Sem Eijwoudt

4 min

Avalanche course at Mt. Cheeseman (July 2016)

Kayaking in Governors Bay (October 2016)

2023 Rugby World Cup: All Blacks - Uruguay

The dream & the search

This year, 2024, I am realizing a dream ‘Down Under’. For a year, I will live like a true Kiwi on New Zealand's paradisiacal South Island. For me, the Kiwi lifestyle is a delightful balance between working and enjoying what the country has to offer: adventures on the water, in the forests, mountains, and on the slopes. In short, fully enjoying life.

This move didn't come out of nowhere. When I was 12, my cousin introduced me to the ‘Middle Earth’ of the famous trilogy: The Lord of the Rings. When I discovered that the unreal natural landscapes were in New Zealand, the first seed was planted: one day, I would go to New Zealand. 

During my Physical Education Teacher training, I had the opportunity to study abroad for half a year, and the choice was quickly made. So, 7.5 years ago, I left for Christchurch alone. There, I took courses from the Bachelor’s in ‘Sustainability & Outdoor Education’. The multi-day hikes, overnight trips, mountain biking, kayaking, and especially learning about and in the beautiful nature of New Zealand made it an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed the outdoor lifestyle so much that I soon wanted to return after coming home.

The first opportunity to go back for a longer period was in 2020-2021. At that time, I wanted to do my Master’s research in New Zealand and had advanced discussions with Auckland University of Technology (AUT). However, the lockdowns threw a wrench in the works, and I did my research entirely from home behind the laptop, with data provided by my supervisor in Auckland. 

After a year of weekly video calls on my Thursday evenings and her Friday mornings, my Master’s research, and thus my studies, were completed. To this day, we still keep regular contact. After two years of adjustments and improvements, the research was published in December 2023 in the Journal of Sport Sciences.

In 2022, Jans and I decided to travel indefinitely. We began our journey in the USA, where I participated in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, and then experienced incredible adventures in Central and South America. After seven months, we returned to make a fantastic trip to Uganda in the summer of 2023 from the Netherlands. After this trip, the agenda was empty, and we could look for the next adventure.

Returning to New Zealand to live and work there for an extended period was at the top of the list. Given that I wanted a job that matched my interests and skills, I started applying to hundreds of vacancies. New Zealand was the preference, but other interesting options were also considered. Thus, I had talks with schools in America, fitness clubs in Dubai, and a football club in Singapore.

During the job search abroad, the Rugby World Cup took place in France, which was an incredibly beautiful tournament. As a New Zealand fan, I marked all the All-Blacks’ matches in my calendar. The Haka before their matches always gave me goosebumps. I decided to drive 900 km to Lyon to see the All-Blacks play. This only increased my urge to go to New Zealand.

After receiving few responses to my job applications, I decided to look for jobs at gymnastics clubs. The reason was that I get a lot of joy from my weekly coaching role at our Gymnastics Club S.O.S. in Goirle. I found a list of paid gymnastics jobs and decided to email them all. This turned out to be a golden move, as I soon had several video interviews and three offers on the table. 

Gymnastics Nelson was the first with a concrete offer, and this increased the enthusiasm to go there. From what we found on the internet, Nelson would be an ideal place to live and work for a year. A cozy, small town on the South Island, located by the sea and surrounded by three national parks, the most beautiful mountains, and just a 1.5-hour drive from a ski area in winter.

Soon, the well-considered decision was made to live and work in Nelson. Thus, the next phase of this adventure began: the preparation.

Read more in the next blog about what needed to be done in preparation.

Putting Dreams into Action.