All language subtitles for Country.House.Hunters.New.Zealand.S02E30.720p.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.

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Copyright Able 2024

Today's gonna be fun. We're hanging
out with long-time friends Rebecca
and Nik.

We're on the hunt for
the ultimate investment property

in the breathtaking
Te Anau and Manapouri area.

Now, Rebecca's got her heart set
on transforming the house into
a short-term rental,

but if I can work my magic, it might
just become part of her and her
husband Calvin's retirement plan.

So let's see what
we can find in this stunning
slice of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Today, I'm visiting the breathtaking
natural wonderland that is Te Anau
with best mates Rebeccaand Aneka.

I'll be helping Rebecca find a sound
investment property that she can put
a homely spin on.

A hunting lodge-style.

It is the perfect spot up there
to hang his great big stag's head.

- Rebecca and Aneka are besties
for a reason.

They share a love of the great
outdoors, boating on the lake
and a cheeky tipple or two.

- I love good-quality gin,
which we both enjoy.

- Yep. Or a good bourbon.

- The ideal property needs to be cosy
and unique, but Rebecca isn't afraid
of a fixer-upper.

How do you feel about
the feature wall?

- It's nothing that
a paintbrush wouldn't change.

- It's easy fix.
- Easy fix.
- Yep.

So join us as we explore
three very special homes

and share in the fun as we find
Rebecca her perfect property.

- We first met...

oh, how many years ago?
- About 12 years ago, probably.
- Yeah.

- And then I had my son
eight years ago,

and Rebecca was the first person
that looked after him when I went
back to work,

- and we've been friends ever since.
- Since. And I trust her opinion.

- Nik and I together, we like
to go out on the lake boating
with our families,

going into Milford Sound
or Doubtful Sound and...
- Drinking gin.

Drinking. Drinking gin.

- About six months ago, I had
some pretty major surgery

and in result of that, there was
an incidental cancer finding.

So, since then,
life is for living, enjoy it.

Probably changes your whole
philosophy in life, to be fair.

The budget I'm working
with is around 500,000.

Can go higher...

but if we can stick around
that 500,000, it allows us

to be able to put
money into a property.

- Te Anau is located in
the far south of New Zealand,
and is the main visitor base

and gateway to the glacier-carved
Fiordland National Park
and Milford Sound.

The picture-perfect region is home
to the endangered flightless Takahe
and abundant trout in LakeTe Anau.

The combination of outdoor recreation
and the welcoming town centre

offers locals
an irresistible lifestyle.

Whether they're boating on the lake
or admiring the view of the Hunter
and Cathedral Ranges,

Rebecca's future rental guests
will be sure to love their time
in Te Anau.

Let's head over to the first house on
our list. It's a bit of fun and ticks
all of the boxes.

Hey, morning.
- Good morning.

- Rebecca.
- Nice to meet you.

- And you must be Nik.
- How are you going?

- Good. Hey, I'm so happy to be here.
I gotta thank you.

This is my first time to Te Anau,
and it's because of you that
I'm here, so...

Can't believe you haven't
been here before.

- And so, Nik, your job today is
going to be helping Rebecca find
the perfect place, right?

- Place for her, yep. Yep.
- Excellent.
- Yep.

- So tell me a little bit
about what we're looking for.

I know that you're looking for
an investment property, right?

- We're looking for a three-bed
place that we can Airbnb in the
meantime and make some money out of.

- What else does it need to have?
I know a boat is a big part of your―

- Has to have good boat parking...
- Parking.

- ...and preferably a shed
to turn into a bit of a bar.

- Yeah,
the home bar. Awesome.
- It's gotta have a home bar.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that.
- Yep.

- Do you like the look of that house,
though? That's the Linea Weatherboard
on there ― you like that look?

- Yeah, I actually like the colour
too, to be fair.
- Yeah.

- And the deck.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

There is a nice north-facing deck
on this one as well.
- Yeah, that's the way― oh, wow.

- And...
- Oh, cool. Off-street parking.

- Off-street parking for the boats.
- Yep. There we go.

So, shall we get inside
and see what it's like?

- Yeah, let's do it.
- Come on in.
- Let's go.

- Right. So, what you got here is
a nice big open-plan, perfect
for entertaining,

living area, dining
and kitchen all in one.

