All language subtitles for Country.House.Hunters.New.Zealand.S02E12.720p.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 with our mother-daughter
duo of Ilene and Dawn,

who have just made their way
all the way over from the sunny
Philippines here to Aotearoa.

When it comes to their dream home,
they're not after anything too fancy,

really anywhere with enough room
for them all to have their
own personal space.

There is one top priority, though ―
it's gotta be warm,

warm enough to keep them toasty
in this cooler New Zealand climate.
Let's go house-hunting.

We've got a bit of a chilly one
today, but don't worry,

because the fire's crackling,
and the cat's left you some room
on the couch.

The sort of house we're looking
for needs to fit a family of four,

and Ilene and Dawn are
the reconnaissance team
who will determine

which of the three homes will work
best for family life in Rotorua.

So it's a really
usable space out here.

- All it needs is a grill.
- Yeah.

- A grill or a table
with a parasol or something.

- So let's get into it and see
if we can find Ilene and Dawn

the perfect home for their move
to Aotearoa New Zealand.

- Hi, I'm Ilene
from the Philippines.

- I am Dawn, her daughter.
- Yes.

- We have friends who moved to
Rotorua. They felt supported even
though they were migrants,

and, um,

it's their―

that balance of outdoor nature and
things to do that didn't have
to happen in a mall.

Those were the things that they were
reporting back to us, and they were
really enjoying themselves.

There is a really nice balance
of nature and, um...

um, progress...
- City life.
...and city life.

So we really wanted that ― somewhere
that was good for our mental health,
basically.

OK, how about you Dawn?
- Mostly, the― I just wanted
a nice commute system,

and some― someplace where I felt
safe when just walking in the road,

because as a small girl in the
Philippines , it's really―

it's really hard,
and I didn't feel safe that much.

- Our budget would
be around 500 to 700.

Somewhere where we have
a space for the four of us.

So I think two to three bedrooms
would be good...
- Mm-hm.

- ...and somewhere with a bit of
a lawn so that― My husband,
he likes to garden.

He's the only one who can keep
plants alive...

- ...so those would be
really good considerations.

- Rotorua is about a 30-minute drive
from Hamilton,

and has long been a favourite amongst
visitors for its geothermal wonders
and rich Maori heritage.

In recent years, this area has
become a Mecca for mountain bikers,

with countless downhill trails for
both pros and... um, not-so-pros
as well.

Rotorua offers a whole range
of outdoor activities

while still having all of
the convenience of a small city.

So let's get into our house-hunt
and see if I can find Ilene and Dawn

the perfect Rotorua home
for them and their family.

Now, this first house I've lined up
is a recently renovated three-bedroom
property on a cornersection.

I'm hoping it'll impress Ilene and
Dawn, and I'm also hoping they've got
the heaters running, because brrr.

Kia ora.
- Hi.
- Ilene, nice to meet you.

And Dawn.
- Hi.

- Haere mai. Welcome to Rotorua.
How are you feeling today?

Uh, a bit cold.

- Yeah, I can imagine that. It's
a bit of a change, the climate
here in Aotearoa New Zealand

compared to where you've come from...
- Oh yes, definitely.

- ...Manilla in the Philippines.
- Uh-huh.

- So there are millions
of people living in Manilla.
- Millions.

- About 14 million right now.
- That's a lot of people.

Comparatively, from Manilla to
Rotorua, it must feel like such
a difference.

- Yes, there's so much space.

So you're now studying
at university in town?
- Yes.

Yes, I'm studying in a master's
programme in Toi Ohomai Univer―

uh, Institute...
- Yeah.

- ...and I'm taking a degree
programme in mentoring
and leadership.

- Great, so you're gonna
be helping students.

- Students, or also I could be
helping out teams in corporate.
So it could go either way.

- Great. And your husband's working
in IT here as well.
- Yes.

- Yes, he's working in IT.
He's working right now today.

- So he couldn't be with us today...
- Yes.

- ...but that's why, Dawn,
your daughter is here.
- Yeah, I'm the substitute.

