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.

On today's show, I'm in the magical town of Martinborough with house hunters Paul and Moira.

They're looking to slow things down a little and have decided

that Martinborough is the perfect place for them to do so.

I've lined up three incredible properties for us to tour,

but which one will Paul and Moira fall in love with?

Stick around to find out.

Today we're on a house hunt here in Martinborough with Paul and Moira.

They're ready to retire and settle down here, with Moira hoping

for a big garden to dig her green fingers into,

and Paul hoping for a big kitchen to whip up his culinary creations.

Now, they've had a lot of time scouring the market,

and not much luck finding something that ticks all of their boxes.

So hopefully today, one of my picks will have them saying 'home sweet home' in no time.

- So, we've been looking all around the country for somewhere to retire to.

We've looked at Hawke's Bay, down south, Taupo, all around the place,

all around the Wairarapa, and we just keep coming back to Martinborough.

So we just drive back into town and look and go, 'Yeah, nah, this is where we wanna live.

'You know, we really like it here,' and it's just a feeling. - Mm.

- Moira and I met about 30-something years ago swimming in Freyberg Pool every morning.

So we used to go swimming in there. - Swimming before work.

- There was a bunch of regular people that went there,

and Moira was there, and that's how we met, and we've been together ever since.

I could really see ourselves living in Martinborough. It's a really nice village feel.

It suits our lifestyle, and it's very friendly. - It's very friendly.

- It's a really nice place and lots of activities to do here ―

lots of vineyards, lots of cafes. - Yeah.

- Our budget for this house is probably 2.2 to 2.3 max.

- Located just an hour's drive from Wellington, Martinborough offers over 20 wineries,

most of them within cycling distance of the quaint village square.

Some of New Zealand's best pinot noir comes from the town's predominantly family-owned vineyards,

so it's not surprising it's a key stop on the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail.

Our first stop is this perfectly landscaped property

with plenty of garden for Moira and a stunning kitchen for Paul.

Kia ora korua. Moira, how are you? - Hi. Good, thank you.

- Gidday, Paul. - Gidday, Matt, how are you?

- I'm really good, excited to meet you finally.

It's been a long build-up to today, but finally we're here. - Yes.

- Ready for a bit of a house-hunt today?

- Absolutely, yep. - Absolutely.

- And in Martinborough. What an amazing place to be looking to settle down.

- We've been looking for a long time, and we've looked in lots of other areas around the country,

and we just keep coming back to Martinborough.

So this has sort of, like, been a couple of years looking for houses here.

- Really? - Yeah. - Yeah.

- So it's really hard to find something that ticks all the boxes,

so, yeah, hopefully. - Hopefully, we can find that today.

- Got your work cut out for you today. - Good.

This is a really nice modern home.

It's only about eight years old, and it's designed to really fit into the landscape.

- It's lovely with all the trees around and the hedging and the landscaping.

No, it looks really good so far.

- A lot of garden for you to look after. Yep. - Yeah.

- Well, we'll see more of that as we head through the house, so let's get in there.

- The facade's really nice, isn't it, when you come in. - It's very simple.

- Very simple, nice lines, sort of the way it curves down with the landscape in it.

- Yeah, it's nice from the outside. -Yeah.

- Oh, wow. - Here we are. - Very nice.

- Nice big open-plan kitchen-living-dining area here.

Really nice kitchen, this one, big island floating bench in the middle here.

And you probably noticed as you walked in, this polished aggregate concrete floor,

if you kind of follow it all the way through, you've got that beautiful view out there,

and on a good day ― on a good day, I'll stress that ― yep... - On a good day.

- ...you could probably see the Remutakas out there as well.

- The centre island, the floating island stuff is just fabulous. I really love it.

- Easy to work around it. - It's easy to work around it,

and, you know, for two of us ― because Moira does help ―

there's― you know, there's room for her to work and stuff like that.

So, no, really nice kitchen, love it. - Nice.

- And the view is just spectacular. - Mm.

- You know, just looking around, you could, you know, sit outside there or sit in the windows

if it's one of those, sort of, sunny winter's day where you can sit out in the window,

and then in the summer, sitting out there looking at that view is quite spectacular.

