A Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story

We packed up our lives into nine suitcases… and waited. And waited. For four years, Kevin Horstmann and his family lived inlimbo, chasing a dream that seemed like it might never come. Just when he was about to give up, something extraordinaryhappened.  In Episode 6 of A Stranger, a Suitcase and a Story ,Kevin shares the deeply moving journey from uncertainty and heartbreak to finally feeling at ho...

“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 i...

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, a...

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...

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...

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 emo...