The $150K life in Taumarunui

LEITH HUFFADINE The story of Forgotten World Adventures’ long search for a general manager – despite the large pay cheque – gained international media attention after Stuff reported on it.

Goodall, 40, saw the story, decided to apply for the job, and got it.

She left the big-city lights of Auckland for Taumarunui – a town with a population of about 3500 – to start the job on May 14, and she’s loving it.

The small town, tucked in the central North Island, has given her a change in lifestyle that she’s enjoying.

‘‘My daily life is wake up and go for a jog, and there’s dogs running around everywhere back and forth and there’s friendly people saying ‘hello’.’’

The community had exceeded her expectations, she said.

‘‘So far, it’s been absolutely great – really enjoying it. Rolewise, it’s a fantastic business to be a part of. [The] community has more than exceeded my expectations, actually. People are just way too friendly down here.’’

She’s not sure why the job wasn’t more popular.

‘‘Obviously, people have perceptions about certains things. But me, I’m not an ‘I need to be in a city’ person. Again, I think a lot of New Zealanders think it is quite a big distance... maybe a lot of people, they want to be close to the things they love and maybe those things are shops or things in life that I find aren’t quite essential every day.

‘‘I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe it’s better for me because I think it’s a great job and a great place.

‘‘That being said, lots of people did apply for it and they didn’t get it.’’

She’s ‘‘absolutely’’ pleased she took the job.

Goodall grew up in Wales before moving to Australia with her family, aged 14. For the past 15 years she’s lived in Europe and Asia.

People had been questioning Goodall about her decision to move.

‘‘I think maybe because of that [the area] has exceeded my expectations. Even though I have seen it before I came, you are like: ‘OK, where am I going, what is actually happening, what have I done?’

‘‘When I applied for it, it was late. I didn’t see it [the job listing] at the same time as everyone else.

‘‘My partner and I, we’d been down at the timber trail and we were sitting outside, and we’d had an amazing couple of days and we were in the middle of nowhere and he was like: ‘Imagine if you got that job’, and we decided then that if I was ever offered it ... we’d just take it.

‘‘When the call came, we’d already made the decision, so it was quite easy, I guess.’’

She said there’s always things she misses, like the shopping.

Goodall had been to the area before, so she had a bit of an idea of what she was getting herself into.

‘‘I took my parents down here a couple of years ago and we drove the forgotten highway, so we did that. It was actually on our bucket list.

‘‘Additionally, I’ve done the Tongariro Crossing and I’ve done the Tongariro circuit there and I’ve done the timber trail – all kinds of things around this area.’’ She’s ambitious and is planning to stick around Taumarunui for a while.

‘‘I can’t see myself getting bored too quickly at all.’’