All language subtitles for Country.House.Hunters.New.Zealand.S02E11.720p.TVNZ.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN

- I'm on a hunt to help find everyday
Kiwis their perfect country house.

Things are a little different
out here in the country.

You still have the hustle and bustle.

Your neighbours can
sometimes be a bit noisy.

Time moves a little slower.

But you don't get this...

in the city.

Today we're in
the wonderful Wanaka with Stu.

Yeah, a lot warmer in here, Stu.

- Yeah, I could
finally take my beanie off,

so very happy to be inside.

We've got three homes to explore,
but which one is gonna best suit
Stu's wishlist?

I understand Cindy hasn't
even been down to see it yet.

Well, um, Cindy
hasn't been to see it...

- ...but I'm not sure
if she trusts me entirely.

- Hey, no spoilers yet. Let's
make a start and get Stu into
his perfect home in Wanaka.

Today I'm hanging out with Stu,
a bundle of energy, here in
the beautiful Wanaka.

Stu has completely fallen
head over heels for this area,

so today it's my mission to help
track him down a lock-and-leave

that suits both him
and his whole family.

They're after a low-maintenance,
contemporary design

with a fenced section
for their beloved pooch, Roxy,

and most importantly, a wood burner,
a must-have here in one of Aotearoa's
most popular winter getaway spots.

- The reason for Wanaka is,
you know, we're a skiing family,
so that's the main reason.

But for me, I'm gonna enjoy
my time down here in the summer.

You know, there's golf, there's
jet boating, there's fly-fishing,

there's mountain biking.
So, yeah, I'm really excited

and looking forward to spending
a bit more time down here.

We've done a little bit of research
and, obviously, to get something

quite new, you're gonna be somewhere
in the 1.2 to 1.5 range, I think.

There's a fair bit of pressure on
Wanaka, so, you know, we'll see
how 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 goes.

- Wanaka is located just over
an hour's drive from Queenstown

and is a lively town
with a carefree spirit.

For adventure seekers, you can go
skydiving, canyoning, climbing
or mountaineering.

And in winter, the area is a vibrant
centre for skiers and snowboarders,

with a variety of ski areas
just a short drive from the town.

Let's get started
with our first property,
which is a move-in-ready option.

- How are you, Matt?
- Kia ora, Stu. How are you going?
- Very well, very well.

Nice to meet you.
- Welcome to Wanaka. Although,
it's not really welcome to Wanaka.

You've been here a lot
over the years, haven't you?
- I have, and normally the weather

is a lot better than this...

- ...but this is the famous
inversion layer they talk about.
- Right.

So you've got
an interesting story, Stu ―
20 years working, living in Asia.

When you moved back, the North Island
has been home for a while.
- Yes, yep.

- So whereabouts did you settle?
- Settled on Cambridge.

We didn't wanna go into
a big city because, you know,

get up with all the traffic
and all those issues, and
I didn't need to work,

so we decided on Cambridge
because it was central...
- Yep.

- ...and we've been coming here,
you know, for the last four years

since we've been home, doing
a lot of skiing. I do a lot
of mountain biking.

So we decided, look, you know,
instead of forcing each other
into a box,

let's look to something in Wanaka to
buy, and we can kind of live between
two places. So that's the plan...

- That's the plan, yeah?
- ...and we'll see how it goes.

- This is an interesting
one as well, because,

obviously, you're talking about
Cindy, your wife quite a lot.
- Yeah.

- She's not here today.
- Yeah.

- And she probably won't be here
all that often or maybe not as much
as you ― is that the plan?

- So, look, I love Wanaka cos I like
my golf, I like my jet boating,
I like my fly-fishing,

I like my mountain biking,
and as a family, we ski.

So at the moment
we're sort of thinking,

'Well, I'll come down in the summer
and do all those things'...
- Yep.

- ...and then the family and
Cindy will join us over
the winter period.

