This week on Moving Out ` carving it up. Can dad Dallas steer his life in a new direction? I've been told that I'm a surfing addict in my past. (CHUCKLES) That's something that I've really missed here in Auckland. Is the move hitting a bung note with his son? Not bad, boy. Or will finding a house in a holiday spot prove to be too hard? Escaping the urban sprawl for small-town crawl. I wanna stay with my kids. I wanna grow up with them. But have they chosen the right town and the right business? www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 No matter what stage of the journey you're on, there's a Honda to suit you and your needs. Moving Out with Kanoa proudly brought to you by Honda. The reality is swapping the corporate life for a coastal one can often mean taking a bit of a whack to your wallet. But if moving locations fills you up in other ways, like living a more simple life, spending time with family, and helping the environment, can you really put a price on that? (PLAYS GENTLE TUNE) 15-year-old Jahli and his dad, Dallas, are in tune with each other on most things. Music is something me and my dad bond over a lot. What are we gonna play, son? You gotta pick a easy one for me. But leaving their home in Auckland is not something they agree on. Me and my dad have been living in Waterview for about four years now. And I really love it here. I've had lots of great memories in Waterview, and a lot of fun. I've got a skate park right next to my house. Kia tae mai ki Tamaki-Makaurau ko te whanau te mea nui. I relocated up to Auckland because my whanau was up here ` my immediate whanau, my fiancee, my son and my step-daughter as well. But two years ago, things for Dallas started to unravel. My fiancee decided to finish our relationship and pursue her own career and grow herself, and pursue that with massive dedication. He taumata rau hoki a Dallas, a, kei te whaitohu ano i Tamaki nei. I put myself through postgraduate study in business, and that was majoring in Maori development. As a side spin off the back of that study, I moved myself through to executive management while I was here and into a general manager role and as an executive leader within that company. I panaia ia i tana mahi. No reira, i titiro ia ki a ia ano. So I decided to take the time out, basically, and find a position where I could make a difference. And so I've had, basically, the last six months off without working, by choice, and be that parent at home, I guess, and I've never had that opportunity before; I've always been working the whole time. So it's given an opportunity for Jahli and I to really bond over different things, spend time together. Not bad, boy. Just do things together. Ma te titiro ki a ia ano, ka titiro hoki ia ki tona wahi noho. Auckland's not easy to live in. The living costs are high. If you don't have money up here, it's a harder place to be. My ex-fiancee and I, we made a conscious choice not to repurchase a house after we sold our last one. We chose not to buy again in Auckland. A lot of friends have chosen to move out of Auckland. Even though the sea's close, it's paru, for want of a better word. I've been told that I'm a surfing addict in my past... (CHUCKLES) by my loved ones. Surfing is a big passion of mine. Activities in and around the moana, very passionate around, and that's something that I've really missed, and I'm really looking forward to getting out of Auckland. Time to pack the babies. Auckland's done really well for me; it's been very stimulating, but it's also been a real challenge. But the things that I'll miss, one being coffee. (CHUCKLES) Morning. (CHUCKLES) Thank you, good sir. Have a good day. Really, the biggest thing out of Auckland I'll be missing will be the memories. There's been some really good ones here, specially with us as a family unit with my ex-partner and my son. Mo nga marama e ono kua mana i a Dallas etahi whakaaro nui. New area, new environment, new mahi. Yeah. He aha hei mahi mana, a, ka kitea i hea? This position's come about, which is to move to Raglan as a general manager for Xtreme Zero Waste down there, which is one of New Zealand's leading recycling initiatives. It's a community initiative, community enterprise. And that really sings to me. Kua tae te wa kia pakari a Dallas. Engari, kaore tana tamaiti mo te neke. School starting picking up again, sorta when Dad decided to pack up and get ready to leave. I think what I'll miss about Auckland the most is all of my friends. I've made a lot more friends