- That's brilliant. - Yeah, I love it.

- And you're not really conscious of neighbours.

- No, not at all. You couldn't see anyone from here.

It's absolutely private. - Which is good. - Mm, which is great, yeah.

- Pretty amazing area for entertaining, I reckon. - It's absolutely beautiful.

- Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, it's amazing.

- Beautiful pool. - It's great.

I mean, it's just... just imagine sitting out here in the summertime

with the barbecue going and sort of jump in the pool and back out, oh. - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

- The dream, really, isn't it? - Yeah.

- You know, it's just like you're in the middle of the country, yeah. - It's so private.

- Sitting on about an acre of land, so plenty of grounds. - Right.

- Speaking of which, would that be intimidating

in terms of looking after the maintenance of a property of this size, no?

- No. No, definitely not. - No. That's what gardeners are for.

- Well, I'm gonna head down that path through that little gate.

Come and find me there in a little bit,

but before you do, check out the rest of the house, especially the main bedroom...

- Mm-hm. - ...and just take your time, just enjoy it.

- OK, yeah, we will. - Thank you. - Sounds good.

- This is a good sized bedroom, isn't it? Yeah, it's lovely. - Yeah, it is.

And it would be lovely to wake up to that.

- Well, just looking out the yard and straight out in the morning into the pool...

- Yeah, yes. - ...or the spa pool if it's a bit cooler. It's really cool.

It's a very nice house. - Very nice house.

- You walk in, and it's― - And I love those two areas,

so you've got a second sitting area there... - Yeah. Yeah.

- ...and then you've got all these outside sitting areas.

- So depending on what the weather is or what time of the day it is... - Yeah, yeah.

- ...you can find somewhere to sit in the sun or out of the wind and... - Yeah, yeah.

- All right, well, maybe we should go out and see what the surprise is...

- The surprise, yes. - ...that Matt's got for us.

It'll be interesting, but, yeah, let's go and have a look. - Yeah, let's go.

- Here we are in your very own citrus orchard.

Look at this. - It's fantastic.

- 26 lemon trees. You know what they say ― when life gives you 26 lemon trees...

- That's a lot of gin. - ...drink a lot of gin and tonics.

So how would you like this little orchard? Would you like this? - Yes. Oh, this is lovely.

- It's really peaceful, isn't it?

- It's like a real tranquil sort of garden. - Mm.

- So, if we're liking it, we'd better talk about what it's worth.

Price ― what do you think it's sitting at?

- It's over budget. - Yeah, I― - You think so?

- Yeah, I think so, because of the location.

It's probably maybe 2.3, something around there.

- It has got everything going for it. - Yeah, it has.

- Yeah, it sure has. - A beautiful location, fantastic house, 26 lemon trees,

and it's in budget. - Oh, really?

- 2.2 would get you this house. - Oh, wow.

Gee. OK.

I'm really surprised we can...

It's in our price range, that's for sure. - Yes, so am I.

- Yeah. And the location, I'm very keen. - Yes. Yes.

- Well, I've got more surprises for you.

Two more fantastic options, so why don't we hit the road? - OK, let's go.

- After the break, we head over to our second property,

which is so close to one of the top wineries in the country,

you can pretty much taste the grapes from your front door.

- Welcome back to our house-hunt here in Martinborough with Paul and Moira.

The first house we toured was this stunning property that was expertly landscaped,

but the open-plan living may have been a bit too small for our couple.

So let's head over to our next property. I'm quietly confident I can impress them with this one.

If you wanna talk about a quintessential country house

here in Martinborough, this one fits the bill. - Yeah.

- Really is a stunning home and a great location right next to Palliser Vineyard,

one of the best vineyards in the area. This place is special.

So original 1900s villa on this side, but the owners have made extensions out into the otherside,

so it's a really modern space inside, plus a guest house as well, so plenty of room for accommodation.

You've got four bedrooms on this side of the house, plus the guest house.

- OK, right. - I mean, if you wanted to, you could even rent that out as an Airbnb.

So an option for a little bit of income on this property for you. - Yeah.

