The call of adventure

Andreas Gabriel, a health and safety consultant originally from Germany, has called Nelson home for over two decades. Since arriving 21 years ago, he hasn’t left New Zealand, fully embracing the outdoor lifestyle by spending his weekends conquering the region’s peaks and ridges. Justin Eade sits down with him to chat about his new life in Nelson.

I’m from a small town called Detmold, not far away from Hanover. It’s about the size of Nelson and Richmond together, that’s why I was drawn to Nelson, it’s just the right size.

In Germany, I worked in the music industry for many years. I owned a nightclub, hosted a local radio show, and wrote for music magazines. In the year after the September 11 attacks, my business went completely downhill… it changed the whole scene, and it just didn’t work out well for me. At the same time, I broke up with my partner, that kicked me into thinking that it’s better to leave the country, go somewhere else and make another start. My best friend Marcus had the same idea at the same time, and one drunken night in the pub, we came up with the idea of going to New Zealand.

We built an expedition vehicle and spent two years travelling through the Middle East, India and Nepal, then by ship to Australia and finally to New Zealand. We travelled New Zealand for two months, just deciding where to settle. Nelson stood out, definitely. It had it all – it was just a big playground. Where I am from in Germany, it’s flat, and it’s 200km to the nearest beach.

It wasn’t really difficult for us when we arrived here. We learnt English in school in Germany, so there was no barrier there. We stayed at the Brook Valley camp for a couple of years, then looked for places to rent.

Lifestyle-wise, Nelson is not much different from back in Germany, and the weather was okay too. Back home, it can be minus 20 degrees in winter and 40 degrees in summer, so it’s a lot more moderate here. I secured a job in one phone call. There was a huge demand for builders in Nelson at that time, and the first company we rang said, “Okay, tomorrow morning 7 o’clock, turn up on site.” It was great, we had a job straight away, because after two years, all of our money had run out. Marcus is now settled in Wellington and married, and I see him every now and then.

One thing I quickly realised was how poor health and safety was on worksites here compared to Germany. Even on the first day, I saw some guys taking big risks, not because it was necessary, but “because Kiwi blokes are cool and do that”. The company quickly realised I was interested in this, so I became their safety officer on large construction sites. We built the Harvey Norman Complex, a coal mining and processing plant in Stockton, and added another storey to the Nelson Courthouse.

During that time, I met my ex-partner, a Kiwi woman with two younger children. I regard my step-kids as my own. My son Kullum, 25, lives in Christchurch and is getting married, and my daughter Jessica is now 23, and has grown into an outstanding young woman.

Just after I met my partner, I was thinking I might have to change things up employment-wise. Because health and safety was of big interest for me, so I studied at SIT in Invercargill via distance learning, and after three years, I graduated and started my own consulting company. That went really well and I gained a lot of clients reasonably quickly. I’m now employed as the health and safety manager of a large Nelson-based manufacturing business, but I’ve still got clients on the side I consult with.

Photography was always a hobby and I’m now hooked on filmmaking too. During our trip out here, I had a travel blog with lots of my photos. I got into filmmaking five years ago when I was contracted to do health and safety on the set of the local short film Kōkako. A week after that project, I bought my first camera.

I haven’t been out of the country for the past 21 years, there was no need to, there’s so much to explore here.

Back home, I was never into hiking or outdoor sports, but when I met my ex partner, she was big into the outdoors so I started trail-running. Three years ago, when we separated and the kids had left home, I bought a house in Nelson which didn’t require a lot of maintenance, so all of a sudden, I had a lot of time. I started doing day hikes and found that I wanted to do more. I got a backpack and all the gear I needed. I’m drawn to places that you can only get to on foot. You can’t bike, motorbike or drive, you have to use your own legs to get there. It all fits very well together, my love of hiking, photography and filmmaking.

I love it here. There’s no reason for me to move anywhere else. Favourite places are up in the Ranges, especially the Cobb Valley area. You drive up to the Cobb Dam, then walk up to Fenella Hut and go on from there to Xenicus, Aorere Peak, or Kakapo Peak, there are so many options.

I love being out in Māpua on the weekend. Just sitting at the wharf, having a coffee and a piece of cake at Alberta’s – it feels a little like the Mediterranean there. And I love Rabbit Island, you can walk on the beach for at least ten kilometres.

Nelson is permanently home now. I don’t have a lot of thoughts about my former life in Germany. I haven’t been back to Germany since I left, and I have no intention to go back. This is home. This is where I belong, I feel that.