- Right. Well, that brings us
to our first home, Stu, that
I've got for you today.

I'm gonna have to put a jacket on.

We're gonna get inside really soon.
I'll just quickly tell you about it ―

three bedrooms, two bathrooms.
- Yep.

- It's a really modern home,
as you can see.

- It's gonna be really nice and warm
in there with the wood burner.
- Yep.

- You've already seen the garage.
That will fit a small boat.
- Yep. No, that'll be fine.

- All right, well, should we
get out of this cold, Stu?
- Yeah, I need to put a jacketon.

I'm not well dressed for this.
- All right, come on in.

- Oh yeah,
a lot warmer in here, Stu.
- Oh, it's very nice.

- Obviously, that burner is doing
a great job of warming the space.

No heat pump on at the moment,
just the wood burner.

- Yeah, I could finally
take my beanie off,

so very happy to be inside.

So you've got a nice little lounge
here with a big window,

lots of natural light flowing into
the space, high ceilings as well.
- Yep.

- So while it's not the hugest
home, it does have a sense of
space once you walk inside.

- Yeah, and high ceilings
is really important to Cindy.

I mean, every house she'll go
into, she'll talk about
the ceiling height ―

and I like this.
It sort of elevates itself away.

- Now, you probably don't believe me,
but there is a view of the mountain ―
obviously today, not thebest view.

But just when you're standing
in front of the fireplace

warming your hands after you've
come off the ski slopes, you'll
be able to turn around

and look at that mountain view
covered in snow.

- Yeah, look, I'm familiar with
Wanaka. I know there's a beautiful
mountain view up there...

- Yeah.
- ...when the inversion layer's
not around,

so, no, I think that'll
work really well, Matt.
- Brilliant.

OK, well, should we just have a quick
look at the kitchen over this way?

All right, Stu. Great modern kitchen,
this one ― stainless steel benchtops.

That's wallpaper slate,
the splashback over there.

- Yeah, look, honestly, it was one
of the first things I saw when
I walked in.

It really does just make
a huge impact on you.
- Yeah.

- What I love is the stainless steel
bench, you know ― easy clean,
sleek lines, low maintenance;

and the other thing, you know, we
do a lot of impromptu entertaining,

and this would just be ideal to sit
around with friends having a wine
after skiing,

so it would work perfectly for us,
I think.

- I can definitely see that working
really nicely in a space like this.

You're gonna love the bedroom.
Come and take a look.

Oh, Stu, I could have stayed
in there for hours.

The underfloor heating in that
bathroom ― how good's that?

- It was magic, and I think that was
one of my requirements, so I'm
very happy with that.

- I can understand why that's
a requirement here. That would
be beautiful on a cold day.

The bedroom itself, lots of light
coming in through this big ranch
slider.

- Yeah, no, it's fantastic.
I like it, lots of space.

- I like that it's got its own
private deck off the main bedroom
as well ― nice big deck, thatone.

Should we go through and take
advantage of the indoor-outdoor flow?
- Yeah. I think fantastic.

I mean, it's a good-sized deck
too, really like it.
- Definitely.

So, Stu, you got yourself a big
enclosed backyard, fully fenced,
so that's a win for the dog,right?

- Really good.
- Yeah.
- That's important.

- And obviously from the deck
that flows from the bedroom,

you come around here and
see this great entertaining
space straight off the kitchen ―

sunshine and summer coming,
blasting down all afternoon long,

that's a great place for you
and your mates to hang out.

- Look, from a family perspective,
you know, when you've got
two big teenagers

and their friends thumping around,
you know, maybe a second living area
would have been great,

but all in all, pretty good.

- What do you think this place
would be on the market for?
- 1.2...

to 1.25?

- Around that mark,
maybe slightly higher.
- OK.

- So, 1.3 is the ballpark
that we're looking at.

- OK, yeah, so I wasn't too far off.
- Yeah, exactly.

