Sally Tagg
Almost 20 years ago, Peta Mathias fell in love, passionately and forever. Not with a person, however, but a place – India. The moment she set foot in this land of colour, noise, wonderful food and gorgeous clothes, Peta was enchanted.
“Europe had always been where my heart lay, so it never would have entered my head to go to India,” says the much-loved author and entertainer. “But then I was sent there by TVNZ to make a couple of documentaries and I thought it was the most amazing place.
“India can be challenging. It’s hot and crowded, there’s lots of noise, extreme poverty and wealth, so there’s a lot to get your head around. But everywhere you go, there’s unbelievable warmth from the people, and it’s so exotic and different. Most visitors are overwhelmed and thrilled with all the colour and excitement.”
When she visited that first time, Peta was already running her culinary tours, taking small groups of people to interesting and beautiful places to experience life, culture and cuisine. Before long, she had added India to her tour schedule, which meant every year she would have a reason to visit her favourite parts of this vast country.
Then, of course, everything stopped. The Covid pandemic meant our borders were closed, travel was impossible and Peta’s tours were put on hold indefinitely.
“It was such a difficult time,” she admits. “I thought our lives had changed forever and wondered if I’d ever see India again.”
Never one for sitting around and feeling sorry for herself, Peta pivoted and very soon was hosting dinners, giving cooking classes and speaking at events around New Zealand. She missed her incredible globe-trotting life, but tried not to dwell on it. Then the moment it was possible to travel again, Peta dug out her passport and packed a suitcase.
This year will be the first time since 2019 that there has been a tour to India and she’s doing things a little differently. Peta is known for being a great cook, but her other superpower is shopping and so on this tour to Delhi, Jodphur and Jaipur, her travellers will experience retail therapy like they’ve never had before.
“The textiles, fashion, homewares and jewellery in India are incredible,” she enthuses. “I’ve told everyone to come with half-empty suitcases.”
During the 10-day trip, there’ll also be opportunities to learn how to tie-dye and block print. Her guests will travel into the desert to see rugs being made, discover how to Bollywood dance and put on a sari. Naturally, they’ll eat lots of good food.
“It’s going to be fabulous,” promises Peta.
Even though she already owns many beautiful items from her years of globe-trotting, Peta will be leaving plenty of space in her own suitcase too.
“You’re always going to buy things when you’re away,” she says. “Even if you’re going to Antarctica, you’ll find something!”
Still, Peta is a wise and careful shopper. She has learned how to make sure she only invests in pieces she will treasure, use and wear.
“I’m very decisive,” she explains. “I don’t have an endless budget, so I go through a shop quite quickly and, when I pull out a garment, I’ll ask myself, ‘Am I madly in love with this? Will I have a breakdown if I don’t have it?’ If the answer is no, I’ll put it back.
“I’m also realistic. I can tell what I’ll look like in clothes. A lot of people live in a daydream where they buy things that don’t suit them. So my tips for successful shopping are to always check in a rear-view mirror and look around the shop, find a teenager and ask them what they think.”
While Peta has collected a lot of stylish clothes, stunning jewellery and fabulous shoes, fortunately she also has two homes to keep everything in. For half the year, she lives in a rented apartment in central Auckland with incredible views across the city and harbour. Then she spends the other half of each year in the chic little house she renovated in the historic town of Uzès, in the South of France. It’s an arrangement that suits her restless spirit.
“I enjoy my double life,” she says. “I don’t particularly want to live here or in France full-time, but I like both places. And I move very easily from one life to the other. I’ll walk down the street dragging my suitcase, open the front door and boom, ‘Where are we meeting for drinks? Why has no one contacted me? I’ve been here three hours!’ I’ve got lots of great friends in both places.”
At 74, Peta has no plans to retire or slow down. In fact, she’s already taking bookings for next year’s tours to Morocco, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and India.
“I’m in good health, I don’t feel old and I don’t feel like slowing down, so I’ll do this for as long as I can,” she insists. “Most people wouldn’t want to be still working at my age, but then the job I do is quite different. Also, I look after myself and don’t push too hard. On my tours, there’s always time for a rest in the afternoon. I believe that travel is really good for you, especially as you get older. It keeps your mind healthy and stops you getting stuck in your ways. It keeps you independent. No one wants to be really, really old unless they’re in good health. What’s the point?”
Peta has always moved around a lot, and traces her passion for travel and adventure all the way back to her childhood.
“The first time I got on a plane was when I was 10 and my parents sent me unaccompanied to visit relatives in Sydney. I’ve loved flying to new places ever since. And I love change, although I realise a lot of people don’t. That’s probably why nobody wanted to marry me!
“I’ve had long relationships,” she adds. “One was six years and another was 10 years. But they’ve been in periods of stability. I wasn’t moving around a lot in those times. So, to try to have a relationship now, the person would have to get used to me being away a lot… Either that or follow me everywhere!”
Peta doesn’t regret choosing a life of freedom and travel. She enjoys her own company and is very happy to be on her own reading a book. She also loves welcoming people into her home and, while she’s in Auckland, holds a twice weekly Supper Club in her apartment, where she’ll demonstrate how to cook some of her repertoire of dishes, then entertain her guests as they enjoy them.
“I really love the Supper Clubs. I meet interesting new people and they always arrive ready to have a good time. Everyone dresses up, and we sit out on my terrace and talk. It’s such an amazing setting, you can’t help but be happy here.”
Peta is also the author of 18 books and isn’t slowing down in that department either. Between her other commitments, she has been busy working on something new and different.
“It’s going to be funny and scurrilous,” she promises. “I’m writing about my friends, family and work, and there’s also some social commentary. At the moment, for instance, I’m writing about a road rage incident that happened to me in France and I’ve expanded that into talking about the whole concept of anger.”
Whether she’s hosting tours, giving cooking classes or writing stories, what Peta loves most about her job is spreading joy and happiness.
“I like contributing to society,” she says. “My life would feel pointless if I wasn’t teaching or hosting… if I wasn’t making people happy. It brings me so much joy to take people to new places and show them new things.”