- It's just got a really
nice feel about it.
- Kitchen.

- When you walk in,
you feel welcome.

- Polished wooden floors.

It's got a nice modern kitchen.
It is warm, double-glazing,

- got your feature wall you've
probably already seen.
- Wall. Yeah.

- How does this space
feel to you two?

- I like it.
- I like it.

- Mountain views.
- Lovely mountain views, eh?

North facing, so that's gonna
be beautiful in the evenings

as well with that sunshine.
- Beautiful view of the Murchies.

Yeah. It's lovely.
- Yeah.

- Nice kitchen, plenty of storage.
- Yeah.

- You've got a nice breakfast bench
kind of area at the end of it.

Plenty of bench space.
- Yep.
- Yep.

- How do you feel
about the feature wall?

- You could have fun with that wall.
- It's different.

- True, although the advantage of
having a big green wall like this is

any time you like, you can transport
yourself anywhere in the world.

I mean, look at this right now.

I'm in Hawaii, right?

And, uh, hi.
I'm in Delaware.

Can't do that in every home.
- No, you can't.
- No.

- What do you reckon
your husband would think?

- I think he'd like it, actually.
It has a dishwasher, so he'd be
all good.

- All right, so that's just
the kitchen area. Why don't we
head through to the dining room?

So, the dining area, I think
is one of the features of this house,

just because look
at the view that you've got

while you're having your breakfast,
your lunch, your dinner all day long.
- Have a drink there.

- The view...
- The view's outstanding.

- What's not to like about the view?
- How could you not like it?

- And also, they've done quite
a nice job with the kitchen-pantry
area over here.

They've put a little bar area in.
What do you think of that?

- The bar is brilliant, love it,
straight out on to the deck.

- Yep.
- Perfect space.

- How about I let you guys take
a look at the rest of the house
by yourselves for a little while?

Have a good look around,
and I'll be outside.

- Perfect. Thank you.
- Cool.
- See you soon.

- Very small bedrooms.
- They are small.

The kitchen and the dining room's
got heaps of space

and then the rooms are quite small.
- Quite small.

What do you think price-wise?
- Probably 500...

- Yeah, I thinking a bit higher.
- ...at least.

- I was thinking 530, 540,
just given its location.
- Yeah. Where it is. Yep.

- OK, let's go outside and find Matt
and see what the price actually is.

- Yep. Let's go.
- OK. Let's do it.

- Hey. Great big backyard,
this one, isn't it?
- Isn't it?

- And obviously, the highlight
is this deck. We've been
talking about it.

- Yep.
- Beautiful views.

What would you do to the space,
do you reckon?

- I'd probably just carry on
the seating right along...
- Mm-hm.

- ...and just put some plants up
just for a wee bit of privacy.
- Privacy.

- Yeah, for sure.
- And that's probably
about the only thing.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Could be a good option. OK.
- Could be, could be, definitely.
- Definitely. Yep.

- What do you think the price
is on this house?

- I think probably 530, 540.

- Yep.
- Yep.

- Pretty much bang on, about
530 is what they're looking for.
- Oh, OK.

- Yeah, the price is, I think
is really reasonable actually
to be fair, yeah.

- Especially for the area.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- That's the first one done.
- Yeah.

- I've got two more great options
for you. So, should we hit the road
and head down to Manapouri?

- Definitely.
- Let's go.
- Cool, let's go.

- Well, a strong start to
our house-hunt today, but there's
more to come in our second house.

Just wait until you see this cosy
fixer-upper I've got to show
Rebecca and Aneka.

- Today I'm house-hunting
with Rebecca and Aneka,

who are looking for
a local investment property.

We've got a good contender
in house number one,

which boasted a north-facing deck
and off-street boat parking,

but house number two is strong in
its location and charm. So let's
see if our besties agree.

You two are locals.
You know how great this location is.

I mean, look where we are. You've got
views to the Takatimu Ranges out
there.

You've got the Hunters that way.
You're a two-minute walk
to the lakefront.

- Oh, wow.
- Two minutes from the boat ramp,

which is very important
for you, obviously...
- Important, yep.

- ...and really close to a local pub.

The home itself sits
on about a quarter acre.

Compared to the first one, this will
need a little bit of work...
- Mm-hm.

- ...but I know that's not
something you're afraid of.
- No, not at all.