that I'm very close with. But also the fact that I can go to the skate park and recognise everyone there and just know everybody that's at that skate park on that day. Go up to them, say hello and then just go and skate. And that's what my favourite part about Waterview has been, being able to know everyone in here. Settling into a new school is what I'm most nervous about and just being able to fit in cos of how long I've been in Auckland for. He tamaiti aroha a Jahli ki tona papa. Engari kei te whakaaro a Dallas he nekehanga pai. My sister and my nephews and that, they all live in Hamilton, which is really close. Will be the closest I've lived to my tuahine for a long time. Really cool for this fulla. He's got his cousins a lot closer; the whanau come visit. And maybe I'll be lucky enough or blessed enough to find a Whaingaroa wahine. I have been single for some time. So, yeah, that's an exciting part of life too. This job has definitely come up at the right time. We're ready to move from here. I've been ready for a long time. But there will be a significant change, whether I like to admit it or not. Ka timata a Dallas i tana turanga hei nga ra tekau ma waru. No reira, me tere te rapu whare. What lies ahead for Dallas is a little bit more difficult than the quality of the coffee. E ai ki nga korero there was a report last year which said that about a third of the houses in the popular seaside town of Raglan are unoccupied holiday houses. Kua whai mahi a Dallas, but he's yet to find a whare. And that is a bit of a worry. Drag that across so you can get over. Yeah, that's good. (UPBEAT MUSIC) (GAME SOUND EFFECTS PLAY) (UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES) (GAME SOUND EFFECTS PLAY) Yeah! MARIO: Wahoo! VOICEOVER: Nintendo Switch. Play, connect. Dallas Butler is on the verge of uprooting his life, swapping corporate Auckland for coastal Raglan, two hours south in the Waikato. His 15-year-old son Jahli is being swept up in the tide of change. Just as I was starting to enjoy school a lot more, uh, sorta when we started packing up, which was... A bit of a peeve, but... it's what it is. Ahakoa nga taumahatanga kei runga i a ia, he ao hou ano kei tua ki Whaingaroa mo Dallas. There's X amount of challenges in your life that are real specific, one of them losing people or getting married or moving your whare. And definitely experiencing a couple of those. (LAUGHS) E aroha nui ana raua ki te eke ngaru. No reira, kei te mahana a Jahli ki te whakaaro o Whaingaroa. My favourite thing doing with my dad, and ever since I was little, is surfing and going to the water with him and being able to teach me all my confidence within the water since age 2, maybe. I can now go past all the big waves into a place where it's twice my body height and not be scared and just enjoy it. I get to see the moana again, I get to smell the salt again, I get to surf again. And the type of mahi that I've moved into now for the first time is not-for-profit, so it's a social enterprise; IT'S run by the community. And those sort of things really sing to me. Just financial returns is not enough any more. I'm ready for that next step. And Raglan seems to have a cool school, it's got a tight-knit community, so will be really cool for us. Let's just say I'm nervously excited about the whole kaupapa, to be honest. It's not a small thing to... uproot ourselves from here. Kei te whakaae raua ki te wahi, engari ano te rapu i tetahi whare reti i reira. There's only a small amount of housing stock, from what I understand. And many, many of the houses are all holiday homes, so they're empty. Ultimately, you don't move to Raglan if you can't see the sea. (CHUCKLES) And that's, of course, a big driver for me ` where I can smell the sea, where I'm not too far away. For the sort of house we're looking for is anything from $400, $500. It's very similar to what it is up here. Other challenges will be to get in and move before I start work. Alongside that will also be getting my son into school. Lining those things up in such a short timeline... I can't lose any more hair, but... (CHUCKLES) But integrating in the community and settling for school and mahi and that, yeah, it's gonna be tricky. Ka timata te mahi hou a Dallas a tera wiki. Engari, kei te pou haere te wa mo te kimi whare. The last little while we've been hard-out hunting for a new whare, and we've managed to come up with one. Two and a half, three bedrooms overlooking the harbour, which is pretty much what I was looking