"Basically I decided I needed an adventure at this stage of my life, so I picked New Zealand and the job that came was in Wanganui," he said.
"I didn't know what I was coming to, to be fair. I had no idea what Wanganui was like but, in fact, I landed completely on my feet because this is an absolute paradise of a place. I love Wanganui.
"There's no way a town in Bolton with 40,000 people would have the facilities that this town has got."
The chest consultant of 15 years said he would do his "damnedest" to come back to Wanganui.
"I'm very sad to leave Wanganui, there's no doubt about that. Very, very sad. I've had probably one of the best years of my life here."
Dr Jones had a number of regular patients and hoped they, too, would be "very, very sad" to see him go.
"But they might be bloody delighted," he said.
During his time here, Dr Jones was struck by the "brilliant" minds of the inmates at Whanganui Prison.
One of his inmate patients told him the prisoners would collect nicotine patches, melt them down, and sprinkle the chemicals onto tea leaves and smoke those.
"I love that. As a man who's trying to stop smoking, I thought that was brilliant."
Dr Jones got into comedy when he stood up and began cracking some jokes after a dinner. His popularity as a comedian and after-dinner speaker grew from there.
His humour was based on medical stories, but he said it was "absolutely targeted towards the lay audience".
His show would be "looking at the humour that can come out of even the most tragic circumstances".
"So the show is funny, don't get me wrong. There's also bits of poignancy in it and bits of education in it. I talk about some of the more difficult things that doctors have to do."
With two thirds of New Zealanders affected by dementia, Dr Jones said the money from the show going to Alzheimers Wanganui was barely charity.
"Really it's investing for the future," he said.
The other thing that struck him about practicing medicine in New Zealand was the "realistic" approach to death.
"In Bolton, for instance, bringing up the subject of whether a patient wants to be resuscitated if things go badly wrong is an extremely delicate operation which requires immense tact, and patients are extremely reluctant to join in those conversations. But in New Zealand patients are telling me even before I've asked that they don't want resuscitation."
Dr Jones will leave New Zealand in December, and said some of the things he would miss included the community spirit, the wide roads, the things to do in Wanganui, and the wine.
"I almost sweat sauvignon blanc," he said.
His show, which is for adults only, is on October 9 at 7pm. Tickets are $20 and can be bought at the i-Site on Taupo Quay. Out of town bookings can be made on 06 349 0508.