Destination: Timaru!
Tima-where? It’s a common question, as nearly every travel itinerary of the South Island conveniently skips this coastal town in South Canterbury.
Timaru is a small city of just under 30k people. It is located on the east coast of the South Island, where winters are described as cold and clear and summers mild. It’s a 2 hour drive north to Christchurch and a 2.5 hour drive south to Dunedin. The only airport flights are to and from Wellington, the national capital on the North Island. The hospital has 4 operating theatres (compared to Mom’s current job with a roster of 25 anesthesiologists daily.)
This is quite a change from our current life. Why did we choose Timaru over sun-soaked wine country (Hawke’s Bay), or an energetic university town (Dunedin), or a larger city at the intersection of everything (Palmerston North)? It was an agonizing decision, but in the end we are looking for “different” while trying to find a place that feels like home. Timaru’s location on the ocean while only being 1.5-2 hours from stunning mountain lakes, skiing, or a busy metropolis meets all of our needs, and the slower pace of a small town feels like what we are seeking.
Then you get into the details…
Community: There is a dad’s group that meets for coffee every Monday morning after school drop-off. The American doctors meet for dinner weekly. The female doctors do the same monthly. We already have a tribe of friends helping us find home rentals from afar and giving us schooling advice. 🩷
Childhood: Caroline Bay is in the heart of town, with a beach, tennis courts, an aviary, splash pool, rollerblading track, skate park, and the BIGGEST playground we have ever seen, complete with a ninja warrior course and a 50 foot flying fox (think small zipline.)
There is a fitness and aquatic center with multiple heated pools, diving board, lazy river and hydroslides. There are botanical and rose gardens, mountain bike trails and a pump track, and an oceanfront walking/running trail. Roads are small, traffic is minimal, and kids walk/scooter around town independently.
Peace and Security: There is no traffic. We can live in town or have a “lifestyle property” just outside of town and still be 10-15 minutes from everywhere. One surgeon tells a story of leaving his wallet at the cafe during a lunch break and finding it had already been delivered to the operating theatre upon his return, before he even knew it was missing! Another forgot to lock up his pricey mountain bike at the hospital before leaving town for 5 days, finding it untouched when he returned.
It’s not easy to reach, but once there one can easily access glacial lakes, epic trekking, cool Queenstown, modern Christchurch, surfing in St. Claire, and any number of adventure activities. Sounds like our kind of place!
I never got further south than Christchurch—I still recall it as the most charming and spectacular setting I’ve yet seen. But that was decades before the earthquake. I’d heard of Timaru. The South Island picked up more residents after Peter Jackson made it famous. New Zealand was a bit too slow for me when I lived there at 27. It’s probably perfect for me now. The roads? Holy jeebus!