for. I can smell the sea, we can see the sea. How do you wanna go about moving all of your gear and sussing out your room? When do I have to pack my stuff? Uh, well, you can being whenever you wish, just like you have already with the shoes and sorting out what clothes you might wanna give away to other people that are too small. Just continue with that. You can start taking down all your pictures, posters, anything you want like that, yeah. OK. Nail up that sign for the trampoline. That'll be primo. Kei te timata te whakarite i a raua, a, kei te koha atu etahi taonga. Some parent'll be stoked too. (CHUCKLES) They won't have to buy one. He's made the most of that to practise all his skateboard tricks on, and we've decided to hand that on to someone else in the community that may not be able to purchase their child a trampoline, and try and get that passed on to another tamariki in the community in the next couple of days. Kei te tata mai te wa, heoi he nui tonu te mahi. Hopefully the whanau are still coming in to help me move. Ko te ra nui tenei, a, kua tae mai tana tuahine a Julie me tana whanau ki te tautoko i a Dallas. My whanau have come up from Hamilton. My father's up from the East Coast to help my brother pack down and move to the new chapter. How's it going? Pretty good. Pretty entertaining. (LAUGHS) I can see he's a little bit stressed. (CLATTERING) (LAUGHS) Because of where he's at. Where his packing is at tells a story. It is a move that is closer to my brother's truth. He is, at heart, what's best for the people. And in a small community, the privilege of doing that is pretty gosh-darn awesome. And I think it will grow him. He's going to a community, to a Maori community as a Maori. So that's pretty awesome. Privileged role to be in, and he recognises that. Exciting for my nephew to come out of the city. We have connections there already through my tamariki and my raranga friends. Got a wonderful community of people. And to know the value of what my brother brings is exciting. Yeah. So, yeah, it's a bit of him. So what does Dallas' dad think about the move? It's great to see everyone here. His nephews and his brother-in-law, they're helping out with the shift. He's been quite nervous about it all, but anticipating the move. He's not only looking forward to moving from here ` he's loved being here, and in the house here ` but he's looking forward to the new challenges down in Raglan. So it's exciting for him. Watching my boy flourish and develop himself, that's probably at the top of the list for me. We've had a lot of korero about this, but it doesn't take away the nervousness of fitting into a new community. (INSPIRING MUSIC) (KEYS JANGLE) Raglan, here we come. He haerenga kotahi rau rima tekau kiromita mai i Tamaki-Makaurau ki Whaingaroa. You can't talk about Whaingaroa without name-checking some of its famous surf breaks. There's Whale Bay, Manu Bay, Indicators, Vortex Bay. Koinei e rongonui ai a Whaingaroa. He maha nga painga, there's also a really cool arts scene here in Whaingaroa, it's on the New Zealand music touring circuit, and they hold a massive international reggae festival. It's a beautiful place, and it's expected to keep on growing by about 500 households over the next 25 years. Ka rapu i a Dallas tana e hiahia nei i konei? That's our policy. (WAVES CRASH) The surf-loving, tourist-attracting Waikato town of Raglan, with its beautiful Whaingaroa Harbour and multiple beaches, is now home to Dallas and his 15-year-old son, Jahli. But is it working out for them? JAHLI: Oh, it's cool as. Kua ono wiki i konei, a, kei te waia tonu raua ki te noho i te taha o te moana. We're really happy with the whare we've found. It's overlooking the harbour. I can smell the sea; we can see the sea. The boat ramp's just down the road, the surf points... Everything's very close in Raglan. So it really fits our brief on that. We'll do maybe, like, four hours out there or something, eh? Do a good fish. And maybe just go for a good nosey around, right up the harbour, like we were talking about. Cool, eh? Yeah. Do a lot of time in there and you get your skills up quickly, then... kei te pai. He uaua mo te rangatahi pera i a Jahli, te timata ki tetahi kura hou. Kei te ahua o te pai o te mahi a Dallas ta raua hunuku mai. Zero waste is really what we're all about; organic. It's real holistic. It's very much Maoritanga. Everything we do here is done through the lens of te ao Maori. So straight away, I'm just in there. (LAUGHS) Feel very comfortable