- Yep. It's a three-bedroom home,
nice cottage style, built in
the '60s. What do you think sofar?

- I love it.
- It's cool.

- It's got a great look to it,
doesn't it?
- Perfect.

- So all things are looking
pretty good so far?
- Definitely.

- Let's get inside and see what
we think. Head on in.
- Cool.

- OK, come on in.

All right. So, obviously it's a bit
smaller than the first place
that we looked at,

but there are good bones
in this home.
- Yep.

- Probably does need a bit of work,
though, and the carpet probably
needs to be looked at.

That kitchen could do with a bit
of a spruce up, but you did say that
you weren't scared of a fixer-upper.

- I think the carpets
definitely need change.
- Yeah.

Just clean it up a little bit.
- Clean it up, freshen it up,
modernise it.

- What do you reckon Calvin
would think of that kitchen?

Would he be able to whip up some
culinary creations in there,
do you think?

Oh, he doesn't whip them up,
anyway, but...

- ...he would be
saying it needs work.

- Yeah, but that's OK, right?
- Definitely. It's OK.

- Once it's updated, I think
it would look really good.

- It'll change the whole house.
- Yeah.

- Nice little indoor-outdoor flow
to a deck straight off the dining
area there.

- Yeah.
- And also a really good bonus of
this property ― a big garage as well.

- Oh, awesome.
- Lots of storage space...

- Yep.
- ...or...
- Bar.

- ...could put in a bar.
- Could put in a bar.
- Yeah.

So being a '60s cottage,
there are still some of
those original features.

- Yeah.
- Some of the original windows
are in here.

So go and check it out, have
a good look, and I'm gonna be
outside when you're done.

- Cool, thank you.
- Cool. Cool.
- Cool, see you soon.

- It's a decent size.

- They are bigger than the last one.
- Yeah, they are definitely, and all
the sunlight coming through there.

- They just need a...
maybe another paint.

- Yeah, that's probably about all
you'd have to do ― and the carpet.
- Yeah, and the carpet.

- But all the bedrooms
are a decent size,

which is good for
the rental side of it.
- Yeah.

- Gidday.
- Gidday.

- You know, this deck's got
a couple of nice features to it.

Enclosed at both ends, so obviously
that wind won't be a problem...
- Mm-hm.

- ...and it does have
some drop-down clear blinds as well,

so all year round, you could enjoy
this really without worrying
too much about the weather.

You've got some olive trees
I can see.

You've got the grapevines growing
as well and some raised garden
beds as well, so...

Are you a green-fingered person
in general?

- Not overly,
but I've got good friends.

- You've already got―
- You can just chuck them in
and see how we go.

- You've already got the call-up to
come round for a working bee, mate.

Now, obviously, you know
that the price of this one will
probably be lower than the first,

just because there is
some work to do.
- Yep. Mm-hm.

- But where do you think
it sits at the moment?

- I'm thinking because of its
location, probably around 500,000.
- Yeah.

- I've got some good news for you.
- Oh!

- It's actually on the market
for around 460.

- Wow! That is surprising.
- Yeah.

- So leaving a little bit of
wiggle room for the renovations
that you need to do...

- Yeah!
- ...and that's a good price.

So, might be worth considering
getting in quick on this one.
- Yeah, really good price.

- It's a good price.

- I think the price is really good.
- I was surprised.

- It's probably 50 K lower than
what I thought it was going to be.

- Yep, especially with that shed.

- Still one more house to look at,
so let's hit the road, eh?

- OK.
- Cool, let's go.
- Come on.

Well, what a charmer
house number two is.

Rebecca and Anika are gonna
struggle to go past that one.

Coming up ― we've got
one more gorgeous home to see.

It's a rustic-style lodge, boasting
plenty of unique charm for visitors
wanting an Instagrammable stay.

And before that, I just can't
pass up a visit to Milford Sound,

where I am truly overawed
by its majestic beauty.

- Te Anau is the gateway
to Milford Sound.

So before we tour house number three,
I visit this stunning natural wonder

and get to experience for myself
what makes this region so special.

The journey just to get to where
we've been standing today
has been unreal.

I mean, the fact that
we're even able to be here

is due to some pretty amazing stories
that you were telling us.

The people that made this road.
- Oh, absolutely. The men
of the Milford Road.

