Culture: The visit that lasted a lifetime

Lucas Fleury and his sister Fatiana Manion have been living in the Bay for 12 years after only initially coming for a on month visit. PHOTO/RUTH KEBER

Brazilian brother and sister Lucas Fleury and Tatiana Manion have had a love affair with New Zealand soils ever since they first stepped into the country 12 years ago.

The pair were living and travelling in Australia before stopping for a quick holiday in New Zealand on their way home.

Armazem bar owner Lucas Fleury said it took him three-and-a-half years to leave after first arriving here.

"The first thing that got me was the mountain biking, I wanted to see more than I could in just one month," he said.

He travelled throughout the North Island for a couple of months before making his first big stop in Taupo and then coming over to Mount Maunganui six months later.

"I thought, 'oooh I really like this, I could stay here a bit longer'."

Mr Fleury said he initially thought he would stay for the one-year holiday visa and continue on to Spain, where he wanted to learn Spanish.

"I still didn't think it would be forever but I was standing at the top of the Mount and thought, 'no, I could do this for a little bit longer'.

"I feel like a bit of a Kiwi boy now, just with a dodgy accent."

Mr Fleury owns and runs Mount Maunganui bar and restaurant Armazem, and Further Reach, a property-painting service. Balancing the two was tough, he said.

Mr Fleury and his sister were brought up in the city of Ribeirão Preto in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Show Dogs owner Tatiana Manion said her home city was a lot more crowded than her Kiwi home.

"After one month here I spent a year back home and I had to come back, mainly for the lifestyle. Where I grew up, it's a big city. I never had contact with the sea or sports, home was 600km from the ocean.

"When I came to New Zealand I started surfing and snowboarding and that's what I missed the most when I left."

Now married to a Kiwi, Bryce, Mrs Manion speaks English to her husband but Portuguese to her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Kaila. The pair often talk about taking their children to Brazil later on so they can learn Portuguese properly and understand their mother's culture.

The brother-sister duo said they still loved living in Mount Maunganui as much as they did when they first arrived, even though they miss their "roots" in Brazil.

"I travel to South America and Asia but I am always happy to come back," Mr Fleury said.

Fast facts about Brazil
Population: 1.98 million
Capital: Brasília; 3,099,000
Area: 8,547,403 square km
Language: Portuguese
Religion: Roman Catholic
Currency: Real
Life expectancy: 69
GDP per Capita: U.S. $7,600
Literacy per cent: 86