in the way that we engage, um, the way we laugh together, but also the mahi is done together. All good, Ruds? Good run this morning? Yeah? Kei te pai, kei te pai. The boys come in with all their collectables, everything they do from the street-side collections. And then the general landfill waste, which we're trying to minimize that side of things and divert as much out of that. And then up here, we have the HCU on the other side, which is a horizontal composting unit. Tell me what you fullas been picking up today, bro. So, the boys'll go through their sorting. All the other cities, it's all done by machines. And the machines can't determine whether it's contaminated. Waht the boys do is some of it gets washed. And what that means is when it goes back to a recycling centre that actually processes it, that the product that we give them is the best you can get. Kia ora, Sue. Kia ora. How are ya? I'm good. Your day going all right? Yes. Cool. A few people through already today? Yes. Been good, yeah. Our mainstay of the actual operation is our shop here, Kaahu's Nest, where everyone brings up the things that they don't want, whether it's household items, clothing, lighting, electronic goods ` everything that still works. The second name for it is the Raglan Mall. (LAUGHS) It's not your average recycling centre. On the far side, we have our woodshed, and there's multiple houses that have been built in Whaingaroa out of stuff that would have otherwise been in landfill. The scrap metal's the same. You can go through there, find yourself a new vanity unit, find yourself a new sink. Kia ora, whanau. WOMEN: Kia ora, Dallas. So, what've we got happening today? Love it, yeah. Fit in really well. Feel at home. And the kaupapa is that much bigger than me. I'm up for the job. It's got me pretty pumped. We're really lucky to have Dallas. He sorta lets us get on and do our work, but he's there to support us when we need him. Can't make coffee for peanuts. (CHUCKLES) He's a really supportive leader, and, yeah, he's slowly getting out on the teams, working with everybody. This is killing me, saying something nice about Dallas. Nah! (LAUGHS) Nah, he's real nice. (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) Kua waru wiki raua i konei. Kei te whakaaro au he pehea te mahi me te kura. Kia ora! Kia ora, Kanoa. Kei te pehea koe? Mwah! Kei te pai. Haere mai ki Whaingaroa. Yeah, thank you. And look at this beautiful whare. Come on in. Thanks. This is so cool. Yeah, so this is our new whare. Bit of a change from Waterview. Except you still have a water view. A proper one this time. Yeah, yeah. This one's beautiful. Three bedrooms for my son and I. Loving it. We haven't really moved in as such yet. (CHUCKLES) You say that, but I think it looks choice. Yeah, we've got a lot of art to go up yet, and there's a lot hidden in the back room. So I won't be looking in that room. Kei te pai. What's your favourite part about this whare so far? (CHUCKLES) It's gotta be. Yeah. It's my coffee spot for the morning, to be honest. Loving the fact I can get out there and smell the ocean straight away and have my coffee in the sun. Yeah. You don't need artwork up on the walls when this is changing all the time. Yeah, that's right. Well, it's pretty cool watching the tide come in and out. It sorta feels a bit like home again, going down to Raukokore, so it's a nice reiteration of that. Yeah, choice. Pretty blessed. And how is living here? What's lifestyle like in Raglan? Super cool. The manaakitanga here from everybody has been really, really awesome. Everybody you come into contact with ` and a lot of it's got to do with what my mahi is, as well, but just in general, people treat you really cool. And their kaupapa behind their kaitiaki of the whenua and our environment as a whole is just amazing. Shall we sit down and go and have a cup of tea? I would love that. Beautiful. Awesome. Nice one. It was a bit hairy there for a while, eh ` having the job; not having the whare. Yeah. How have things changed since you got this place? Really good. But you're right, it was a challenge. But now that we're here and we're settled in, everything's starting to hum along really well. As you find out, it takes a number of months before you start to sit down and take a couple of breaths. Yeah. How is Raglan different to where you were in Auckland before? The way people interact and what they're doing here. The kaupapa and the drivers behind why they do what they do on a daily basis is really