- Imagine finding the house of your dreams in the place you always wanted to live for a budget that doesn't break the bank. Sound impossible? What if you could truck the house you want to the section of your choice and maybe save money along the way? - That's my lounge. - Whoo! Love it. - Have you got your arse on the seat? We're rolling. - It's a journey that can be fraught with anxiety,... (TYRES SCREECH) What was that? ...pressure,... There's only inches in it, Leonie. - Oh my gosh. - ...and stress. - Yeah, I've got some very unhappy people up here. - Is all the trucking, trauma, and tension really worth it? This time on Moving Houses, a Scottish couple has found a property to make them feel right at home. - Everything here is, like, real similar to Scotland. The weather's the same ` well, yeah, it's cold. - But the house they want faces a 600km journey to get there. - At this width, you're not going to get any further in the South Island for distance. - Even the truck has a fight on its hands with this one. - Brakes are getting hot, mate. I can smell the brakes on the trailer, so we don't want brake fade. - So is this a battle the owners can't win? - I think I'll hold my head in the sand. - Can you watch it? No, no. Too stressful for me. - So come along for the ride. This is Moving Houses. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 The House-moving business must be one of the most can-do industries in the world. If your house is too big to move, you can cut it in half. Too big and too tall, you can cut it into quarters. If it's across water, you can put it on a truck and then put it on a barge. But what if you buy a section at the bottom of the country and the house you fall in love with is over 600km, two mountain ranges, and half an island away? Scottish migrants Gordy, Debbie and son, Jamie, live in Nightcaps, right at the bottom of the South Island. - We arrived in New Zealand 15 years ago. We were on holiday, passing through, and we never left, and Southland ` lived in Southland the whole time we've been here. - Lovely lifestyle down here. It's just the peace and quiet and the tranquillity. With a love of the deep south's wild coastline and natural beauty, truck driver Gordy and mum Debbie have dreamed of owning a farm and raising their boy in the region's rugged surrounds. - Jamie ` he's 12. He absolutely loves driving the tractor and the digger and the farm stuff. Yeah, he loves doing that. Yeah. - Now that dream looks set to become a reality on a site just outside Tuatapere, an hour from Invercargill and a 15-minute drive from here at Te Waewae Bay. - We bought an amazing place with huge potential. The site's on an elevated section and you can look on to the sea, Stewart Island, this ocean view here with Te Waewae Bay. It just takes your breath away. Doesn't matter how many times you look at it, you just stand back and say, 'Wow.' Debbie and Gordon's site sounds like heaven on Earth. This I've got to see. This part of New Zealand is stunning, with the scenic Southern Alps out to the West and the full glory of Foveaux Strait right on the doorstep. It's not just famous for its views. It's renowned for its wild weather, with chill winds hitting 70 knots in the strait as I visit the hillside site at the top of a steep clay track. It's so bracing, we could be in Scotland. I love it. - Everything here is, like, real similar to Scotland. The weather's the same ` well, yeah, it's cold. But I think the view overpowers all of that. - Yeah. - And we can put up with everything else. - Yeah. So how big is the property here? - We've got 131ha. It goes right over the horizon there, out of view. Yeah. - 'Debbie and Gordy bought the site to farm part-time for $650,000 in 2018.' - We were looking for a bit more land. Never intended to build here, but we were here a few times, and it just grew on us. - Excellent. You found your little spot down here in the bottom of the world. Let's talk about what is going to take place right here. - The house has gotta go in this part here, looking over at the sea there. We opted for a transportable home just because it was a done deal, and nice and easy, and quick ` quick ` compared with builders. - 'So now, they're planning to put a turn-of-the-century villa here 'that they found 600km away in Christchurch.' - The house we're getting is just` We both went into it, and straight away, we