Cave guide Thomas Lundman has no regrets about turning his back on the shining lights of Te Anau’s tourism industry and seeking greener pastures in the North Island.

Thomas, 23, is a finalist in the trainee category of this year’s New Zealand Diary Industry Awards in the Bay of Plenty region, with the winner due to be announced in April.

The regional finalist will then be considered for the national awards, to be announced in May.

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During his five years working at Real Journey’s Te Anau Glowworm Caves attraction, Thomas had worked his way up to the position of team leader.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic closed borders, it was his dream to leave New Zealand in May 2020 and travel Europe with his partner, Alice Brogden.

Facing important “what now” decisions, Thomas and Alice decided to move to Whakatane, where Alice could be closer to her mum, who had received a breast cancer diagnosis.

 Sadly, Alice’s mum died in August 2020 and Thomas and Alice stayed on, looking for new work opportunities in the Whakatane community.

“When we were making our plans, I was thinking of moving into tourism, maybe the Waitomo Caves. But there was no chance of getting a job in tourism so I went into agriculture, which was something I had studied at high school,” Thomas said.

“I found it really simple [to find an agriculture job]. The job I am in now is the first job I applied for. I called and I had it about two days later,” he said.

Thomas Lundman and Alice Brogden have been making the most of their shift north. PHOTO: Alice Brogden

Thomas is working as a farm hand for Owakaponga dairy farmers Chris and Rosie Mexted, who run 550 cows on 140 hectares and operate a 48-bale rotary cow shed.

Thomas is doing everything from shifting fences to creating grazing plans and looking after animal welfare and described the Mexteds as great mentors.

“The job is so diverse here. On any day I could be fixing pipes or chopping down trees. I love it. Every day is different on the farm. The challenge of learning a new industry has been really fun,” Thomas said.

Thomas was no stranger to cows, having grown up on a dairy farm near Winton until the age of 12, when his family moved to Te Anau.

He became interested in a tourism career at school in Te Anau because “you only have to walk out the door to end up in it”.

He admits he also has a desire – as yet not acted on – to apply for the police force one day, but for now, he is keen to work towards farm management goals. Those plans are already on track - he starts an Agriculture Industry Training Organisation dairy farm apprenticeship next week.

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The trainee category of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards is open to farm staff up to the age of 25.

Thomas said there were two rounds of judging. 

The initial pool of 10 applicants was interviewed and tested on practical skills before being narrowed down to five people.

The final round of judging involved a half hour examination and 20 minutes of practical tests.

“The sorts of things you got to do was set up a milking cluster, tractor pre-checks, different type of feeds. For the theory, they asked about community involvement, industry awareness,” Thomas said.

If he won the award, “it would be like the beginning of climbing the ladder to sharemilking,” he said.

“The best thing about dairying is the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day . . . It is really hard work, but I enjoy the hard work and the early starts,” he said.

Alice, meanwhile, worked with her family in their agricultural business before securing part time work at the Whakatane i-Site and then at the Whakatane Mill.

Unfortunately, her mill job is now at risk. More than 200 mill workers face redundancy in June, after the mill announced last week its operations were no longer economic and it would have to close.

“It has been tough. The Covid situation was made easier for me, being in agriculture. I know that for the next year and the year after, I will have a job. We can focus on the now,” Thomas said.