different. Um, it's not an economic-driven environment. Yeah. And that` Really, I'm just loving that part, you know? The pursuit of capital is very much second, third, fourth down the line. It's all about people's holistic well being here, and our part that we play in looking after the environment. Yeah, and that must have such a big impact on your sense of well being and how you see yourself, does it? Because of the role that I've taken down here, there's actually a lot of responsibility that goes with that, because I'm actually a leader in that space now. (FUNKY ELECTRONIC MUSIC) What about Jahli? How's he finding school and the community? Um, pretty well, you know. It was only a couple of days ago we sat down and he was just like... This was actually before school had even started, he's like, 'Dad, I'm settled here. I'm happy. 'Now I've just gotta start school so I can find my crew.' Yeah. So that was a real relief for me, I guess. And also a real` Feeling the empowerment from him, like, 'Yeah, I'm good.' You know? So that's very cool. He's only been at school for three or four days. Later on this afternoon we'll be out on the boat with one of his new mates; they're coming out fishing with us. So... Awesome. Yeah, pretty awesome. How has it been having your sister just down the road? Um, amazing. She was right behind it straight away, which was really nice for us to reconnect, and a stronger connection on that side of things. And of course, my son gets to see all his whanau a lot more. You know, he gets pulled into their lot. Beautiful. Yeah. And that's the stuff that makes a place like this not just a house but a home, eh. Yeah, it is. How's the romance life going? Too much work so far. (BOTH LAUGH) You've gotta put in some graft. No, I'm really looking forward to finding a new partner down here. We will be down here for quite a while. It's pretty exciting, to be honest, Kanoa. It's another facet of life, eh. And I'm really looking forward to fulfilling more of that, absolutely. So it is kind of the dream, right ` move to a beautiful beachside town, start a new life, find love. Would you recommend it to people? How couldn't you? How couldn't you? (LAUGHS) It's an exciting journey, you know? I mean, yeah, there's days when you're flying by the seat of your pants. But you only get one shot at life. I'm really enjoying this phase. It's really new. Super excited, to be honest, yeah. Yeah. Kei te hikaka ahau he aha nga mea pai o Whaingaroa. There's a real hospitality industry here, really. Yeah. Great coffee. (CHUCKLES) That's the main thing, eh. Yeah, so Raglan town's back down that way. Sailing club right here. So I'm hoping to nail this guy into that for summer. Is that a bit of you, Jahli? Have you picked a favourite coffee spot yet? Yeah, these guys are mean. Oh yeah? Yeah, they make good coffee. OK. You can't go wrong with coffee here. Yeah, nice. Seriously. A, pehea te kura ma Jahli? With 35 people in your year, how do the`? Like, do you have different teachers for different subjects? Yeah, so a lot of my option classes only have, like, eight or nine kids in them. Wow. So cool, eh. Yeah. All the kids, like, take different options. There's, kind of, no excuse not to get all excellences, in that case. (DALLAS LAUGHS) Ko Whaingaroa te ingoa tuturu o tenei wahi. It means 'the long pursuit', and I think that's really what Dallas and Jahli have been through to get here. They've been through all sorts of shifts lately ` personal, professional, and also physically shifting house. But I really feel that Raglan is the place that they're gonna be able to start a new life. Coming up ` escaping the city for small-town simplicity. I wanna stay with my kids. I wanna grow up with them. But is it the right move when you've never run a business before? Let's go see what it is like to live in a place like this permanently. VOICEOVER: Ah, the big yellow ball in the sky. It makes our tea-leaves better. It makes our ingredients better. And all that makes this taste better. (ENERGETIC MUSIC) In fact, sunshine makes everything better. (MUSIC STOPS) Uh, who invited him? Get out! (ENERGETIC MUSIC) Enjoy the refreshing taste of Lipton Ice Tea. # Tell me lies Tell me sweet little lies (CHORAL VERSION OF 'LITTLE LIES' BY FLEETWOOD MAC) (BIRDS TWEET) MAN: Morning. SONG: # Tell me, tell me... # It's nothing. Yep, if you can just sign here for the...nothing. # Tell me lies Tell me sweet little lies # Tell me lies Tell me, tell me lies... # KIDS: Homework. # Oh, no, no, you can't