After seven years of running their guest house and smallholding on the tiny feudal Island of Sark in the British Channel Islands, Chris and Ken Davies decided to have a two-year break. In 1972 they packed their suitcases and booked passage, with young son Roy, to New Zealand, calling at many exotic places en route. Arriving in Auckland, they bought a Bedford 18cwt delivery van and the three Davies set off to drive all over the two Islands, from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island, living mainly in the van. From a Feudal Isle to Aotearoa tells the true story of the trip out by ship, the many places visited and jobs the Davies took on the way, from Matron of a small Auckland Hospital, to running a motel and giving horse and carriage rides, in the South Island. All the illustrations are by the author.
About the Author: Chris Davies Curtis was born in England, and spent her school years in Stratford-upon-Avon with her parents and elder brother David. She trained to be a registered nurse, meeting her future husband Ken on a pony trekking holiday. Chris spent several years as a district nurse in London after they married. Holidays were spent exploring Great Britain and then they discovered the tiny Island of Sark in the British Channel Isles. Four years after marrying, they moved to Sark to build up a guest-house and smallholding business. After about seven years, they decided to travel to New Zealand by ship, via Cape Town. They bought a Bedford van and toured everywhere for two years, taking young son Roy with them. Various jobs paid the way. At first Chris was the Matron of a small hospital in Auckland and then Ken and Chris had an unusual job of working in a Motel and driving guests around by horse and carriage. They fell in love with New Zealand, so decided to return to Sark to lease their property and emigrate back to New Zealand in 1976. Here Chris became a rural district nurse in a large country area north of Auckland for seven years. Sadly the marriage ended and Chris returned to Sark in 1984. She had re-met an old friend on Sark whose marriage had also ended and she fell very much in love with the man who was to be 'The Love of her Life, ' Peter. They lived happily together on Sark for seventeen years, spending holidays in exotic places like Kenya: Tanzania: South Africa: Tobago: Canary Islands and becoming involved with Island life. Tragically, Peter developed a brain tumour and Chris' experience as a district nurse was called upon to care for him in their re-built lovely house. He died comfortably at home and Chris stayed on for several more years, as son Roy and family were living in Sweden, and she wanted to be near. To reduce the sorrow, Chris sold her house and bought a derelict 400 year-old cottage and renovated it, doing much of the decorating and carpentry herself. In 2009 Chris packed her bags again to return to New Zealand as her son had also returned with his family. It was then she started to write about her eventful life. Her three first books tell of her life on Sark, 1966 to 1972, ('So You Want to Live on Sark'): touring New Zealand 1972 to 1974 ('From a Feudal Isle to Aotearoa), and as a district nurse in London and New Zealand ('From Queen's Nurse to Godzone').