Alison King: New here but home at last

I keep being asked if I feel any different now I am officially a Kiwi. But, to be honest, I don't.

Since I moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2003 I've felt this is my home, and I think I've been searching for a home all my life.

I'm an Army brat, as they say in the UK. I moved around every two years in my formative years from one base to the next so I could never develop any roots. New Zealand has given me the freedom to work in my career of choice and develop new interests that I don't think I could ever have discovered in the UK.

I moved to Rotorua from Thames with my husband because of the mountainbiking. We would visit and dread the long drive back - especially after soaking our feet in the Kuirau Park footbaths and dining on fish and chips by the Lakefront.

I also took part in the Rotorua Half Ironman so would swim in the Blue Lake before running in the Redwoods as training.

These outdoor pursuits would never have appealed to me in the UK but now seem second nature. I am officially a Kiwi, I have a rimu tree to plant new roots and a sense of belonging somewhere very special.