- Substitute. You're gonna be
looking with his eyes, though, right?

You're gonna be keeping an eye on
things from his point of view.

- A little bit, yeah.
- A little bit.

- And you're gonna be studying ― you
wanna be an artist, an illustrator.

- Yeah, I'm still applying, though.
- Yeah, great. Nice one.

All right, so, minimum two bedrooms
that you're looking for.
- Mm-hm.

- Somewhere easy to get to where
you're studying and where you'll
be working.

- And everywhere else.
- Yeah.

- And easy to heat, because
heat is important to us, right.
- Aha.

- I can see you got
your jacket on today.
- Yes.

- So somewhere warm and cosy
is gonna be important for you.

- Warm and cosy. That's it, yes.
- OK. great.

It's gonna be nice and warm,
this one. It has got double-glazing.
- Oh, good.

- They've renovated inside recently.
It's a really nice renovation,
so just in the last yearor so.

It should be nice, warm and cosy.
So why don't we get inside and
have a look?

- OK.
- OK.
- Come on in.

Here we are. It's a big open-plan
living-dining-kitchen area.

It's been renovated within
the last year, so a nice brand-new,
modern kitchen.

Big open-plan lounge, this one...
- Yes, very open.
- ...with really high ceilings.

Look at that ceiling,
a pavilion style, so huge in here,

big sense of space and just
a really nice flow as well

through these ranch sliders
out on to that deck.

- Yes, it looks like whatever
anyone is doing in the kitchen,

they're not going to be excluded if
people are eating. So it's like
a very interactive space.

- What do you think, Dawn?
How does this feel for you?

- Ah, it's OK for me
- Yeah?

I'm just already thinking
about how I'll clean everything.

- Yeah, because we're tiny,
and the ceilings are really high.
- We're really small.

- Most of the living areas
are floorboards.

I know it's gonna be easier
to clean, but we're―

- In terms of like, warmness.
- In terms of warmth,

we're just not sure how
it's going to be.

- Plenty more to check out. So
why don't you have a walk around...
- Yes. OK.

- ...the home, get a feel for it, and
I'll be here hanging out with the cat
when you're done, allright?

Unfortunately, it doesn't
come with the house. I'm so sorry.

- Aww.
- I know.

- Puss, puss, puss, puss, puss.

What do you think?

- OK, so, this is, like,
the master's bedroom?
- I think so, yeah.

- I'm just wondering
about the different kinds
of wallpaper in the different rooms.

- The wallpaper
was pretty inconsistent.

Like, if we were to move in here,
we would have to change it and stuff
because we didn't like it that much,

but for the space is―
- Except for the bathroom
and the toilet...

- Yeah, the theme
was really on point.

- ...because it was more cohesive.
Everything was black and white.

So, let's find out
from Matt what the price is.
- OK.

- So the front yard on a sunny day,
great spot for a picnic.
- Uh-huh, could be, could be.

- How do we feel about
the rest of the house?

- We were looking at the rooms,
though, and if we were going
to move in here,

we would need to change
the wallpapers.
- Wallpaper.

- Sure, OK.
- There was like different, uh,
designs of wallpaper for each room.

- It wasn't consistent.
- OK.
- OK.

Well, we need
to talk about the price.
- Uh...

I guess 700?

- Bang on.
- Oh.

- You're basically bang on.
- Oh, really?

I thought I was bad at it.
- No, apparently, you're
brilliant at it.

So knowing your budget was up to 700,
this would be right to the top of it.
- Yeah.

You do get that third bedroom,
though.

- It's within the budget,
but we would want to look
at the other options.

- Two more to go. So should we head
along to house number two?
- OK.

Come on out.

- I'm in freezing cold Rotorua with
mother-daughter duo Ilene and Dawn,

who are relocating
from the Philippines.

We've toured one house so far, which
got a tick for its open-plan living,

but now it's time to see our second
option, which has a really nice
established garden.

Let's see if I can win them over
with this one.

- So we're taking a bit of
shelter on the veranda here...
- Yes.