disguise # You can't disguise No, you can't disguise # Tell me lies Tell me sweet little lies... # (WHISPERS) Hi. Oh, I bet you're sick of Christmas. Nah, I love it. (GENTLE PIANO OUTRO) Housing developments are springing up all over the place, not just big cities. It's a fact of fast-paced modern living. But if you wanted to escape the urban sprawl and return to a simpler pace of days gone by, where would you choose? (UPBEAT MUSIC) On the outskirts of Papakura, South Auckland, the Hu family are bustling into the daily grind of the city hustle. Hey, Jay, take your bag. Jay. OK, here it is in there. And with urban development creeping ever closer, Nick and Nancey want out. Especially since, as a tour guide for the last 10 years, Nick has seen so much of Aotearoa. Love this kind of job, and meet different people. And when you see people on holiday enjoying New Zealand, because I have loved New Zealand, I have been a lot of places, I wanna show people the good stuff of New Zealand. After a couple of years, found out some little towns in the South Island are very attractive to me. And, yeah, I'm thinking, 'Maybe I can bring my family to there to live.' I mimiti te aroha o Nick ki tana mahi i te whanautanga mai o ana tamariki. E rima, e toru o raua pakeke inaianei. So have to be away from home a couple of days, sometimes two weeks. Depends how long the tour will be. The worst times we had was he had three months when he was home for two days a month. Yeah, something like that. With busy season, yeah. It was during his busy season. Ko Nancey te mea ka hari i nga tamariki ki hea noa atu. Anywhere you go, whether or not distance-wise it's a-10 minute drive, it'll take you up to about... anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. Everywhere you go, there's always a crowd, there's always a fight for a place to park. And then there's the fight for having to line up for everything, and the kids having to wait in traffic, having to wait in line. There's a lot of waiting. So at the end of an average day, we basically end up with no energy, no quality left for family or kids. And by the time you've managed everything you absolutely have to do, like, um, dinner, bath, homework, by then you don't have any quality time. You don't have any more energy or any more patience to be able to sit down with them and have a conversation with them. And they are getting to the age where they need that. So Nick and Nancey are selling out of South Auckland and heading to small-town New Zealand. Kei te rapu raua i te wairua o te hapori. It was a peaceful and quiet country that we moved into, and we fell in love with the country. You can trust everybody and anybody, you didn't have to lock your doors or close your windows when you left the house. I was in primary when we first arrived, and my parents had the most confidence for me to walk to and from school. You just don't feel that any more in Auckland. It's lost. But whereas probably in some smaller cities in New Zealand you still get that sense of peacefulness. Ko Te Waipounamu te wahi e hiahia nei raua ki te whakatupu tamariki. Kua kitea e Nick te wahi pai ki a ia. We visited Oamaru. It was really, really peaceful. It gave me back the sense of what New Zealand living is supposed to be like and what it was back in the early 1990s. Not saying that they're behind, you know, with the current times and things like that, but people still had smiles on their faces, and the kids were running around town, in the middle of the town, rather than looking at a stream, and they were still safe. And it was just quiet. And it was clean. Yeah, yeah. So that was amazing to me, yeah. Engari, me tere rapu mahi kua tekau ma rima tau e marena ana, a, kei te whakatu pakihi ki Te Oha-a-Maru. It gives our kids probably a different view on what family life is like, because... Because they're so young at the moment and all they know at the moment is that Dad goes away for work and Mum stays at home, and we wanna show them that both Mum and Dad works. (LAUGHS) Yeah, and hopefully we'll put them to work as well. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. 