Yeah, I think there's definitely potential with the guest house

to do it as a rental place, but I would need to think about it,

or whether we just leave it as standalone accommodation for when people come and stay.

- So moving from Wellington to Martinborough,

is this the kind of home you'd imagine yourselves living in?

- Wouldn't have been our first choice, I think. - Mm-hm.

- We'd prefer modern. - OK.

- On the other hand, it reminds me very much of my grandmother's house, so...

- Well, if you're looking for modern, I know it might not look it from here,

but I think it might surprise you when we head inside, so... - OK.

- ...let's do just that. - OK.

- Oh yeah, wow. That's really cool. - Yeah. - Oh yeah, really nice.

- So, not what you're expecting to see when you walked in? - No.

- No, no. It's... - It's quite different.

It was a surprise walking into the house because from the outside,

you do not expect a room that fantastic and new in an old house.

- And a modern, beautiful kitchen. - Yes.

- Something you could work in, Paul? - Absolutely, yeah. Great stove,

you know, plenty of bench either side.

I love the centre island. Again, it's my favourite.

- Plenty more to see, so I'm gonna leave you to it.

Have a good look around, really take your time, get a sense of the home.

Once you're done, you can find me outside.

- OK. - OK. - See you soon.

- This is a nice separate space. - Indeed. It is very cosy.

- It's really good, so you― - Watching TV.

- Yeah. Just sitting here, you get a nice, warm room.

The two of us watching TV's really good. - Yeah.

- The master bedroom was really nice... - With the en suite.

- ...with that en suite and stuff in there. - It was really nice.

- And the bathroom, the family bathroom was huge. - It is, isn't it?

- It was huge. It was massive, yeah. - It's a very big bathroom. Yes. - Love it.

No, it's a very, very nice house. It's been very tastefully done. I love it.

- Another entertainer's dream, the backyard, this one. - Mm.

- Yeah. It's great. - Love that courtyard.

Imagine― You're gonna have to use your imagination because it's a bit cold today,

but a sun-drenched day sitting around the courtyard... - Yes.

- ...jumping in and out of the pool. - As you say, on a sunny day,

you know, you've got all this outdoor space

then you've got the veranda to sit under for a bit of shade, and it's great.

- It really does continue that theme of mixing the traditional villa

with the modern home, doesn't it? - Yes, yeah. Mm. - Mm.

- And a really great little pool house as well. - Great place to sit.

- I can see us spending a lot of time sitting in here in the heat of the afternoon. It'll be great.

- Now, I wonder if we could negotiate to have the playground thrown in as well,

because grandkids would love that, wouldn't they?

- They sure would when they come over, yeah.

I could see them playing in there...

- Mm. - ...between there and the pool all day. It'll be good, yeah.

- So let's talk price.

What's your guess about the value of this home?

- Top end. - Top end of our budget. I think 2.2, 2.3 maybe.

- Yeah, it would be the very top end of the budget, potentially even pushing slightly over budget.

So it might be a stretch, but I think it's worth it.

I think if it's a home that you've fallen in love with,

it might be worth that extra little push to make it work. - Yep.

- So something to think about. Yeah. - Something to think about, yes. - Mm.

- It's, like... It's a big house, so I'm probably not surprised it's over budget, but it's, Iguess―

- Yeah, it's whether we can stretch... - Well, or...

- ...or want to stretch. - ...or want to stretch, yeah.

I guess we have to think about that as well. - Yeah, we do.

- So, a lot to think about, but we've still got one more house to show you.

So without any further ado, let's hit the road.

- OK. - OK.

- Don't go anywhere, because after the break,

I stopped by the Wine Merchants to talk with Charlotte about the wine that this region has to offer.

- With over 20 wineries in Martinborough, I took a moment to stop by the Wine Merchants

to learn some more about what the region has to offer.

Gidday, Charlotte, how you going? - Hey, Matt. Nice to meet you.

- Yeah, you too. Martinborough gets a lot of visitors all year round,

and I bet a lot of them pop into Wine Merchants right here.

- They do indeed for their take-home treat or their enjoy-here treat. - Exactly.

Cos you've got everything right here. I mean, obviously, this region offers so many different kindsof wine.

