Small Town, Big Wonders Adventure Is At My Doorstep!

Tracey Went From Transient to Taumarunui and Loves It

- Fleur Guthrie

Sitting down for a cuppa after cycling through the central North Island’s picturesque Timber Trail, Tracey Goodall turned to her partner, Michal Mudroncik, and made a throwaway comment: “Imagine if we lived somewhere like this.”

The outdoors-loving couple thought nothing more of it as they headed back to Auckland, but serendipity had already intersected.

Several days later, at work, Tracey’s colleague asked if anyone had seen “that job doing the rounds on social media” for a general manager of Forgotten World Adventures in Taumarunui.

The tourism company’s search for someone to fill what was advertised as a $150,000-a-year job had failed to attract any suitable candidates, with the story making headlines around the world.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I better have a look because we kind of just wished for that’,” recalls the bubbly 41-year-old.

“I hadn’t been looking for another job. But it was [about] choosing a lifestyle at the end of the day. I have lived in a lot of different parts of the world, so moving didn’t scare me. I love to embrace new opportunities rather than fear them.”

With that in mind, last May, Tracey took the job no-one wanted. She and Michal (34), waved goodbye to the big smoke and shifted to the King Country town, which has a population of around 3500.

And they’re loving the change to small-town life.

It’s afforded them the freedom to get the dog they always wanted – a Huntaway cross named Gizzy − and instead of spending time in traffic, Tracey now uses her free time to mountain bike, run or fix up their recently bought first home.