Neighbourhood - Timaru (with Josh Thomson)

When we lost communication afterwards and the only communication we had was seeing footage on the media and hearing reports of "this amount of people are dead", it was a very hard time. It was very hard to see places on the news that you knew people who lived there, or to see those places destroyed and not knowing what happened to the people inside.

– Timaru local Marley Regenvanu from Vanuatu on being in Aotearoa when Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu in 2015

I got married on the farm too. On the first day, we had a palangi ceremony, and the second day, we had a Tongan wedding. My uncle called the kava ceremony, and we gifted a freshly killed pig to my new bride's family. My new Aunty Diana had to slap the pig's bottom to test it for freshness — she did a stellar job!

– Presenter Josh Thomson on family tradition

Timaru, compared to Japan, is more relaxed. It's not much stressed. In Japan, it's all about competition. You have to have exams or interviews to go to a private kindy. They can learn so much from the system here. 

– Timaru local Yuko Eguchi from Japan on cultural differences

I feel at home in Timaru. I have to say, we have a great community. It's not because I'm living here and I'm saying that — I really believe it. There's something special about it, I don't know what it is. I can't really put it in words, but once you've been here you'll know what I'm talking about. 

– Timaru local Roswitha (Rosie) Knoppel from Germany on the local community

Timaru — it's so cool even the little blue penguins have moved here from Oamaru.

– Presenter Josh Thomson on his hometown