- Yeah. - Why not come here and try a few of them right here?

- Totally. And we pride ourselves on representing the whole region.

We've got the whole of Martinborough, almost, pretty much,

and then the rest of the region as well

so you can come in here and take a tour, almost, of our beautiful region.

- And something that's really exciting for the region is the pretty brand-new dark-sky status.

- Yeah, yeah, very exciting for the whole region to get accredited

as a dark-sky reserve down in South Wairarapa and Carterton,

and what's beautiful is some of our winemakers take inspiration from that.

You've got places like Luna, you've got Big Sky Wines

that are now able to really bring that to the fore and showcase the magic.

And what could be better than drinking red wine under a clear sky?

- Beautiful. That sounds amazing, actually.

You've lived here for how long? - I've been here eight years now. - Yeah?

- Yeah, and it's just such a welcoming region,

great community, great wine, great producers, just so much,

but the whole region is beautiful, such a showcase, beautiful coastlines, beautiful forest.

You know, we're incredibly blessed.

- I'm sure you're gonna see a whole lot more people moving here

in the near future... Cool.

...and probably coming in for couple of bottles of wine when they're here,

like I'm about to do. Maybe you could give me some recommendations.

Shall we wander round? - Head this way. - All right, let's do it.

I'd better not crack open the wine just yet, since we've got one more house to go,

and I may have just saved the best till last with our next property.

Alrighty, our third and final option, this one's a beaut,

sitting on about an acre of land in a really great location.

Again, like everywhere here, we're only a couple of minutes into town,

but similar to the second house, that's Palliser's Vineyard right next door.

The home itself, it's about seven years old.

It's a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, really nice-looking house, this one.

- It is, yeah. It is lovely, actually.

- What do you think of this little entranceway lined by trees?

It's very posh, I think.

Yeah, it looks really good. - Yeah. - Yeah.

- Right, shall we get in out of this wind before it ruins my hairdo even more than it already has?

- Absolutely.

- Coming in from the cold outside, the first thing I'm noticing in this space is how warm itis.

- Yeah. - It's so cosy, isn't it?

And that is coming from underfloor heating, I love that.

That's the polished aggregate stone floor.

For such a big space, it is really warm, really cosy.

Open-plan living-dining-kitchen.

I think you've probably already noticed, Paul, knowing you,

that is a beautiful Belling stove over there.

- Yeah, that's one of my favourite stoves, that's for sure. - Yeah, a fantastic kitchen.

This one's actually got stainless steel benchtops next to the oven, which can be quite handy.

- Great for putting hot pans and pots in, cos our current place has got a black granite top,

and I accidentally left a big hot pan on it for too long,

- and I had this big crack. Oh! - Right.

- So that's― Stainless steel's great.

- Won't be happening here. - No, definitely not. No, it's really good.

The space feels really, really good. - Mm.

- So I find the layout of the house is really nice, isn't it,

the way you come through the front door, you've got glass everywhere.

You can see different aspects of the high ceilings.

- Through this side of the house, you've got your three bedrooms.

Current owners are using one as a second living area, which is a great option for you,

also a little office space as well, which could be important.

- It's a nice walk-in wardrobe. - Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?

Plenty of room in there. It's great. - Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

- The outdoor living and the furniture... - Yeah.

- ...you could sit out there in the evening and watch the sunset.

It's a really nice house, isn't it? - Yeah.

- Like, there's plenty of room, not too much for us. - Yeah. No.

- The only thing that might be for us is,

is the section too big for us to look after? - Mm.

- Because there's a lot of lawn, a lot of garden. - Mm, mm.

And we're not used to doing that. - No.

- Yeah, I don't even know how long it would take to mow all the lawn.

- Be interesting how much it's gonna cost.

- Welcome to the backyard.

For a garden lover... - Yes. Yes.

- ...you must be happy seeing this. - It's fabulous.

- So many different areas for you to put your own twist on it.

As a gardener, you could be busy here every day

and be quite happy, couldn't you? - Yeah, absolutely.

- So, a lovely family home... - Yes. - ...lots of room for you.

It's got the pool, it's got the garden,

it's got the great kitchen for you. - Yes.

