So, what’s the most unlikely fringe benefit you’ve ever experienced with a job?

There are definitely some perks to being a translator. Doing something I love is probably top of my list. Then there are the obvious good things about working independently – no commute to the office, raiding the fridge for lunch rather than making do with a sad sandwich and the flexibility to adjust my hours to suit me are all great.

But here’s a perk of the job that I absolutely wasn’t expecting – the opportunity to accompany a pair of juvenile kiwis to be released on predator-free Rotoroa Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

One of my regular New Zealand clients is Auckland-based AtoZ Translate, who happen to be long-standing supporters of the charity Thames Coast Kiwi Care. Despite being synonymous with New Zealand, the kiwi is under threat from predators such as dogs and from loss of habitat, and many chicks born in the wild don’t survive to breeding age. So when Thames Coast Kiwi Care contacted AtoZ Translate with a couple of tickets for the next kiwi release, I was one of the lucky people invited to go along for the day.

Rotoroa is only an hour from central Auckland by ferry but feels like a completely different world. The island is absolutely beautiful and as kiwis are nocturnal and rare, I am very lucky to have had this opportunity to see them up close. If you are ever in Auckland, I can highly recommend a visit.