both knew this was the house. - Debbie, was it easy for you to imagine the home here when you first came up here? - Yeah, it's just perfect. Yeah, especially on a nice, beautiful, sunny day. - And so, Jamie, what are you most looking forward to about getting a new home out here? - Just living on the farm, just being able to go out and do what you want. - And so, you're prepared to sort of help Mum and Dad bring this dream to life? - I hope so. - Only concern we have is getting the house up that track. - 'To reach this stunning piece of land, the home will have to be dragged up this steep incline.' Let's talk through that process, because some of the houses that we go to ` it's pretty straightforward; house turns up, drives on to the section, whereas here, once the house gets to the bottom of the road, it's going to need quite a bit of help getting up the hill. - We've just gotta hope it's a dry spell, because if it's wet, it's going to be... yeah, a few hairs less on the head, I think. - It took them almost two years to find the right house, but eventually, they came across the answer at King House Removals Yard in Christchurch. In amongst all the different homes on offer, the moment I see this villa, I know it's the one. - This is our new home ` looking good. - Looking good. - We wanted a decent-sized home ` three bedrooms-plus, quite modern, you know, open-plan living area, nice kitchen, nice bathroom, and reasonably priced. Walked into the villa, and we just loved the place. It was just beautiful. Yeah. - As soon as we walked in through the doors, it was just, 'This is for us.' - 'The 110-year-old villa looks like it's seen better days, 'and I guess we'll find out if it can take a Southern Ocean storm.' And so, have you guys had experience relocating homes before? - No, I've had no experience whatsoever. This is totally new for us. - Are you guys quite hands-on? Are going to be doing a lot of the reno and bits of pieces yourself? - Simple stuff, we'll probably do, but any real tricky jobs, we'll get someone` a proper builder in to do it. We're always going to try and keep the cost at minimums. I don't know if it's cos we're Scottish, but we just don't like spending a lot of money. - (CHUCKLES) All right, Debbie, let's get down to business. How much did this home cost? - Well, including GST, it cost 180. - So, move on site and on to piles, is it? - Yeah. - For a 110-year-old, solidly-built villa ` to buy that, have it moved 600km for $180K? Yeah. - That's pretty remarkable, really. I can't wait to see inside. - Let's go and round the back and have a look. - OK. Oh, wow! And here we go. It's so much more open and feels wider than it looks from the outside, standing here. I guess you've got that classic villa look from the front, and then this modern addition down the back end here. - Yeah, I think this is what we liked about it ` just walking in and seeing this big open space. - 'The kitchen has been modernised over the years, so it's in pretty good shape.' It looks straight, it looks good to go almost. - It does, yeah. Yeah, this bit's perfect, I would say. - We wanna put a window in across on the west wall there just to open it up and let more light in. - 'Split by a long corridor, the villa has three generous-sized bedrooms on one side 'and a bedroom and a bathroom on the other. 'And while it's incurred a few cosmetic bumps and bruises over the years, 'it's a charming house with some lovely period features.' Everywhere you look, there's such ornate detail, and it's in such good nick. Ah, this would have been where the old fireplace was. 'Unfortunately, the fireplaces have been removed. 'Brick chimneys can't be relocated intact, so they were taken apart 'when the home was first moved on to the Kings lot, not that Gordy minds.' - I don't want 'em in, but Debbie wants 'em in. - Debbie, you feel quite strongly about the fires? - Yeah, I do, because I think it brings the character back into the house, so they will be getting put back in. - The only thing we disagree on is that fireplace. - And you think you've addressed those old villa draughty cold concerns? - Yeah, I think so. Yeah. We're gonna have to have different things put in place, like underfloor to keep the place insulated. We have got the radiators coming in, so we can turn them up a little bit if we need to. Through time, I think we'll get it pretty, pretty good. Yeah. - 'One thing Gordy and Debbie do agree on is that they want their new home on site as quickly as possible, 'so Kings have just two days to get the house ready before moving it to Tuatapere. 