The Welshman has spent the past seven years globetrotting.
He captained London Scottish, played in the Channel Islands and had stints in the United States and Australia before landing in Oamaru earlier this year.
His New Zealand adventure has proved successful so far, winning the Citizens Shield with Valley and being named captain of North Otago for the Heartland Championship.
Originally from Cardiff, Bartle, 27, moved to England when he was 16, attending Hartpury College surrounded by future British and Irish Lions.
The lock signed with London Scottish in 2016, his first "dabble" in professional rugby, and despite being plagued by injuries, he played 22 games and cemented a starting spot by the end of his first season.
He was named captain of London Scottish in his second season, an intimidating prospect for the fresh-faced 20-year-old.
"It was interesting, but awesome.
"Massive opportunity for growth. I learnt a heap — mostly from my own mistakes, so it was good."
Looking for a new opportunity and to immerse himself around an experienced back five, Bartle signed with Jersey in the Channel Islands for four years.
"I managed to have a fair bit of success there. It was an uphill climb to establish myself in the team, but by the time I left, I’d nearly played 100 games with Jersey and I loved every minute of it."
After a six-month stint in the United States, he headed across the ditch to Australia, linking up with Manly playing in the Shute Shield.
He returned to Cardiff last Christmas — after being unable to make it home for the past two — before heading to Oamaru five months ago.
Arriving on April 1, following a layover in Hong Kong to play for the Crawshays in the Hong Kong 10s, he joined Valley, making a statement in the club’s unbeaten season.
He considered himself fortunate to join Valley, alongside a great group of players and "exceptional" coach Barry Matthews.
"I’ve taken a hell of a lot out of working from him. Far more than I probably would ever have guessed having come to a grassroots rugby club."
Bartle’s influence led to him being given the Old Golds captaincy, a position he gave a lot of consideration as a newcomer.
"You’re conscious, of course, of your presence within the environment.
"Especially here, there’s a huge culture of respect with Pacific Island and Maori influence and you have to be conscious about rocking the boat in that regard. I’ve come into this environment, so I have to be adaptable to how things already are here.
"In saying that, it’s a huge opportunity to learn.
"You look at that as an exciting opportunity to grow as a person — it’s massive."
He has already proved his worth, getting the Old Golds campaign under way with two good wins.
"We’re obviously in a very good position, but we just need to keep our feet on the ground.
"I ... use the analogy that we’re climbing Everest and we’ve just got to base camp."
He said North Otago was packed with Pasifika flair across the park, led by No 8 Junior Fakatoufifita, who scored four tries across the opening two games, and played "off the cuff".
That had been different for Bartle — "I’m quite a structured rugby player" — and while that style was not the game plan, he was loving the challenge.
"You have to allow these guys to express themselves and you have to be able to give them the freedom.
"If you try and fight it, you’re going to lose the battle. You’re going to end up with an unhappy environment and then you’re not going to win any matches.
"If Junior makes 100 carries, I’ll go off the game plan 100 times because he’s phenomenal at doing it."
Bartle, who works as an engineer on former Heartland referee Nick Webster’s farm, is relishing his first Heartland season and the talent across the competition.
"Everyone’s out there having fun and I think potentially in previous teams where I’ve played, where the shackles are on you a bit more, you lose that element of it.
"It’s still amateur rugby, it’s important to hold on to that. If it’s not enjoyable, you’re probably doing something wrong."
He is grateful to the North Otago rugby community for welcoming him over the past few months.
"It’s far surpassed any expectation I’d ever had for it."