- Cost of the house at about 1.3
million was really good. I mean,
it ticks all the boxes forus,

and given the cost of real estate
in Wanaka, I think it's pretty
reasonable.

- So I've done pretty well
for the first one?

- Tell you what, Matt, you've
actually done pretty well.
I'm quite impressed.

- Great, I like that.
Let's head off to house number two.
- Yeah.

See if I can impress you again.

- Coming up ― we tour our second
house, with a backyard that doesn't
need much maintenance.

- I've looked around. That looks
like the only lawn out there.

It's about the size
of a big handkerchief,

- so, yeah, there'd be no problem
to keep this one maintained.
- Yeah.

- I'm in Wanaka with Stu on the hunt
for a lifestyle property.

The first house was move-in ready
with a beautiful outdoor space,

but I've got a feeling the second
option ticks a lot of his boxes ―
but let's see what Stu thinks.

- All righty, Stu. It's not getting
any warmer today, is it?
- It's freezing.

- But, here we are ― house
number two, this one brand new.

So you'd be the first owner of this.
- Yep.

- Three bedrooms, two bathrooms...
- Yep.

- ...all of those things that you're
really looking for, I think
this place ticks.

But I really like the look of this
place. It's a really modern look.

So you got the cedar cladding
and a really cool curved design,

which is kind of repeated through
the home in a few different nice...
- OK.

- ...interesting ways.
- It's great kerb appeal. I mean,
I'm interested in the colour.

I haven't seen a colour like that
before, but it's really nice.

It looks like there's room for
the boat, there's a double garage,

so that would solve that problem.
- Yep.

- Yeah, so looking good.
- Cool.

Well, again, it's too cold
to be standing outside a house.
- I agree.

Let's get inside.

- OK. Welcome in, Stu.

One thing I quite liked about
that entranceway down the hallway,

that cedar has been
continued with the―

I think you call that a freeze
on the wall near the ceiling.
- Yeah. I'll go with that, Matt.

- I'm gonna go with that as well,
yeah, quite a nice design,

again, that curved theme,
which continues throughout the house

in a couple of different areas.
- Mm-hm.

- On the ceiling and the kitchen,
you've got that curve as well.

- Yep. Love the kitchen,
very contemporary.

I like the contrast,
you know, the light and the dark,

and I do like the way they've
carried on that curvature through
there. It's very impressive.

The curves in that, while
I think they were pretty cool,

I'm not sure if that
is our style, to be honest,

but, you know, that doesn't detract
from how good it actually looks.

- In terms of entertaining,
obviously, you like to have
friends around,

you've got the family staying
as well, how would this space
work for you?

- Look, I think it'd work really
well. I'm just a bit worried

it might be just a little compact
for the family and when we've got
friends over,

but it's not a deal
breaker ― at all.
- Yep.

And in terms of the lock-and-leave,
again, this one would be
fairly simple.

You'd walk out,
you'd be done, lock it up,

come back in a couple of months,
and it'll still be exactly the same.
- Absolutely.

I've looked around. That looks
like the only lawn out there.

- It's about the size of
a big handkerchief...
- Yeah.

- ...so there'd be no problem
to keep this one maintained.

- Excellent. Well, should we take
a look at the rest of the house?
- Yeah, good idea.

- Right, so the main bedroom ―
good spacious bedroom.

There's that curved theme
coming through again.
- Yeah.

- You've got the walk-in wardrobe
and a really nice bathroom.

The bathrooms here in general
have been really nicely done...
- Yep.

- ...floor-to-ceiling tiles, again,
that contrasting light and dark...
- Yep.

- ...great light fittings.
- Oh, look, I think that one
is fantastic.

I like the way they've carried the
tile theme through. They've changed
the tile, but it looks great.

Fish scales there, which goes
with the fishing theme,
which is quite good.

- Yeah. You're a fisherman, yeah?
- Oh well, I try it, I dabble.

