African expats in New Zealand are waiting on tenterhooks for the results of the Zimbabwean election. 

It is the first democratic vote in Zimbabwe without Robert Mugabe's name on it in 30 years.

The country notable deteriorated under Mugabe's dictatorship, and introduced controversial laws such as expelling white owners from farm lands.

Nick, a South African expat living in New Zealand who has many friends and contacts in Zimbabwe, told Kerre McIvor that although Africa is a beautiful continent, under the exotic scenery lies a deeper problem.

"What a lot of people don't understand about Africa is that it is a very difficult place to live in. There is a reason why so many people leave. You would never leave a place which is just so beautiful unless you had to. The environment and climate is like heaven on earth. But today it is a wasteland. The beautiful farms have all gone. It is just dust."

LISTEN ABOVE AS NICK SPEAKS WITH KERRE MCIVOR