So all the history of how they
created this road through and the
hardships that they went through.

Building the Homer Tunnel is
a sheer engineering feat itself.

- I'm kind of blown away right now.

This place has been on my bucket
list for decades, and I'm finally
standing here in Fiordland,

Milford Sound, one of the most
breathtaking places you could
ever imagine being.

Tell me about the experience
on the boat, on the cruise.

- We're gonna be on a one-hour 45
to two-hour cruise out through
this glacial created fiord,

and we're gonna see lots of
different, powerful waterfalls,

both the temporary and the permanent
waterfalls today, and hopefully see
some really cool wildlife as well ―

dolphins, seals, penguins,
those sorts of things also.

So it really does, you know, earn
the title of one of the wonders
of the world,

and hopefully we convince you
to do the glacial facial.

- Glacial facial?
- It is, uh, we'll go
underneath the waterfall.

It is coming from an ancient glacier
and is a pretty special experience.

Some people will say it takes
10 years off your life.

- Yeah, we'll see
about that.
- Yeah.

- Honestly, I can see why you guys
have been voted number one so
many times.

You guys do an incredible job.
This has been one of the best days
of my life. Thank you so much.

- Thank you so much and thank you
so much for coming out with us.

We love to show people this
wonderful part of the country.

- Look at it. Incredible.

It's time to head
to our third house.

It's a rustic-style lodge,
and it boasts irresistible views,

but let's see if Rebecca and Aneka
like it as much as I do.

Alrighty, Rebecca, Nik, I have saved
a real cracker of a property for
the last viewing today.

It really is quite special.
Look at that river stone cladding,

the first thing you notice
when you walk up to this.

Honestly, if I saw this
as a holiday house listed online...
- Yep.

- ...it's got such a unique look
to it, I'd definitely stop
and take another look.

What do you think of the look of it?
- I love it, very unique.
- It's cool, yeah.

- Got, like, the old sort
of homestead look to it.

- Plenty of boat parking,
would you say?
- Should be plenty.

- Yeah?
- Should get the boat
in there, no problem.

- For the last time today,
shall we take a look around?

- Yeah.
- Let's go.
- Come on in.

Welcome to the hunting lodge.

So this was built in
the '80s by the owner.

It's a real cosy feel,
so much timber everywhere.
How do we feel about a brick floor?

It's something I haven't seen before.
It'd be interesting to see how
practical it would be.

- It would keep the house
really warm once the fire's going.
- Yeah.

- Floor is something
I find really interesting.

It's almost I love to hate it,
hate to love it.
- Yeah.

- I love that big open fire

surrounded by the
river stone as well.
- Yeah, it's beautiful.

- That's the feature
of this room, isn't it?
- It is, 100%.

- And one little quirky little thing
I've just noticed,

they've got the pulley system
drying rack.

Everything dries really quickly
up there, and it's out of the way.
- Way.

- Yeah.
- For sure.
- Really good.

- And the kitchen,
not a huge kitchen.
- Yeah.

- Do you think you'd be able to
survive with that kitchen for a while

and maybe look at
somehow improving it?
- Possibly.

Yeah, I think we possibly could,
yeah, could make it work.
- Yeah?

Calvin, what's he gonna
say when he walks in here?

- Oh, he's gonna say that is
a perfect spot up there to hang
his great big stag's head.

- OK, time for you to have
a good look around.

Do take your time,
really get a sense of the space...
- Mm-hm.

- ...and I'm gonna be out
in that nice private backyard.

See you soon.
- OK, cool.
- Cool.

- What do you reckon?
- It's a very unique space,
isn't it?

- It's a cool wee space up here.
- It is, isn't it?

Kids would love it.
- Yeah.

- What do you think about
the rest of the house, Nik?

- I love the fireplace. The kitchen
needs to be a bit bigger, though.

- Yeah, the kitchen is a concern.
Those two bedrooms are a great size.

- Yeah.
- That whole indoor-outdoor living
there's really good.

Bathroom's great, laundry's there.

What price do you reckon this
house is at? I'm picking 550 to 560.

- Mm, yeah, I was
thinking close to 600.

Let's go and find Matt, eh?

- Hello.
- Hey.

- So I know you were mentioning
the kitchen was a little bit small...
- Yep.