'The man tasked with making sure that the move goes without a hitch is King House Removals owner Grant. 'He's done some long moves before, but even by his standards, this move's a beast.' - So, around about 600km on some pretty tight, narrow roads. Well, I'm going to go over the Lindis. That's quite a steep path. And then we've got the Kawerau Gorge and the staircase around the lake at Wakatipu. So, you know, we've got a few obstacles on our way. - At 10m wide, Gordy and Debbie's house can be transported in one piece, sparing it the more expensive process of being cut in half and reassembled on site. - We don't have to worry about any Scotias inside or wiring or plumbing, so we just leave it all intact. - Height constraints on the road means the roof has to travel separately, so to make sure the villa arrives in the same number of pieces it leaves in, Grant's team tension a wire around the whole outside of the villa to make up for the lack of structural support once the roof comes off. With nothing holding it back, synchronised hydraulic jacks lift Gordy and Debbie's villa into the air. And with the house jacked up, the 70-ton load can be lowered down on to the trailer and the roof removed. - We had it all braced up so that if the weather's pretty average down south, we can crane the roof back on and get it weather-tight pretty quickly. But it's all done. Tie her down and lights on the load and we're ready to go. - Grant's worried about the weather. With a load this size travelling 600 K's on these roads, I'm picking that won't be the only challenge ahead. - 'It's moving night here in Christchurch. 'We're raring to go, but our trip from here to Debbie and Gordy's site has just got 120km longer.' So, this is how it's going to be over the next five days ` two trucks taking the house; one with the house and the other one with the roof. Now, just the house is 20m long, it's 9m wide, and it weighs over 70 tons. Now that has meant that it is too heavy for some roads, so Grant has had to make a plan that goes inland. But it adds over 100km to the journey, so this is not going to be a fast ride by any stretch of the imagination. Grant's new route takes us overnight to Omarama before tackling the dramatic Lindis Pass in daylight to Cromwell for a proper rest. The next leg heads through the Kawerau Gorge to Lake Wakatipu and around the Devil's Staircase. From there, it's down through Southland, almost to Invercargill, and across the southern coast of Te Wai Pounamu ` the South Island, through Riverton, to the base of Gordy and Debbie's property. From there, it's all uphill. It's quite an incredible feat. I'm just trying to get my head around some of the roads that were going down and the distance that we're going to travel. - It's a long way. - OK, so on a scale of one to 10, how difficult is this particular move? - Oh, it's getting up there. It's going to be an eight anyway. - How often do you take a house this far? - Not very often of this width. You're not going to get any further in the South Island for distance. - 'It's 10.30. We've got seven and a half hours to get the 320 K's to Omarama 'before we have to be off the road for morning traffic. 'I'm travelling in front with the house tonight, with the roof following behind.' Big, deep breath, and we're off ` the start of it all. What are some of the problems you think we're going to be looking at ahead here? - Like, trees, low bridges or high-sided bridges, and, um, weather. - So, the weather really is a factor? - Yeah, it is. Yeah, the weather can knock us back. Generally before the rain comes in, you get a headwind. That's gonna slow us right down because we're already pushing enough wind with the width of the house. - This 500 horsepower truck will get knocked around? - Oh, yeah, really knock us back. It'll knock us back, you know, 50km/h or 60km/h. - Wow! - If it gets gusty ` like, real strong ` we'll park up. - Well, I hate to break it to you, but the weather forecast is not looking that great. - Yeah, I know. - To get to Omarama by 6am, we need to be travelling at roughly 50km/h. It doesn't sound fast, but when you're hauling a 70-ton load, there's plenty of stops and starts. Simple things like intersections turn into major undertakings. A couple of delays and you're quickly behind the eight ball. - RADIO: 600 on the give way, left. 500. 