- What more could you ask for? - Nothing. - And just not too big.

- Not too big? - Mm. - Excellent.

- Well, the house is not too big, but the section might be a bit big,

but we'll manage it, I think. We can overcome everything else cos the house is so good.

- Right. But the one thing we haven't spoken about ― the price.

What do you think it's worth? - Top end. - Yeah, I think around 2.2,

a bit over 2.2, somewhere around there.

- Well, you did tell me that the budget was around 2.2...

- Yeah. - ...and this is around 2.2.

- OK, cool. That's really good. - So it's within budget.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- I think the price is probably about right, isn't it, for the house?

Like, I think it's... I'd be happy to pay that for the house

cos I think it's a nice house, and it feels nice, you know. - Mm. Mm.

- So, yeah. - Yes, and we have been looking for a long time.

- We've been looking for a long time, and I think, yeah, this is a good value.

This is good value for the house... - Yeah. Yeah.

- ...for what it is, yeah. - Yeah.

- So all that's left to do now is let you head away

and obviously have a think. - Make a decision. It's a tough one. - Make a decision,

and we'll get― It's a tough one.

- We'll get together again and see which way you're going. - OK, that sounds great.

- All right. Thanks for making such a fun day, team. - OK. All right. Thanks.

- After giving Paul and Moira some time to think over those three incredible properties,

it was time to head back to Martinborough to see if they've made a decision.

Back in Martinborough with Paul and Moira.

How we doing? - Good, Matt, how are you? - Very well, thank you.

- I'm really well, thank you. I'm really excited to hear your decision.

Let's just talk about the houses that we visited

when we were house-hunting here in Martinborough.

The first home I remember had that beautiful facade, the dark timber,

quite a modern home ― what did we think about that one?

- We loved it, didn't we? It was a very nice house. - Absolutely.

And a beautiful garden. - Yeah, fantastic, and great location for us by the golf course.

- Yep. Seemed to tick all the boxes, really.

- It did, yep. Yeah. - Yep. It's a very strong contender, I have to say. It's a good house.

- Yeah, would be very easy to live in. - Yeah.

- The second home, 1900s villa,

but extensive renovations,

a whole new wing, really modern feel inside.

- Mm, I love that kitchen-lounge area,

just beautiful. - Yeah, it was, and it was a really nice house,

and I think it was probably just too big for us, like, four bedrooms and all that, it's―

There's two of us. - About five bedrooms.

- Five bedrooms in the house. - Including the guest house as well.

- Yeah, so I think it's just probably on the big side for us.

- OK. So we're probably ruling that one out, OK. - Yes, I think so.

- But then the third home that we went and saw,

there was a lot to like about that one as well, wasn't there? - Mm. Yeah.

- As soon as I walked through the door, the front door,

and you look up at the, you know, big high ceilings, the kitchen was there staring at me,

and then as I looked out to the side, there's the pool and I thought 'Oh,' and then...

- And on the other side is― - ...cos Moira saw the garden, and her eyes lit up.

- It seems like a decision has been made,

and I've got a funny feeling I know which way you're going,

but let's find out ― which house will you put an offer in on?

- Yeah, no, you know, it was a tough decision between one and three,

but definitely, we're putting an offer in on number three.

- Number three gets the seal of approval from you two. - Absolutely.

- We just loved it. You sit there and you go, 'Wow, feels like home already.'

- Brilliant. Oh, I'm really happy for you. I hope it works out for you. - Yeah.

- Hopefully the offer is accepted, because it's been a long time

searching for a home here in Martinborough, hasn't it? - Yes.

- Yep. Yep. - Yeah, a couple of years. Yep.

- But do you reckon we've got the one? - Hope so, think so.

- Oh, we definitely know so, yes. - Cross fingers.

- Amazing. Well, all the very best. And of course, retirement's coming up, so good luck with that...

- Thank you. - ...and good luck with your new life relaxing here in Martinborough.

- Thank you. Thanks for your help. - Thank you. OK. - Awesome. Cheers, guys.

No worries. Anytime.

I'm thrilled to announce that after years of searching for a house,

they have finally found a home right here in the magical town of Martinborough. Well done, guys.

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