'Jayden, go was the towels.' (CHUCKLES) 'Good.' Ko Te Oha-a-Maru tetahi wahi pai. Kaore pea i te pai te uaua o te whakatu pakihi, a, he tau hou te tokorua nei ki enei mahi. How too busy you can be? You've got 18 rooms, that's 18 rooms. You can't be over 100%... Well, no matter how busy we are, we're gonna be more relaxed... Yeah. ...than if we were to stay in Auckland. Well, we're still new to this kind of business. We're learning. There's still a lot to learn. We'll see. We'll find a balance and how much energy we put in there. Yeah. We do wanna run this business very well. We love the new start for us. Kua hokona to raua whare. Kei te neke ki te whare o raua matua i mua i te haere ki te motera. Engari, kei te rongo haere i te ahua o te taone nui. We had green pastures, we had beautiful country views all down this side and all down that side. So it was just all country views. Ultimately, we're gonna be looking at just roofs of houses, rather than greenery. E kore e mokemoke ki a Tamaki-Makaurau, engari ka mokemoke ki te whanau? We will miss them a great deal. However, we've made plans to do visits backwards and forwards. So now, like, we can do the, like, Skype or... Skype or we've got WeChat. Yeah. I mean, that beats a 10-hour flight back to China. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Doesn't it? Ka pau te wha marama, a, kua mana te hoko i te motera ki Te Oha-a-Maru. Kei te neke a Nick raua ko Nancey e kotahi mano toru rau kiromita whaka te tonga. (BRIGHT MUSIC) Oamaru, e ai ki a Lonely Planet, koinei te tino taone o Aotearoa. It's the third biggest town in Otakou behind Dunedin and Queenstown, and it is not that far behind. So with a growing reputation as a tourism hotspot, have Nick and Nancey signed themselves up for a much bigger job than they anticipated? are now back to $5! Your favourite Value pizzas all with fresh dough, sauce made from vine-ripened tomatoes, and our mouthwatering mozzarella. Now back to $5! At Domino's. Jayden, where is your bag? Tour guide Nick and full-time mum Nancey are escaping the city sprawl to give their kids ` Emma, 5, and Jayden, 3 ` a simpler, safer upbringing with more family time in small-town New Zealand. Say goodbye. Goodbye! No, to me! Mwah! Their family are on the move 1300km from Auckland to Oamaru to run a motel, despite never having run a business before. He tohunga ranei a Nick raua ko Nancey kia tutuki tenei mahi? A, kua tohua hoki raua i te wahi tika? Ko Te Oha-a-Maru i Waitaki tetahi kainga ataahua, a, kua hangaia te nuinga i te toka, he hitori nui ano hoki. That attracts a thriving steampunk scene, a valuable quirk for the local tourism industry. But with house prices in the Waitaki area rising by 48% in the last four years, just how affordable is it? OK, this is incredible. I am looking at a two-bedroom Kiwiana crib ` that's a bach, for all you North Islanders ` two bedrooms, fully furnished, $45,000. He mama te utu. That is pretty blimmin' cheap. But if, you know, the holiday life is not for you and you want a family home, there's plenty of that too. This is a three-bedroom home, two bathrooms, sea views, for $399,000, thank you very much. And if you want to rent in Oamaru, it looks pretty good here too. You can get a small and cosy three-bedroom for $260 a week. That includes a log burner and a heat pump. Yes, please. Heoi ano kei te pai ki a Nick raua ko Nancey te tiaki i etahi atu? The first month was a little bit hard to settle into. But it was just getting used to the system and getting to know what's what and finding my way around the actual business, cos we're new to the business. But it's been a breeze. It's better than I expected, (CHUCKLES) to be honest. So it's actually better than I expected, yeah. I'm not fighting traffic; I'm walking four minutes to pick up my daughter. And she actually gets to ride her bike from school to home, or from home to school or whatever, which is amazing. Everything's within walking distance, pretty much. It's a very close-knit community, so if anybody needs anything, everyone's here to help. I have a very reliable team of staff or contractors that I can call on whenever I need to, and they're here within 10 minutes. So, yeah, very lucky. Kei te noho, kei te mahi hoki ki te kainga he mea tino pai he tiaki penehini hoki. Ka pehea ki a Nick? Oh, tour guiding, the experience helped me a lot, so I know what customers want and what they need. And it helps a lot. But I like this one because I'm working with my family. Yeah. And I wanna stay with my kids. I wanna grow up with them. Yeah. That's the main thing. Kei te whai wa hoki a Nick ki nga tamariki, a, ka whai wahi hoki ki nga ahuatanga o Te Oha-a-Maru. The ocean, the Pacific Ocean, has got a lot of sea life around here. Seals, sea lions, and the blue penguins. Very famous in Oamaru. So, you have beautiful bike tracks if you wanna, like, do the walking around