400. - 'And the high sided Hakatere Bridge slows us down to a crawl.' This bridge would be easy to go across, except for all of the street lights, which means we're having to zigzag in and around, because, of course, this load is 9m wide and it hangs out over each side. So, around this way, back around this way. It's just as well they're not there in the same spot. It'd make life very difficult. 'But Grant negotiates it successfully, and now, four hours into the journey, 'I'm hoping for an uninterrupted run.' So this is something that doesn't happen every day down here ` we're actually going past another home on the back of a truck coming this way. 'We reach Fairlie at 3am. We've got 130km to get to Omarama by 6. 'I'm optimistic, but there are bollards lining the street...' - RADIO: Drop the front. Don't worry about your back cos you're good at the back. '...and big speed signs that can't be taken down, 'so we rely on the pilots to get us through,...' - RADIO: ...200 right, and good. Thanks, mate. Take her round. - '...but it's slow.' You might hear them on the comms, giving the distances on each side. So, between those two speed signs ` 400 on one side, which is, uh, what, 40cm? It's not a huge amount of, uh, (CHUCKLES) distance when you're dealing with a building that's 70 tons and 10m wide. 'So far, Gordy and Debbie's precious villa is holding up, and so am I. 'But at 5am, with only an hour until we have to get off the road for morning traffic, 'it's really going to be touch and go whether we get to Omarama on time. (DRAMATIC MUSIC STING) 'And now, we've hit fog.' If this fog gets any worse, we're going to have to pull off to the side of the road. 'We have to drive agonisingly slow. (TENSE MUSIC) 'Precious time ticking away. 'But at 5.50am, with only 10 minutes to spare, 'we make it ` a major relief.' Whoo! So, here we are. We can't go any further. It's 6 o'clock. This is us for the night. 320km, though. Still, it's not a bad start. 'That's almost halfway, and it's bang on Grant's target. 'We've got three hours for a power nap before we push on over the Lindis to Cromwell.' This is where we ended up last night ` Omarama, the place of light, having arrived here in darkness. But we need it to be light now to see where we're going over the Lindis Pass, and in places, it is very steep and windy. But it is the only option for Debbie and Gordy's 70-ton home. (OMINOUS MUSIC) 'And as we pull away, the fog is back and intensifying.' And of all of the things I, sort of, was mentally prepared to stop us or hold us back, I didn't actually put fog in the equation. 'Legally, we need to be able to see 500m ahead to proceed.' What do you think, Grant? Is it getting better or worse? - Hopefully, when the sun comes up a bit ` well, if it does come up ` we'll cruise through a bit. - It is rolled in thick right now. - RADIO: Clear. - 'It's times like this our pilots are literally lifesavers. 'Out in front and behind us, they keep traffic out of harm's way. 'In the fog, they need to be on the ball or the consequences could be disastrous.' (TRUCK HORN HONKS, INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) - Clear. - It's the refrigerated trucks that can't pull over very far for us. You know, they got hanging meat, and when they pull over, it all hangs to one side. - Oh, right. - So they can't pull over very far. There you go ` blue sky. - Ah, there she is! Blue sky ahead. Oh, you wouldn't have picked that 200m ago, would you? - Not at all. - Come on, sun. 'We might be in the clear, but we're straight into the Lindis Pass.' About five or six K's of winding and climbing ahead of us to get up and over Lindis Pass. 'It's one of New Zealand's most beautiful stretches of road, but that beauty comes at a cost. 'The roadside is lined with warnings of slippery surfaces, sharp corners, high crash rates, and steep descents. 'It's an area Grant's crew have had close calls in before, 'and it'll test the limits of his 500 horsepower truck.' (ENGINE WHINES, GEARS CLUNK) (ENGINE SPUTTERS) (TENSE MUSIC) That's a good lesson in what can happen when you just lose a bit of power slipping one gear on a steep incline like this. You lose all your momentum, and a truck with... How many gears in this truck? 