Original subtitles

- 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.

Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2024

Aroha and Stacy are packing their bags

and making the move from Hamilton here to Te Kuiti

to be closer to family so they can lend a helping hand with their young kids.

Now, they're both really busy.

They're always on the go working full-time jobs,

so we're looking for a family home with enough room

for everyone to spread out and have their own space.

Hopefully today, I can find them something that works.

Today I'm with Stacy and Aroha, a vibrant young couple

eager to make the leap from big city Hamilton

to the charming town of Te Kuiti.

And again, that access to the deck right there.

Those doors open right up

and you can, as you're saying, enjoy your morning coffee... - Definitely.

- ...or get out there in the evenings and watch the sunset.

And with two little ones in tow, their vision of their new home is crystal clear.

- I did like the kitchen. The dining room joining on to the kitchen's just a little bitsmall,

but I think just trying to think of other options, what we can do to make this house our own.

- So, let's dive in as I take this couple through three different properties

that are sure to pique their interest.

- Kia ora, my name's Aroha. - And kia ora, my name's Stacy.

- So, we're looking to make the move to Te Kuiti

really for the affordable house prices,

but also to be a lot more closer

to get some family support for the kids so that they can grow up with their cousins and family around.

- I work as a residential youth worker for Oranga Tamariki.

I look after young tamariki that have been through youth justice.

My job's to make sure that they're in a safe environment.

- I work for Genesis.

I'm a team leader in the contact centre.

I'm an at-home team leader, so I've got all the people that report to me

spread across New Zealand.

We have two young children.

- Our firstborn, Emmie, she's three years old.

She is very introverted in comparison to her brother ― her brother, Charlie.

He is 1½ years old.

He is very hands-on, likes the outdoors, running around.

Yeah. Our two children, they're a lot of work.

- I'd love to have a three-bedroom home, double garage,

preferably with internal access

so it makes it really easy for me to be able to get the kids in and out.

We'd love a fenced section and quite a decent-sized backyard.

- Due to the fact that we have kids and animals,

more space is something preferable.

- I think we'd love kind of an open plan so that we can see the kids,

but also have our own separate, distinct spaces so that when we need it,

we can go off and do our own thing.

We can spend up to $450,000 for our house.

- Te Kuiti, a sweet little town located just 80km south of Hamilton,

is known for its stunning natural landscapes, lush farmland

and for being the sheep shearing capital of the world.

This place just oozes that laidback, picture-perfect rural lifestyle,

making it a fantastic spot for today's couple to settle.

The first house I've found checks all of the boxes.

Numerous bedroom configurations, a roomy garage,

and a gorgeous view of the town to boot.

Stacy, Aroha... in Te Kuiti looking for a dream home.

How you feeling?

- Nervous. - Yeah. - Excited, yeah.

- Well, I've got some options for you today.

But before we start talking about the houses, I want to talk about you guys.

So, you've been together for a while now, eh?

14 years? - Met back in 2009 in Whakatane, yeah.

- In Whakatane. Tell me about how you met.

I think there was a beach party involved. Is that what's going on?

Oh, just your usual underage drinking.

- Doing things we shouldn't be, with parents not knowing.

- Hey, well, it worked out pretty well for you, didn't it? Yeah. - It did.

Yeah, we wouldn't be here today trying to find a house. - Exactly.

I have brought you to a home that I want to start off with today,

cos I think this is a great option for you two, and for a young family.

It's a three-bedroom home. It has got a big garage on the ground floor, internal access.

Honestly, I think this one could be a real winner for you two.

Let's see how it works inside, shall we?

- Let's go. - Come on in.

OK, here we are.

So, you would have noticed, obviously, we came in through that big garage,

heaps of space down there.

So, looking around this lounge, sort of dining area that we're in at the moment,

how would it suit you guys as a family?

- Yeah, this is a nice little area. Could kind of have the kids separate.

It'd be cool. - That view in the morning would be amazing as well,

looking down at Te Kuiti. Look at that through there.

- Yeah. Waking up to that would be pretty awesome, though.

- Well, should we head through to the separate living area just through here?

