’s young generation.

Stories of friends’ adventures in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly of the breath-taking landscapes, as well as the opportunity to work, inspired Lasse and Ida to make the trip.

After nine months travelling South East Asia, New Zealand seemed “very close” and so it was a “now or never” decision.

Lasse, who normally lives in Berlin, describes life in Omarumutu as “healthy”, as they lived in and of the natural environment, spent most of their time outside, ate from the veggie garden, and relaxed at the ocean after work with no one else there.

By contrast, he was surprised about the intensity of drug addiction he saw in town, something he was used to from Berlin, but did not expect in such a small place.

When Mia first drove into Ōpōtiki on a weekend, it felt a bit like a ghost town. Now, she often hums to the supermarket music and observes others doing the same.

After almost two months, she feels part of this place. Lasse, too, loved people’s chattiness and is very grateful for the opportunities he had to learn about Aotearoa’s indigenous Māori culture, locally and also in Waitangi on February 6 this year.

And, he will remember the gumboots parked in front of New World as a lovely curiosity.

Watch this space for part 2 that discusses the popularity of Aotearoa New Zealand in German society and everyday life.

■ Tanja Rother is a local independent historian and writer.
Email: [email protected]