as well, and you have those ski areas, as well, in Waitaki area. Actually, we are the centre of everything. So it's good for the business, definitely. And good for the kids. We prefer this way to raise the kids and let them see nature, let them touch it, feel it. Yeah, they're growing up in it. That's the good way. Don't fall! Oh, you got it. (LAUGHS) (UPBEAT MUSIC) Kua rua marama inaianei. That's how long it has been since Nick and Nancey made the big move. Hoi ano, I am keen to see how things are going now that winter is here. It's just 3 degrees out there. Well, here we are. Kua tae. Ae, te ahua nei he motera. Let's go see what it is like to live in a place like this permanently. Hi! Tena korua! How are you? Hey, how's it going` Am I allowed to step behind the desk? Yes, hi. Welcome. Thank you. This is great! Hi. Awesome! Here's your motel. Yep, here it is. Amazing. You've gotta show me what life is like behind the scenes. Come on in. Cool. Oh, nice. Well, a bit different. The reception and the kitchen. LAUGHS: Yeah. Home, work. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Do you get days where you just need to close that door and keep work over there and home separate? Yes. Well... Well, yeah. Well, normally we just keep the door open. Doesn't matter. Yeah. Awesome. Easy. And where do you sleep? I'm assuming you're not, like, in a motel room. No, no, we've got our own... It just feels like living in a house, in our own house, except we have part of the house as our office. And it's completely closed off to the rest of the motel. Yeah, so upstairs we've got three bedrooms. Yeah. Awesome. Kei hea nga ruma? Can I have a look at the rooms up there? Yeah, sure, come on. Off you go. Go play. Go play. (KANOA LAUGHS) Kids' toy room. Hi, guys. This is cool. Dollhouse. Very important in any kids' room. Ka kite. Got the kids' room in here. Aww! Nice. They actually prefer to be close together rather than apart, so. That is the sweetest. If that was me and my sister, no. Separation. And then we've got our own room. We've got the en suite and wardrobe and things like that. So we're pretty spacious, actually. It's not that much difference. Loads of room. Can see what's going on out there in Oamaru, and then see what your guests are up to,... Yes. ...if they're being naughty over there. So, I've seen the house. Now show me your day-to-day motel. Yeah, that's the main part for me today. Every day, just in the morning... (KNOCKS) Room service. I'll make sure you don't have a surprise when you open the door. OK, yeah. So that's the stripping. (CHUCKLES) Stripping the room? Yeah. Yeah. Let me get in here. Let me get involved. Hey, I have to ask before I touch this bed ` does anything bad ever happen when you're stripping a room? Uh... Not too bad yet. (LAUGHS) We're clear, we're clear, we're good. I tell you the easy way. Do you like this work, Nick? Ohh, I won't say I'm enjoying it, but... (CHUCKLES) it's a part of the routine of our work, and as soon as you get into the routine, you're just automatically doing it. Totally. Satisfying. So once you've stripped all the rooms, had a coffee, then you're ready to face the day? Uh, that's the biggest part of my day, actually, in the morning. Yeah. He whakaaro pai te hoko motera ki a Nick raua ko Nancey. Kei a raua nga pukenga, inaianei kei a raua te ao i whaia e raua. It's pretty special. You can literally touch these stones and there's history there. So it's pretty amazing. Yeah, it is. Can see why there's a lot of steampunkery going on. (LAUGHS) Well, yeah, we're right in the midst of it right now, so. A, ko te makete tetahi ahuatanga pai ano, mo tena ahua o te noho. Tell me what you love about the market. Is this a regular for you guys? Yes, every Sunday. Awesome. And what are you looking for down here? We're looking for our vegetables and... just local groceries and supporting local business. OK. I love all of these things. Yeah. Where do you grow these? Kakanui. Kakanui? Nice. Up the road. The prospect of moving your entire family from one end of the country almost all the way to the other and changing careers would be really daunting for most couples, but Nick and Nancey seem to have made this work for them, and I think that that is down to their choice of destination. Oamaru has to be one of the coolest little cities in the country. It is certainly one of the most eccentric. Heoi kua whai oranga raua i enei nekehanga hou. Captions by Tracey Dawson. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho.