When Conrad Kamota stepped off the plane in Queenstown for a job interview, something clicked. 

“I just liked the place,” he said of Central Otago. “The people, the landscapes, the fresh air, the farms, the animals, the blend of grapes and orchards - it just resonated with what I liked.” 

That first impression sealed the deal for the Zimbabwe-born chartered accountant, who had been looking for somewhere to settle with his wife Karen and their two children after years of working across southern Africa. 

Conrad grew up in Guruve – a rural district in northern Zimbabwe where his family grew cotton and maize and kept chickens, goats and cattle. 

“Cotton was the cash crop. Maize was partly commercial but also the staple food,” he said. 

“When it came to the animals, it was mostly subsistence, and we ploughed with our own cattle.

“It was very traditional farming, but it gave us a good life.” 

Excelling at school earned Conrad scholarships through high school and on to a finance degree at the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo.  

Becoming a chartered accountant opened doors, taking him to work in tourism, aviation, health, hospitality and education roles across Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa. 

After Covid-19, he and Karen decided it was time to find a permanent home. 

“We saw ourselves as progressive people, and we were looking for a space that would really accommodate our ambition. We were considering Australia, the UK, Canada - and New Zealand kept coming up,” he said. 

“Friends who had migrated here said it’s a great place to raise a family, the work-life balance is good, and that resonated with our values.” 

The family arrived in Auckland in 2023 but soon felt something was missing. 

“In Auckland we didn’t know our neighbours. We wanted more community.” 

That sense of belonging was much more immediate in Central Otago. 

“You could stop and speak to people. The welcome was just huge. We’ve connected with people through groups and we’ve just been welcomed - we feel at home,” he said.

“New Zealand, especially this part of Central Otago, is a great place to raise our two children with the right values: hard work, helping other people, humility.” 

Conrad now works as financial manager for Dunedin Kindergartens, commuting between Dunedin and Central Otago, while Karen is an early childhood education teacher.

Outside of work, Conrad has returned to his rural roots, establishing a small herd of Boer goats, with his eye on the export meat market. 

Through the Central Otago newcomers’ business-mentorship programme, he’s been linked with local farmers and has already met buyers for markets including Korea, the Middle East, the United States and Nepal. 

There’s a neat twist to the story. 

“The irony is, when I was interacting with other farmers here, they told me the goats originally came from Zimbabwe.  

“Back in the 1990s, because South Africa was under sanctions, the trade route was through Zimbabwe.” 

The next dream is to buy a piece of land - to both grow the business and build a family home on it. 

“We’ve decided, this is our place. We’ll buy our farm, build our house here. If our children go to other towns later, they can still come back and call this home. 

“When you connect with the community, with the land, with the people, you build something sustainable and lasting.” 

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