Kirsten Simmons

CEO of Talking Tree Hill, Kirsten Simmons, was raised on the family farm in Waimate district. This shaped her early years and has never really stopped pulling her home.

She lives on beautiful Waiheke Island these days, but, in breaking news - she’s planning on returning home one day!

We caught up with Kirsten to talk about where life has taken her, what she misses most about Waimate district, and why coming home has always been part of the plan.

Where are you living now?

I live on Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

What are you doing there?

I work in education, developing nature-based learning, creativity, and wellbeing projects, with a strong focus on mindset and helping children and teachers be the best they can be.

I’m big on the idea that people thrive when they’re supported to be themselves - not squeezed into boxes.

Alongside that, I’m raising my boys. I’ve done a lot of travelling, but these days my life is mostly about schools, land, and turning good ideas into something useful.

What’s your favourite memory from growing up here?

I grew up in Hunter, Hook, and Makikihi, and some of my favourite moments were simply being on the land - sitting with the chickens, hanging out in the pigsty, and growing up alongside animals.

A lot of it was everyday farm life: grubbing thistles, spraying gorse, planting trees, and learning how to make the most of the land.

Not glamorous, not Instagram-worthy - but those moments quietly taught me responsibility, creativity, and how to work with what you’ve got.

What do you miss most about Waimate?

Honestly - most of it.

I’ve lived in plenty of places and travelled a lot, but I’ve always known I was coming back. When your family’s farm has been around for over 120 years, the land has a way of keeping a hold on you. It’s not dramatic - it’s just always there.

How often do you get back — and what’s the first thing you do when you’re home?

I come back as often as possible.

For the past ten years we’ve returned every winter - when the kids were first learning to ski it was Roundhill, and now they ski at Ohau… with Queenstown clearly looming.

We’re back at Christmas too - those are the two main anchors. In between, we come home whenever we can, especially when Mum and Dad are there (although they’re big travellers themselves, so sometimes we arrive and they’re not even home - which may not be a bad thing).

Sometimes it’s as simple as spotting that yellow shed on the highway and knowing you’ve arrived. There’s a certain slowness and energy to the South Island that makes your shoulders drop without you noticing - and that’s what always pulls me home.

Anything else you want to say?

I’ve always known I was coming home.

I have a deep respect for what my family has built here and how it’s evolved and diversified, step by step, over generations.

There’s something powerful about that kind of long-term thinking - doing good work, adding to it carefully, and leaving things better than you found them.

I’m excited about continuing that story in my own way through the work and business I’ll be doing back on the land.

Home isn’t just a place - it’s a values system. And for me, that’s always been the family farm.