But look, I think one of
the other important things,
it's got two sinks ―

I think you call them
Jack and Jill's.
- Jack and Jill's, yeah ―

or in this case,
Stu and Cindy's, I suppose.

- Yeah, well, in that case, because,
you know, Cindy will claim

that I make a bit of a mess in the
bathroom, so she'll be pretty happy
to have two sinks.

- Gets her own sink.
- Yeah. She gets her own sink.
- Nice.

If you were living here,
would this be big enough for you?
Would it be the right sort of setup?

How do you feel about the bedroom?
- Look, I think there's
a lot of space.

I think that's a queen-size bed.
There's a lot of room on each side,
love the walk-in wardrobe.

I mean, that's something
that is really useful.
- Mm-hm.

- You know, neighbours are maybe
a little bit close, but, you know,

again, like with the kitchen,
not a deal breaker.
- For sure.

Yeah, you do have that ranch slider
out on to the patio there.

One thing to keep in mind, that's
Griselinia growing there, if I'm
not mistaken,

which is gonna get
nice and big and bushy.

It will give you more privacy
over the years.
- Yep.

- So further down the track,
it could be sorted out.

- Yeah, look, and clearly
the Griselinias grow like triffids,

so it wouldn't be a great amount of
time before it blocks it off,

and the privacy would come,
so yeah.
- Exactly.

There you go, Stu. There's
that curved theme coming back
in around the back of the house.

So 507m2 section ― not huge...
- Yep.

- ...but when you're thinking
of it being a lock-and-leave,

you're only gonna be here a few
months of the year, how does
that work for you?

- It works well, actually.
I don't want a big section.

We don't wanna end up with the sort
of burden of having to look
after it.

- Yeah.
- Lock up and leave,
low-maintenance, so, perfect.

- Right.
What's your dog's name again?
- Roxy.

- Roxy. How would Roxy go here?
- Yeah, look, there is
a lack of fencing.

Obviously, that would be an issue,
but, you know, nothing that we
couldn't fix

if we decided on the house.
- Not a deal breaker.
- Not a deal breaker.

- OK, so, what might be
a deal breaker ― the price.
What do you reckon?

- Look, given it's a brand-new,
high-end finish, it's in a really
new sort of upmark...

upmarket suburb, I'm gonna say 1.4.

- You're pretty close.
Yeah, just below that.

So it's on the market
at the moment for 1.349. So...
- OK, so not far out.

- Yeah, you're pretty much bang on.

- I think it's priced pretty fairly.
I mean, it is a really
high-spec house.

It's finished beautifully. It's in
a great area, so I think it was
priced pretty well.

- It's a good option, this one.
- Look, it's certainly in the...

in the list, because it really is
a beautifully finished house...
- Yeah.

- ...and I think Cindy would like
the high-end finishes and the way

they've kind of got the curve going
through. It's quite, quite
spectacular.

- Yeah, it's something
a bit different, isn't it?

All right.
Well, that's two out of three.
- Two out of three.

- Let's go finish the job, eh?
House number three.

- OK.
- Come on out.

Wanaka is a town full of adventure,
from skydiving, kayaking,
jet boating...

...and a 500m waterfall!

- New Zealand offers an abundance
of adventure, but only in Wanaka

can you take on the world's
highest cable waterfall climb.

Yasmin, there aren't too many places
in the world ― well, in Aotearoa,
let alone the world―

that you can come and climb
a 500m waterfall, are there?

- Absolutely. We are the only
commercially run via ferrata
operating at the moment.

So, yeah, if you wanna do this
activity, you need to come to us.

- Tell me how high it is again.

- Right to the very top is
just under 500 vertical metres

of climbing, so, yeah, it is a lot.

We've got over 2500 rungs...

and over a kilometre's worth of
cable that you're travelling along.

500m. How tall is the Sky Tower?