- ...because the weather has packed
it in here in Rotorua today.

But the second house I've got for
you, this is a really interesting
one, I reckon.

So, it's another '70s build,
about the same sort of size
in terms of the house.

It's about 95m2...
- Oh, OK.

- ...three bedrooms, one bathroom.
Interestingly, though, there's
a double garage,

and in that garage is
a little studio space set-up

that I thought might be able to work
as an office for you, maybe.
- Mm-hm.

It might need a little bit of love,
but potentially an option.

- The grounds themselves have been
really well looked after as well.
- Yeah.

- The current owner,
she's a gardener...
- Ooh.

- ...so nice gardens for you
already established.

- It is a good neighbourhood.
It is a good area...
- Yeah.

- ...that's accessible, but at the
same time, it's privately located.
So it's a nice balance.

- So it's a '70s house, and
the kitchen really hasn't really

had much done to it since the '70s...
- Mm-hm.
- Yeah.

- ...a bit of paint on
the cupboards and that's about it.
- OK. It is― It is dated.

There needs to be a lot of
renovation. A lot of the storage
space really needs to be updated.

- It's going to cost a lot, though.
- It is. It is going to cost a lot
more than just wallpaper.

- Now, the vines,
what do you think of those?

- It's really pretty.
- They're really lush.

Are they real?
- They are in fact real.

- It brings the whole space to life.
- Yeah.

Well, plenty more to see.
Let's head through to the lounge.
- OK.

- It's warm in here, isn't it?
- Yeah.

- You've had to take
your coat off it's so warm.
- Yes. It is warm.

- And that's all from the wood burner
that's going at the moment.
- Oh, I love that.

- Have you ever had
a fireplace before? I mean...

No, we did not need
fireplaces in the Philippines.

So this one's actually
a little different as well.
This is what we call a wetback...

- OK.
- ...which means that
there's plumbing pipes

go from that into the hot water tank,
and you don't need to have
the electricity

powering the hot water tank
in winter.

You can use the heat from the fire.
- Oh, nice.

The living area with a fireplace
that opens up to the deck...
- Yeah.

- ...those areas are really good
spaces. They're really relaxing.

- Tour the rest of the house...
- OK.

- ...have a good look around, and it
looks like the sun is almost peeking
out from behind the clouds,

so I'll be outside.
- Teasing.
- Yeah.

When you're done, come and
find me out on the deck.
- OK.

- OK. See you soon.
- OK.

What do you think?

- OK, so, uh...

I like this room. It is― But
there's, like, a lot of different...
- Elements?

- ...furniture that don't
really go well together.

I think that's basically what
my impression is of the house.

- Should we go find out the price?
- Yeah, because― Let's find Matt.

- OK.
- OK.

- I was wondering if you guys have
the term 'indoor-outdoor flow' in the
Philippines ― have you heard of that?

- Not much.
- Not really.

- It's something we were obsessed
with talking about in New Zealand ―

but this house, it's a perfect
example of what that actually means.
- Oh.

It just flows perfectly from
that lounge on to this deck,

and like you were saying before,
it's really just an extension
of the house.

- Yeah, it is.
- So it's a really usable space
out here.

- All it needs is a grill.
- Yeah!

- A grill or a table with
a parasol or something.
- Yes.

- So you can already imagine
yourselves using this space?
- Oh yeah.

- We could have our own cafe here.

It's really well-kept, really
well-tended. I think my husband
would like it.

He's the only person with
the green thumb among us.

We wouldn't want to mess it up.

- So what did you think of the rest
of the house? How are we feeling
about this home so far?

- OK. We would have
to rethink the dining area,

because it looks like it could be
more of, like, a breakfast nook,

but it's a really nice
and cosy space.
- OK.

The price of this house― You guessed
the first place on the nose.
- OK.

- What do you think of this one?
- Could use a bit more love in
several areas, so...

650?

- What are you thinking, Dawn?
What do you reckon?

I'm not good at prices.

- Your mum's pretty good, though.
- Really?