- ...but I'm thinking, who needs a
kitchen when you've got a great big
barbecue out of the back like that?

Again, this backyard, heaps of space,
very private, obviously, with that
farmland right there behind you.

- Yep.
- But I love the look of
the house from here as well.

Look at all those river stones
lovingly placed by hand.

And also, they've continued that
theme through to the garden as well

with the rock wall
using those same stones.
- All the birds.

- If you took the rocks
back a wee bit...
- Back a bit.

- ...you can have a hell
of a lot more lawn space.

- Yeah.
- You can open this section
right up. It's a labour of love.

- So, the price, what's your guess?

- 550 to 570 kind of range.

- Yeah, it's about 600,
I was thinking.

- Yeah, OK. Yeah, well,
it's on the market for 550.

- Oh, OK. It is.
- So, that's pretty good, right?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- You get a lot of house for 550.
- Yeah. Better than I thought.

- If one of these houses takes your
fancy and you wanna talk turkey,
let's get back in touch.

- Oh, definitely will do.
We'll let you know what we decide.
- All right.

Lovely to hang out
with you guys today.
- Cool. Thank you.

That was a lot of fun.
- Awesome, thank you.
- Thank you.

- The price was surprising.
- The price was very surprising.

I thought it would have been 20 K
to 30 K higher than where it is.

- Yeah, especially for how much
work's gone into it.
- Gone into it.

There'll be a lot of interest
in this.
- Yep.

- It's been a big day of
house-hunting for Rebecca and Aneka.

I've presented three amazing options
which are gonna be hard to choose
between.

So, I can't wait to know
which house they prefer.

A few weeks have passed,
and Rebecca's had some time
to discuss her options with Annika.

So I'm stoked to be catching up with
them again to hear Rebecca's
decision.

Kia ora, you two.
How good to see you guys again.

- Hey!
- You too.

- And finally, I get to see this
place. This is your local, isn't it?

- It is. It's a cool wee spot.
- This is The Church.

- So, I hear there's been
quite a lot of movement.

You guys don't muck around, do you?
- Yeah, there's been a fair bit
of movement, actually.

- So after I saw you, Calvin came
and had a look at the house.
- Yeah, he did.

- And one of the three
that we looked at, you've already...
- Had it accepted, had it accepted.

- So we've had a successful
house-hunt. This is amazing.
- Yep.

- The first place that we looked at,
it had that great deck
on the backyard

looking out to that spectacular view.
- Yep.

- It was a really nice
Linea Weatherboard home.

Do you remember anything
about that one?
- Yep.

- The green wall.
- The green wall.

- Yep, that's right.
That was the highlight of the home.

Good option, that one, though.
- Oh, it was.

In terms of a holiday home,
it was all set up, ready to go.
- Yep.

- Yeah. Bar.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Now, the second home,
it was a fixer-upper of the three.
- Mm-hm.

- It definitely had lots
to like about it, though.
- Mm-hm.

Really liked the shed
and the outdoor entertaining area

and the section,
really good section.

- Yeah.
- Yep.
- Yep.

- So really interesting
option, that one.

Then the third home we looked at,
really cute quirky home with all
the stone everywhere.

Really awesome place, that one.
Calvin would have loved.

- Loved it. Brick floors,
heaps of timber.

Nah, it was pretty cool.
- Yeah.

- Which one was it?
Which one did you go for?

- We actually went
for the fixer-upper.

- The fixer-upper?
- Yes!

It's got the good outdoor
entertaining area. It's got
pretty much everything we wanted.

- Enclosed backyard.
- Enclosed backyard.

- Awesome. So that's
what took you over the edge.
- Yeah.

- It had everything that you wanted,
that you were looking for.

- And we could put
our own stamp on it.
- Yeah, amazing.

And you know what, you were looking
for a smart investment.
- Yep.

- That's the one, really, isn't it?
You can add value to that place.
- Yeah, it is. Mm-hm.

- Apart from everything else, thanks
for letting me see this incredible
part of the country.

It was so good to spend some time.

- We hope you come back here soon.
- Yeah, you gotta come back.
- Yeah, I definitely will.

Cheers to that.

Well, a huge congratulations
to Rebecca

on purchasing house number two
with its classic cottage style.

Wishing you nothing but success
with your rental property,

and hey, I'd love to stay
myself next time I'm in town.

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