Ah, I don't know.
- I think it's tall―

I think that's taller
than the Sky Tower.
- Is it?

- I think it is.
- OK, cool.

Well, yeah, come and do this
instead of the Sky Tower.
- Exactly.

- So, this style of climbing
originated in the Dolomites
back in the First World War.

So, Austrian troops, they designed
the system ― they put the rungs

into the mountain, and that was
the way that they got their troops

up over these big alpine passes.
- Yeah.

- So, 'ferrata' comes from
'ferrous', which is iron, and
'via' is the path, or the way,

so 'the iron way' is what that
roughly translates into.
- Amazing.

And what it means is for people
like me, inexperienced climbers,

you get the experience
of rock climbing,

but in such a safe and fun way.

- Yeah, absolutely.

We've also got the added benefit
of our waterfall is broken up

into three sections, so we've got
a beginner, intermediate
and advanced level.

I mean, we have
children as young as 8,

and the oldest we've taken up is 80.
- 80 years old?

- Yep. So, he went
right to the very top.

His name was Gary...

- ...and he had chosen to do
something adventurous
for every birthday,

I think, since 65,
so since he retired.
- Amazing.

- So, yeah, that was incredible
to get him up there.

- Now, when you get to the top, there
is an option for how you get down,

which is pretty spectacular,
isn't there?

- Yeah, so, if you choose to do
our level-three climb, you do
get spoilt,

and you do receive a helicopter ride
back down to the bottom.

- I mean, in terms of adventure
activities, this place is
so fantastic,

but just relaxing and enjoying, you
know, the stunning scenery as well.
- Yeah.

Yeah, there really is
everything for anyone.

We've got, you know, world-class
mountain biking, hiking, kayaking.

We've got, obviously, the lake.

There's nothing that
you can't do in Wanaka.

- And a 500m-high waterfall
you can climb to the top of

- and get a helicopter ride down.
- And a 500m waterfall.

- I'm getting out of breath
just looking at it,

so I think it's best I keep my feet
on the ground and meet up with Stu
to show him through our final house.

OK, Stu,
third and final home of the day.

I know you've already noticed
it's a small section,

the smallest of
the three today, 300m2...
- Yeah.

- ...but it is a great home
that packs a lot of punch.

Great location. So, Clutha River
just over the hill right there...
- Yep.

- ...the outlet boat ramp
just up the road.

- Very close.
- It'll take you no time at all
to launch your boat in the river.

- Straight away you notice
the size of the section, but hey,

let's go and have a look inside
and see what it looks like.
- Let's do that.

Welcome in. So, another open-plan
kitchen, dining and living area.
- Yep.

- Brand new, really,
no one has lived in here.

Obviously, it's unfurnished...
- Yes.

- ...so you're gonna have
to use your imagination.
- Yes.

- Marble splashback in the kitchen.
- Yep.
- Designer kitchen, again, brand new.

- Funnily enough, this kind of
minimalist approach is what
Cindy likes.

- Right.
- I mean, she likes
to declutter and keep things out,

so in terms of overall style,
it would work quite well.

- All right. Shall we take a look
through the rest of the house?

- Yeah, good idea.
- Come on out.

- OK, this would
be the main bedroom.

Plenty of room for a king-size bed.

You'd get a California king
in here if you really wanted to.
- Yeah, I think you would, yeah.

- Your en suite as well. So, simple
bedrooms, nothing too fancy.
- I think it'll be fine.

It's got good storage,
good wardrobe...
- Yep.

- ...got the en suite,
can't ask for much more.

- Well, again, Stu,
looking at a lock-and-leave,

this really is the ultimate
in low-maintenance living, really.

You'd be living up in Cambridge
for a lot of the year.
- Yep.

- Definitely a condensed home,
condensed living,

but sometimes, you know, it's not
about the size, it's how you use it.

So would your family be able to use
a home like this, do you think?

- We could, but it would be more
utilitarian as opposed to moving
in and enjoying it.

- So what's your idea
of what it might be worth?

- Well, again, good area, so
I'm gonna say high 8s, low 9s.
- Yeah, a little bit higher.

So, looking at around
the $1 million mark.
- OK.

So initially, I thought
the price was quite high.

But, you know, on reflection, when
you think about the location close
to the river,

close to the boat ramps, quality of
the build, you know, $1 million
makes more sense.

- Three homes that we've looked at
today, hopefully one of them's
taken your fancy.

- Few phone calls to Cindy, and
we'll try and come up with
a decision.

- Great, mate. We'll get back
together again soon.

- Awesome.
- Cheers.

Well, it's hard to know
which option Stu's gonna choose,

but let's give him some time
to consult with Cindy,

and hopefully together
they can make the right choice.

After giving Stu some time to think,
I picked up a couple of hot coffees

and made up again to see
which house he ended up going with.

Hey, Stu.
- Gidday, Matt. How are ya?

- Good, mate. Flat white, was it?
- Yeah, perfect. Good to see ya.

- Yeah, you too.
- Yeah.

- Man, we're gonna
need these coffees.
- I'll tell you what, it's cold.

- It's really cold.
- It's quite cold out here.

- Hey, you set me a bit of
a challenge last time I saw you ―
to find you a lock-and-leave

that was gonna be great for you
to live in by yourself for a lot
of the months of the year...

- Yeah.
- ...but also something
the family could enjoy as well.

So remember the first one we looked
at, one really good thing about it

was, thinking about Roxy, your dog...
- Yep. Yep.
- ...fully fenced,

all good to go
in terms of, you know...
- Yep.

- ...having the dog in the backyard.
- Yep, no, that was great,

move-in ready, perfect.
- Yeah.

- I like the indoor-outdoor flow
and a super modern kitchen, so...

- And that entertaining
kitchen as well.
- Yeah.

It was perfect for the way
we sort of live our lives. Yep.
- Yeah.

Then the second property we looked
at, really modern, brand new.

You'd be the first person
to live in it.
- Yep.

- And I just remember the, sort of,
curved features going throughout
the house.

- Yeah, that place was spectacular.
It had great kerb appeal.

I like the way they'd sort of put
all the design features through.
- Mm.

Fabulous kitchen...
- Yeah.

- ...modern, sleek, contemporary.

- Great bathrooms too.
- Oh, that master bathroom is fan―

And it had a walk-in wardrobe,
which Cindy would love.
- Yeah.

Third one was quite small,
but again, it packed a punch,
had a lot going for it.

- Look, it was small. It was modern,
it was clean, it was sleek.

You know, as Cindy always says,

neutral colours means she can
put her touch on it.
- Yeah, yeah.

- It may be smaller scale, and
when the family comes down,

we might be bursting at the seams,
but, you know, otherwise,
a great property.

- But one of them has taken
your fancy, so much so that you're
gonna go for one, aren't you?

And I understand Cindy hasn't
even been down to see it yet.

Well, um...

- ...Cindy hasn't been to see it,
but I'm not sure if she trusts
me entirely,

so she did do a walk-through
with the real estate agent...
- OK.

- ...and he was pretty positive
about all of them,

but we've settled on
house number one.
- Number one.

- Because, important for us, it's
move-in ready, lock up the dog,

close to ski field,
close to the lake,

and another bonus, Matt, it's about
650m from the sixth hole on
the Wanaka golf course.

So, thanks very much, Matt.

- Hey, cheers, Stu.
Lovely to meet you, mate.

- Yeah, and we'll maybe
get you down next year.

- Yeah, I'll come stay. Cheers, mate.
- Cheers.

- Well, I'm happy that Cindy got
her say in this country house-hunt.

I wish them and the boys all
the very best in wonderful Wanaka.

www.able.co.nz
Copyright Able 2024.