- A little bit less than that.
They reckon 625 for this house.
- Oh, wow.

Two out of three.

That's just two houses out of the
three that I've got for you today.

So why don't we move on
to our third and final house?
- OK.

That sounds great.
- This way.

- Coming up ― I'm off to see
some stunning pounamu carvings
at Puawai Jade

before rejoining Ilene and Dawn
for our final house tour.

- While in Rotorua, I made
a quick stop at Puawai Jade

to check out their beautiful
collection of pounamu carvings

and to hear from Floyd
about how these pieces are made.

Kia ora, Floyd.
- Kia ora, man. How's it going?

- Yeah, great. I've just been looking
at some of these beautiful pieces
you've got here.

There are some
incredible pieces of pounamu.
- Yeah, thank you.

- And you were telling me all of
these pieces are carved by one man.

- One carver. Niki Nepia ―
he's our head carver, master carver.

So, he actually studied
over in China with the Chinese
traditional master carving.

- So tell me about the pieces
that you offer in this shop.

There's a huge variety
of greenstone pounamu in the shop.
- Yeah.

So, a lot of the stone is your―
So, like, 90― 90% would be all
your New Zealand stone,

all from the West Coast
in the South Island,

and the 10% would be some of
our master carvers that are
over in China

and also Niki's carvings
that he did over in China as well.

- Yeah. So that's an incredible
piece you're talking about there.

Tell me about that one.
- Yeah. So, the wakahuia.

So these were his first sort
of master carving pieces.

So he started off with mountain
jade, and then from mountain jade,

he sort of wanted to expand
his memory within greenstone

and just different ways
of cutting and preserving stones.

- Rotorua obviously gets a lot
of visitors from around Aotearoa,
but from around the world as well,

and they must love seeing this work
when they come and visit.

- Definitely, especially having all
the tourist attractions here that
attract more people,

especially when it comes
to the cultural side...
- Yeah.

- ...um, like having
the geothermal activity.

- It's a place where you can learn
so much about Maori culture, but also
take some away with youas well.

- Yeah, definitely.

- So there's still one more home
to take a look through.

Now, you don't get the land on
the section ― that's shared with
the three different propertyowners ―

but this one is newly renovated, and
I think it might still be a really
nice option for Ilene and Dawn.

OK,

Ilene and Dawn, our third,
our final home for the day.
- OK.

So this one, it's actually
a cross-list. So you've got
three units all on the same section,

but this house in particular, built
in the '80s, it's had extensive
renovations done to it.

How's the style appeal to you
as we've walked up the driveway?

- It's...
- It looks really small.

- Let's see.
- Yeah, let's see.

You're keen to get inside,
aren't ya?

- Yes.
- Let's get inside.
Let's have a look around.

- Let's.

- All right. So, three bedrooms in
this home again, two bathrooms
this time, though.

So there's an en suite off the main
bedroom, which is always nice.

Uh, open-plan living-dining-kitchen,
and it is minimalist.
- Oh.

Yes.

- I think we could definitely
say this one's minimalist.
- It is.

- It's really spacious when I saw
it, but still minimalist.
It's really nice.

- Who does most of the cooking?
- Me.

- Really?
- Yeah, most of the time.

- Right. What are you cooking for
them? What's the meal of choice?
- Usually pastas or toast.

- She must be pretty good at it
if you keep on cooking.
- Hmm, yeah.

All right. OK, we'll
talk about that later.

And in terms of heating, a couple
of options ― the fireplace or
the heat pump as well,

so you can keep it nice and warm
and cosy, which is obviously
what you guys need.

- Yes, we need it.
- Yeah.

- The extension that they've put on,
a little sunroom,

it basically means you've
got two separate living areas.

You could keep it completely
closed with this big ranch slider

or open it right up
and have one single space.

Dawn, would you be eyeing that space
up for you? Do you reckon that'd be
your spot?

- Maybe for me and my sister.
- Ah, yeah.

- Like, if we do our art stuff or
just read a book and look at the
garden, it will be so nice.

