“This wasn’t my idea,” Donovan admits, yet the decision tomove across the world reshaped everything: his identity, his career, and hisfamily’s future.

This episode, on the podcast A Stranger, a suitcase and aStory, is about a man who didn’t plan tomigrate, but found something better than he imagined.

Donovan had built a life in South Africa: a career, a home,a community. Migration wasn’t his idea, it was his wife’s. But love, trust, and family meant stepping into the unknown, together.

What followed wasn’t easy. Uprooting. Rebuilding. Feelinglost in a place that was supposed to be a fresh start. But with time and a fewkey constants like family, faith, and even a familiar couch—Donovan found hisfooting.

And what started as resistance became resilience.

This is a story about letting go of certainty, leaning intochange, and discovering that starting over doesn’t mean losing yourself. It canmean finding more: more freedom, more safety, more space to breathe, and more moments that matter.

Most of all, Donovan reminds us:

Keep an open mind. Because sometimes, the life you didn’tplan becomes the one you were meant to live.

🎧 A Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story - Availablenow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
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Backpacks, Bold Moves, and Belonging: Nicol &Mareli’s Journey to Australia

They left everything behind… not because they had to, butbecause they wanted to see what else was possible.

In this heartfelt and uplifting episode, Anton and Ben sitdown with Nicol and Mareli, a young South African couple who swapped corporatesuccess and ocean views in Cape Town for a backpack, six months of travel, anda bold move to Sydney.

Their story is one of intention, courage, and curiosity.They didn’t migrate because they had to. They did it because they choseto. What started as an adventure soon became a new life—and what they’vediscovered along the way will leave you rethinking what it means to start over.

They talk about adjusting to Australia’s culture, the powerof perspective, rebuilding from scratch, and what happens when you stop tryingto recreate your old life and start embracing your new one.

It’s not just a migration story, it’s a life philosophy.

From Resettling Doubts to Rebuilding Dreams: Afzal's Journey to Belonging. In this episode, Afzal Ali shares what it really feels like to leave a successful life behind and start over in a new country. He speaks candidly about growing up in a huge, tight-knit family in India, his early struggles studying in London, and why he ultimately chose Australia for a fresh start.

From food delivery jobs to job rejections, housing challenges to school enrollment battles, Afzal walks us through the highs andheavy lows of migration.

At his lowest, he almost gave up.

But with patience, faith, and resilience, his story took a powerful turn and today, he’s building a new life in Newcastle, Australia.

This is a story of hope, hardship, and the light at the endof the tunnel.

In this episode of A Stranger, A Suitcase & A Story, Anton and Ben continue their personal migration stories—sharing what happened after they arrived in Australia. From emotional goodbyes and missed funerals to flat batteries, rugby injuries, and shoe-stuffed suitcases, they reflect on the realities of starting over in a new country.

They unpack what it means to plant new roots while holding onto your past, how sport and community help build belonging, and what they miss most about South Africa. It's a heartfelt conversation about emotional baggage, resilience, and finding connection in unfamiliar places.

🎧 Whether you've migrated, are thinking about it, or simply want to hear honest, relatable stories—this episode is for you.

In this first episode of A Stranger, A Suitcase, and A Story, Anton and Ben share their personal journeys—before the suitcases were packed and the planes were boarded. They reflect on who they were back home in South Africa, the careers they had built, and the lives they lived before making the life-changing decision to migrate to Australia. It’s a conversation about identity, courage, and the emotional turning points that lead us to leave everything familiar behind.

This is where their suitcase stories begin.