72? In a truck with 72 gears, it means you have to go right back down to the lower ones and then work your way back up. It's almost like a moonscape up through here, isn't it? - Yeah, it is. - RADIO: Clear to right. - Are we just about to crest it? - Just about. - Here we go. Finally, our first bit of downhill in quite some time. And now, the problem becomes trying to stop this thing. 'Downhill is a whole different game. Grant has to concentrate on keeping the 70-ton load at a safe speed, 'but on a long downhill like this, it can be hell on the brakes.' - I don't care how long it takes to get down a hill as long as we get down safely. - Right. Yep. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - RADIO: Brakes ahead are not good. - Bit of smoke, is it? - Yeah, quite a bit. Can smell the brakes on the trailer, so we don't want brake fade. - 'Brake fade happens when the braking components 'no longer generate the friction needed to slow a vehicle.' - RADIO: Brakes are starting to smoke real bad now. - 'Grant needs to decide whether to pull over or keep going. 'There's no cell phone reception on the Lindis, so we're on our own.' - RADIO: You're probably better off still wheeling, aren't you? Just keeping it low gear, not using your brakes. - Yeah, well, we are just about down in there. - All right. So, the call's been made. Were going to keep going, even though the brakes are overheating, so we're just going to chop down into low gears, reduce ourselves to a crawl, and try and let that air flow cool the brakes down. They've been working overtime with this heavy weight pushing everything downhill. 'And traffic is starting to bank up, which adds to the stress. 'Grant makes the call to pull over, let the cars go, and give the brakes a chance to cool.' - GRANT OVER RADIO: You wanna get 'em through, mate? - PILOT OVER RADIO: Yeah, mate. Looking good. Yep, through there. - As soon as we stop, the smell of burning brake lining has filled the cab. (UPBEAT GUITAR MUSIC) (CAR HORN HONKS SOFTLY) 'With the traffic passed, we're off again. 'Grant's comfortable the brakes have cooled enough, and with the cab free of the smell of brake lining 'and only 45km to our destination, we can all breathe more easily.' Oh, wow. Look at this. We're about to arrive into Cromwell. It is absolutely stunning. I'm just hoping that there's something with a bed for a bit of sleep. So, this is the end of the night for us. - Yeah. All right, so the idea is go somewhere, have a rest. - Yeah. - 10 o'clock tonight, we're back doing it again. - Yep. We'll see if we get to Invercargill. - LAUGHS: Still got Devil's Staircase, and then Gordy's driveway. - Yeah. - OK. Two big obstacles remain. - 'It's 10pm. We're in Cromwell, 'gearing up to take Gordy and Debbie's villa across the bottom of the South Island.' Well, Gordy, I'm here to give you the good news that we are over halfway, so it's now officially easier for us to come to you than to turn around and go back. - GORDY: Oh, I wouldn't let you turn around and go back. - (LAUGHS) Look, I bet. The boys are well-rested. They've slept through the day, so we're about to head off from Cromwell, and hopefully by tomorrow morning, when you wake up, we will be one big, giant step closer to you. - GORDY: Oh, yes. That'll be good. - Right. Night two! Right. So what's the plan tonight? - Let's head to Makarewa for breakfast, eh? - Makarewa? - Just out of Invercargill. - And you think we can do that in one night? - We'll give her a go. - Aim high. 'It's another big move tonight ` 225km towing a 70-ton house 'down through the Kawerau Gorge, around Lake Wakatipu and the Devil's Staircase, 'then as far as we can go until we have to be off the road by dawn. 'First, we've got to get through the dramatic Kawerau Gorge at night, 'towing Gordy and Debbie's precious 100-year-old villa. 'It's dark, it's tight, and we're taking it slow.' - RADIO: 400 right. Opening up. Metre right. Looking good on the signs left. Looking good up the top. 800 right. Opening out now. Metre right. - 'There's no room to pass on this stretch of road, 'so it's worrying for our pilots when a small truck ignores their many warnings to pull over.' Honestly. Hang on. You've got this small truck that's coming straight for you, mate. Did not stop at all. 