- Yeah, sounds good. - Yeah. - Come and have a look.

OK, yeah, so, a separate little lounge area here.

They've almost got it set up kind of like a gaming room, I reckon, with that big TV.

Then this room here, that's a bedroom.

Currently they've used it as another separate little sitting area/office.

So, while the kids are young, I mean, they'd be sharing a room for a while anyway, wouldn't they?

You could use that space for you, Aroha.

- Yeah, I do think so. Definitely.

We've got a kid in our room in their cot still. - Oh OK. Right.

- The 1-year-old. - Mm-hm.

- And I think we could definitely use one of the rooms for the kids.

- Mm. - They can keep all their mess.

- Yeah, keep it to one room. Yeah. - In one room. - In one room.

- Yeah, all in one room. - Yeah, in one room. - Yeah. Yeah.

Hey, why don't you guys take a look around the house, and I'll be out the back when you're done.

- Sweet. - Cool. Thank you. - See you in a minute.

- This house is pretty cool. - Yeah, it feels really homely.

- How do you like the rest of the house? You think it was all right?

- Did you run the showers? - Oh yeah, it's crap!

- But the―the bathroom was really big.

- Yeah, it's a big bathroom. - The bathroom was big.

- What do you think it's worth? - Three bedrooms, double garage.

I would say about a half a million.

Should we go check out with Matt and see how much it is?

- Yeah, let's go do that now. - Yeah.

Hey. - Kia ora.

Big back section, this one... - Yeah.

- ...and already you can kind of get a sense of what it might be like for you.

There's a young family living here currently, so all the play equipment. - Mm.

- Imagine that that's yours. The kids running around in the backyard.

The fence, obviously all around the property,

means that you wouldn't have to worry too much about your dogs.

You guys gardeners? You do much gardening?

- I potter a little bit, I guess, yeah. - Yeah.

- Wouldn't be too much work involved in a garden like this. - Mm.

Yeah. - But again, if you wanted to, you could do anything with the space.

There's heaps of room for planting.

It's also a nice private cul de sac as well up the top of this hill. - Mm.

- So it will be quiet. You're not gonna get a lot of―

well, you're not gonna get any traffic, really. - Mm.

That's the one thing I've noticed, is, um, haven't seen many cars. - Yeah.

If we are liking this place, we've gotta talk about price. - Mm.

- What do you think it's in the ballpark of?

- We were talking about it before, but I would say...

I would say about half a million. - Mm. Bit lower, actually, yeah.

450 they're looking for for this house. - 450? Wow.

- Oh cool. That's right on our price range.

- Yeah. Looking at your budget, I mean... - Yeah.

- ...that's just smack-bang on.

One down, two to go. Let's head off to house number two. - Sweet.

- Cool. Sounds good. - Let's go! - Let's go.

Coming up ― we check out two more homes with big personalities

and even bigger potential.

And later, I head down to the Waitomo Caves

to meet some of New Zealand's most intriguing creatures.

- I'm here in the heart of Te Kuiti

on a mission to find Aroha and Stacy their dream home.

The initial house set a high bar, boasting ample family space

and a breathtaking town view,

but this next property could change their mind.

This revitalised '60s abode is brimming with character

and presents one unique opportunity that could be the deciding factor for our couple.

Just a little sunshower just as we arrive at house number two, but I'm sure that'll go away.

We won't spend too long out here. But the second house that I brought you to,

it's a really interesting option for you, I reckon.

1100m2 section.

It is a huge backyard. - Mm.

- If it's too big, there's an option to subdivide.

The home itself, you can see it's a brick house, three bedrooms, one bathroom.

They've added on a nice little sunroom out the front here.

I know there's no garage, but there is a carport so you would be covered. - Mm.

- And in terms of storage, there's a shed out the back.

- No, it looks nice. It's a really nice house.

- Nice, quiet street as well.

- On top of that, too, Aroha's mum lives a few streets over. - Oh great!

Whether that's a good thing or bad thing, I don't know.

I'll leave that up to you to decide.

All right. Shall we get inside and take a look around?

- Yeah, let's go in. - Sounds good. - Cool.

- Nice, tasteful renovation done to it.

You've got new carpet throughout.

In that kitchen and dining area, you've got the wooden floorboards.

How long do you reckon that carpet would stay nice and tidy with a couple of kids crawling around?

- We might have to keep the kids off it. They can stay in the kitchen,

- but, yeah, no. - Yeah.

It's a nice modern kitchen through there as well.

Probably a little bit more space than the first house.

How does it feel to you in here?

- I feel like it could be really cosy with the wood burner.

That'd be nice― Yeah. It'd be great. - That's a wetback as well, so good for your power bills as well.

- I do like the older villa, like 1930s,

so it's a little bit in between a modern and then a character home.

But it's just― Overall, it has a real nice feel to this house.

- Time for you guys to take a tour of the house,

so have a good look around and I'll be out the back when you're done.

It's a huge backyard, so see if you can come and find me out there.

- Sweet. See you then. - Cool. Sounds good. - Enjoy.

- I think my plants would enjoy it in here.

- This close to the kitchen, probably could turn it into a dining room too,

or your office.

That's a more modern kitchen than the first house.

- I did like the kitchen.

The dining room joining on to the kitchen's just a little bit small,

especially when we've got kids.

It was nicely laid out with all the bedrooms at one end of the house. - Yeah.

- So that we can keep the kids close.

- The master bedroom, that was quite nice.

- I felt like it was missing the bath.

It's just a shower, so just having a bath makes it easier to be able to do the kids at nighttime.

- Do you reckon this house here will be around 450, 500?

- Yeah, I think it might be a little bit more.

I think just with the new carpet, work they've done in the kitchen,

so it may be, like... be 460?

- 460? Oh, so it's around― just around― - Just a little bit more, yeah.

- A little more than last house, yeah.

Let's check out with Matt and see what he has to say about it and the price.

- Yeah. Let's go. - Easy. Let's go.

- Kia ora. - Hey.

- Well, that sunshower's turned into a shower shower,

so we'll huddle here under the carport.

But I wanted you to take a look at that big backyard,

and just look at all that space you've got out there.

- Yeah, the gardens and the section looks to be really easily maintained.

Flat section, so easy for the lawn mowing.

Garden beds are already kind of well-established.

Yeah, easy-care garden, I think, and section. - Mm.

- So the home itself, you had a good walk around. How did it feel?

- It ticked some of the boxes, like the three bedrooms.

I like the new carpet.

I am just missing the garage. - Right, yeah.

- So― And the internal access, especially on rainy days like today.

- Yeah. - Being able to just bundle the kids up immediately from the garage.

But, no, it's a really― it's a really nice home.

- All right. Price. Where are you thinking this one sits?

- We were thinking maybe in the 4― 460 price range... - Mm. 460, yeah.

- So just― or maybe a little bit over.

- It is on the market for 469,

so you do know your prices around here. You're doing well. - OK. Yeah.

- You know, even though the price is a bit steeper

than what we'd hoped it'd be, the fact that there's room for investment,

to make our money back, is definitely something that I will be looking at.

- All right. Two down, one to go. - One more to go!

- Should we go see house number three? Come on up. - Yep. Let's do it.

- Coming up ― I learn about one of nature's greatest and strangest marvels,

followed by a tour of our last property,

a spectacularly renovated cottage.

- Hidden beneath New Zealand's rolling hills is a subterranean wonder.

And I'm here with Joel from The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company

to learn more about this natural spectacle and its inhabitants.

Joel, Waitomo, it's a special area, isn't it?

There's nowhere really else in the country quite like this.

- Yeah, we're pretty lucky in terms of concentration of caves

and what the caves have inside them, and the variety that they give for us to do

all the things that we do, whether it's streams or glow-worms or formations,

we're definitely lucky, so it is― it is pretty unique, yeah.

- What does it take for a glow-worm to love a cave? Why are these caves just the perfect home for them?

- Well, they live outside caves, too, right,

and even when they're outside, it's― it's water,

and it's a food source.

- Yep. - They get their food from the stream.

So any place where it's dark and where it's damp

and where they can be the only light source, that's what they're after.

So that's why caves are so ideal for them, really.

- So they'd love a rainy day like today.

- Yeah, yeah, and this is a typical day in Waitomo, so, yeah. - Talk me through the experience.

What will people get to do once they turn up for their experience with you guys?

- So, the original trip, which is the Black Labyrinth,

you grab a tube, you do a practice jump into a river, and then you walk down into the cave.

And so to begin with, it's quite mild.

Your exposure to the lower ceilings and the formations is a little bit more relaxed,

and then pretty quickly, you find a couple of small waterfalls,

jumping off them into your tube, into a bigger river,

and then floating out of the cave under the glow-worms.

- This area where we are right now, it's a pretty special part of the country.

What do you love about living here, and how long have you lived here?

- I've been here for almost six years now.

I came here from the UK originally, and I was gonna be here for six months,

and I've stayed for six years now.

Apart from the caves, I mean, the concentration of beautiful places

and amazing things to do is one of the reasons.

But the people as well, whether they're locals or tourists,

they all understand that there's something special going on here.

- So you reckon everyone should get along to Waitomo and check out these caves?

- I think so, something― something for everyone,

and even if you don't want to go underground, there's plenty to do.

Bush walks and cafes and restaurants and stuff. So, it's a fantastic place, yep.

- I could spend hours exploring these caves,

but I've got one more house to show Aroha and Stacy,

and I'm hoping they'll be pleasantly surprised by what I've found.

OK. Aroha, Stacy, our third and final option for the day.

Probably the smallest of the three.

This is a really nicely renovated 1948 cottage-style home, so weatherboard.

Nice modern deck has been put out on that side of the house.

So, the only thing you probably need to do is update that garage.

It's probably needing a little bit of work.

How do you like this house? We've just walked in, but so far?

- I'm really liking the deck. - Mm.

- It looks really big for, like, entertaining when we've got family over.

Easy to mow those lawns. - Yeah. Yeah.

- We can play with the section too, and we can put our own little garden boxes in here somewhere.

- Lots of options for you here. - Mm.

- And again, looking at that kind of mixture between, you know, character and modern.

From the outside, looks like a 1948 little character cottage, but from the inside, really nicelyrenovated.

It's got modern touches everywhere, so this could be a nice balance for the two of you.

Shall we get inside? - Let's go head in. Sweet. - Yeah, let's do it.

- Welcome in. So, the renovation has been just finished.

Looking really good in here. So, I say three bedrooms.

that's how they've got it set up at the moment, because you can shut those barn doors

and have that separated off as a bedroom if you wanted it to be.

- Yeah. - So options for how to use that space.

But the modern kitchen, brand new kitchen, has been installed.

- I'm loving that modern kitchen. - Nice. - The marble top.

- It looks really nice. Obviously this is a staged home,

so you can get a sense of the kind of style that might work nicely in here. - Mm.

- I think they've gone with a rustic, Scandinavian kind of a vibe

based on the book that's been left lying around that says rustic Scandinavian style.

- Yeah, I would say so. They might have got some inspiration from that.

- Exactly. - No, it wasn't Pinterest this time. It was a bit of―

- Would this suit your style? Do you reckon you can kind of recreate this kind of look or..?

- I think we may have to go more family. - Yeah.

- I could just picture the children not keeping everything as nice

as it currently is in here, but it's beautiful. - Yeah.

Cool. Well, why don't you guys get to know the house a little bit better?

Have a good walk around, and I'm gonna be outside when you need me.

- Sounds good. - Sweet.

- Oh.

- Bit of work needed on that wall, eh? - Yeah.

- What did you think of the rest of the house?

- Would say that the bathroom and kitchen were the most, like,

enticing things for this house.

- It's a little small, though, eh? With the ki― having kids?

- Yeah, definitely small for our babies.

- Yeah. I don't really know where I'd be able to set up to be able to work.

- Yeah, you would have to have it in the master bedroom, probably, and away from the kids.

- What do you think this house is priced at?

- Given how small the house is, I'd probably, say it's more probably― - Be like high 300s?

- Probably just under 400,000, I would say.