- Wow, so this is the third house,
and I'm really feeling good
about it.

- Same.
- Yes.

- Maybe we could ask Matt,
see if it's within our budget.
- Yeah.

- I hope so.
- I really hope so,

or we can negotiate something.
- Yeah.
- OK.

- Hey.
- Kia ora.

- Smiles on faces,
you're liking this home, aren't you?
- Yes.

- There's a lot to like about it.
- Yeah, we have a really good
feeling about the house.

- And you were saying that your
husband would be mowing the lawns.
- Ah, yeah.

- Nice, easy job for him.
- He wants something small.

- Super simple here.
- Yeah.

- Now, the solar panels on the roof
would knock off some money off
the power bill as well.

- Lovely.
- So there's a 10-panel system
already installed on the roof.

- Solar panels are a huge plus.
My husband, he set up a solar panel
system for our electricity

back home in the Philippines, and
he would― he would understand this,
and he would really appreciate this.

- Now, you've been pretty good
at guessing the first two houses.
- OK. I would say...

still 650?

- How's she doing this?
- Really, you serious?

- Yeah.
- Really?
- Exactly right.

- It is in our budget. Of course,
I would have to get my husband's
take on that.

- Once you have
made your minds up...
- Uh-huh.

- ...we'll get back together again,
and we'll talk through it, OK?

- Yes.
- OK.

- All right. It's been a great day.
How do I say 'thanks heaps' in
Filipino?

- Salamat.
- Salamat.

Yes.

- Salamat.
- You're welcome.

- Well, that wraps up
our house-hunt through Rotorua.

Now, I'm thinking it's a coin toss
between house number one and
house number three,

but, you know, I've been wrong
before, so let's just wait and see.

So now that Ilene and Dawn have had
some time to talk it all through with
the rest of the whanau,

let's see if they were able to settle
on one of the three properties.

- Ilene and Dawn,
how good to see you again.
- Yeah, good to see you too.

- At least it's not raining today
like it was last time we hung out...

- It's much clearer.
- ...but I wouldn't say it's as warm
as the Philippines today, is it?

- No, no.
- No.

- OK, so we'll make this fast.
- It's never as warm as
the Philippines.

- So, I know that you haven't
made a complete decision,

but progress has been made
since we last caught up.
- Yes.

- Yeah.
- So, let's find out
what's going on with you two.

Now, the first house that we looked
at, it was a good little option.
I think you liked how it was open,

that open-plan living room,
had the really high ceilings.

You were a little bit worried
about cobwebs.
- Yeah.

- It was a consideration.
- Yes.

It's like the question was ― how are
we going to clean that high up...

- Yeah, yeah.
- ...basically?

- But the house itself was
a good option first up, wasn't it?

- It was pretty.
It was a pretty house, yeah.
- Yeah.

- Then the second home we looked at,
it had some things we really liked ―

the indoor-outdoor flow from
that lounge out to the deck.
- Oh yes.

The lawn and the trees.
- The garden was really nice.
- Yes.

- But again, a couple of changes
possibly needed to be made to
the dining area and the kitchen.

- Yes.
- Right.
- Yes.

- Then we took a tour
around house number three.

- It was― The space was
good. it was minimalist.

There was a very easy-to-maintain
lawn, and there was a sunroom,
so it ticked off a lot of boxes.

- So where are we at the moment?
What's happening.

- So, we've been in conversations
with the real estate agents,

and we're trying to negotiate
something that would be
a win-win for everyone.

- Well, I'm gonna cross my fingers
that it all works out,

because hopefully that's another one
for me that I've managed to
find for you.

Yes, good for everyone.

- It was so nice hanging out with you
two. So all the very best for it.
- Thank you. Thanks,Matt.

- Let's get you back inside in the―
in the warm. I know it's too cold
for you today,

so, yeah, let's cut cameras.
We're done.

Well done, Ilene and Dawn. I've got
my fingers crossed that your offer
is accepted

and you can start to put
down roots in this beautiful
region of Aotearoa New Zealand.

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