Lieutenant-colonel Gerling, who will officially be released from his military role on Monday, took over as club manager for the Cromwell Golf Club in December.
He said he was born and raised in Cromwell and was happy to return with his wife Beth, herself a retired Squadron Leader in the Air Force who was deputy director of psychology for the Defence Force, and their children, Rian (12) and Evie (10).
The children will attend Cromwell College.
"Your priorities change as you get older," he said.
His participation in the royal funeral was an example of the inability to prioritise family in a military career.
"I was supposed to be overseas for two weeks - a week in the US and a week in the UK - and that ended up turning into three weeks in the UK," he said.
His Masters’ degree in International Security seems unlikely to be needed in settling golf disputes or running the club’s bar, but his post-graduate diploma in organisational leadership and diploma in business management make him more than qualified for his job.
He played golf "off and on" at school and was getting back into the game very slowly, but said the only danger he posed for other players was if they stepped in front of his swing.
"The good thing is I’m not being judged by the way I play golf."
"In the morning at about 3o’clock, walking through the streets of London, people were queued to watch us rehearse.
"To see what her royal highness meant to the people of the UK while marching to Wellington Arch is something that will stick with me forever."
William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, came out to meet all the members of the Commonwealth contingent, Mr Gerling said.
"It took me a bit of time to process the event."
Other career highlights were deployments to Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina and support roles after the Kaikoura earthquake and cyclones Pam and Winston.
He said Central Otago, with its skifields, lakes and a major airport close and Cromwell’s welcoming community made the town an ideal place to live.
"Evie loves the lake. Any chance, she is dragging us down to one of the inlets to test the waters,"