Let's go on and head on out and go see what Matt's up to.

- Kia ora. - Hi. - Hi.

- It's got a nice feel to it, doesn't it?

- It does. It really does. - Yeah.

I think the word potential probably applies to the yard itself.

What do you think it's worth, though?

- We thought maybe high 300s, low 400s. - Yes.

- Cool. Even better, actually. They're looking at offers from $360,000.

Considering your budget goes up to around $450,000, that would leave you

a lot of money to spend on the yard. - Play around with, eh?

- Definitely. Yeah. - Yeah. Yeah. - Yeah.

The price of the house is lower than what we expected,

which is good for us. It gives us a wiggle room.

- I think we could definitely consider adding maybe a tiny home

or another cabin to the house to maybe add that third bedroom

or add that office space.

- All right, well, that's our third house.

I know you got a lot to think about, so obviously you're not gonna make a decision right now,

but we'll have a chat once you have that decision.

Hopefully one of these houses has taken your fancy... - Yeah.

- ...and we might have found you a home.

Aroha and Stacy have made their way through the three properties,

and I've got a feeling this is gonna be a tough decision for them.

So it's time for me to take a step back and let them contemplate their options.

Now I'm headed back to Te Kuiti to reunite with our couple

and a surprise guest who might just hold the key to the big reveal.

Let's hope they've got some exciting news to share.

So, this is Charlie?

- Yep, this is Charlie. - How you going, Charlie?

Charlie, did you have much to say in the big decisions

that your parents have had to make about the house that they wanna buy? - Yah.

- Yeah? Yeah. - Blah! - Yep.

- I bet he had a lot to say. Apparently, you guys have made a decision, though.

One of the houses we looked at, you're gonna put an offer in on?

-Yeah. I'm excited. - That's amazing.

Look, I'd love to find out which one it is,

but before we do, let's talk about which ones we looked at.

The first house we looked at was that one up on the hill. - Mm-hm.

- Great view out of Te Kuiti.

- Definitely great view. Decent-sized garage.

Double garage at that. - Yeah, true. That internal access is a bonus, eh?

- And it was definitely three bedrooms, not potentially

one turning into a living area so we could have three bedrooms.

We'd need it when the kids got a bit older as well.

- The second house we looked at had that huge section

that you could potentially look at subdividing at some point. - Mm.

Yes. And on top of that, it had a nice garage for maybe, like,

for me to put like the tools or anything like that.

- It had nice-sized rooms, too. But the sunroom was really nice.

We could potentially look at maybe a separate space for the kids or an office.

It was just I think that garage was the missing piece for us there.

- The third one was the smallest of the three.

Needed a little bit of work outside, but really nicely done inside, eh?

- The renovations on it were great.

It was the smallest of the three. A little small, I think, for a growing family.

- Yeah, so you would definitely have put a cabin on that property for that reason.

- So there'd be money left over in the budget to be able to do that work.

- Exactly. - All right.

Well, trying to figure out which way you've gone because you have actually put an offerin

at the moment, haven't you? - That's correct. We have!

- On which house? House one, two, or three?

Charlie? Which house are they going for? - Charlie.

Do you know, Charlie? Well, he's got some other business to attend to.

- That's all right. We'll discuss this. - He's got meetings to attend.

- Which one are you going for? - So, we decided to put an offer on house number one.

- House number one up on the hill. Yeah. - Gotta love the views.

- That's such a great property for you guys.

And that garage, you were in love with that double garage at the start, weren't you?

- Yeah. And we just― when we were there, we noticed the street was quiet.

Really safe as well.

- Honestly, it's such a great property.

I can see Charlie being super happy growing up in that house.

So hope it works out for you.

Hope it works out for you, Charlie. Should we do a cheers? - Let's go, Charlie.

- Let's do a cheers. Thank you for an awesome time. - Yeah!

- Cheers, Charlie! And... boink!

Well, I've since heard from our couple, and fortunately,

they were able to secure house number one.

Aroha and Stacy have scored themselves a beautiful property

that's much closer to family, and I wish them all the best

raising their two little ones in their new home.

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