'He's still barrelling towards us.' What is he doing?! What a muppet! - And now, he has nowhere to go. - So he's gone past, what, three pilots? - Yeah. - With purple lights, saying, 'Pull over.' - And they're all waving a wand at him. - Oh, at least he can back. Poor guy's going to need a lie-down after this. So, we've been following this gentleman backing his refrigerated truck for a good 500m now. There's just no way to pull off or turn around. Oh, he could duck up there, couldn't he? - He can duck in there. - So, how often does this sort of thing happen? - Not very. - Not very often? 'It's one more delay on an already big journey. 'Our next challenge is the Devil's Staircase ` 'beautiful by day, but in pitch-black darkness, we have to take it super slow.' In places, it gets so incredibly narrow. We're inching our way around, and it's like this for the next 20km or more. Right. This is getting tight now. - There's not a whole lot of spare space, is there? - No, Graham. No, there's not much room for movement at all. I mean, look at this. That is tight. So we're down to a crawl now, and now it's just a game of inches. - RADIO: Can you pick up your left side, please? - We're just leaning the house away from the rock. Every time there's a creak or a crack, you sort of hold your breath and hope that it hasn't come up against anything solid. And this is where you've really got to trust the guys at the back sending all that information forward about where the house is in relation to this steep cliff face, basically. Whoo! It's moments like these where you're thankful that the homeowners, Gordy and Debbie, are still several hundred kilometres away, because if this was my big asset and I was seeing it right now, I'd be so very nervous. - RADIO: Keep going up, mate. Still coming, mate. So, are we through? - Through. - That the worst of it? - Yep. - Well done. 'After the staircase, we leave the lake. It's 1.30am. 'With the place they've planned to pull over for a day's shut-eye in their sights, 'Grant's got the bit between his teeth. It's good, wide country roads through here, 'and at this hour there's almost no traffic.' But, man, making good progress and well ahead of where, um,... well, where any of us expected. 'He's making the most of it, though. He just kept going...' - Can almost carry on. - Oh, just carry on! - '...and going.' So, we're just on the outskirts of Invercargill now, which I didn't expect to be saying till tomorrow night. 'We get all the way through to Riverton by 5.45am, 15 minutes before our dawn curfew. 'Pushing through has shaved a whole day off our journey.' - Didn't we do well? - We did do well. From here, rest up. 9 o'clock? - Yeah. - Assess and go again. - Yeah. - 'I hope Gordy is ready for us.' I feel like I need to ring Gordy and tell him ` give him a fright. Guess what? We're just up the road, mate. 'A mere three hours later, we're back again with less than 40 K's to go.' So, it's just after 9 and we're starting again. Back on the road. 'Our first obstacle is the Riverton Bridge.' 'It's moments like this I realise the phenomenal size of our load.' - RADIO: Moving towards you guys. You're about 700 above the bridge. - 'But it's not the bridge that's tricky. It's getting off the other end.' - Good on that pole, mate. - 'Grant's brother, Warren, has come out to help guide Debbie and Gordy's villa safely 'between road signs on one side,... - Coming clear of the widest point. '...and retaining walls on the other.' - 200. Opening out. 300 now on the pole. - It would have just taken one parked car and it would have been a real hassle, eh? - Yeah. Right. 'Riverton to the site is less than 40 K's, and Gordy is still expecting us tomorrow, 'so I better give him a heads-up that we're only half an hour away.' (DIAL TONE WHINES) - RADIO: Only a couple of K's until the turn-off to go. - GORDY: Hey there, mate. - Hey, is that Gordy? - It is. Yep. Yep. - Hey Gordy. It's Clarke speaking. How are you? - All right. Yeah. - I've got some good news and bad news, and it's both the same. Are you ready? We're nearly there! - Unbelievable. (UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC) - So, yeah, this is quite a moment. We've actually turned off the road, on to the final push up to where the house is going to be. 'Gordy makes it just in time to see us arrive at the bottom of the hill.' - Just unbelievable. I can't believe the house is here. When the house turned down the drive here, I felt my stomach, thinking, 'It's here.' Yeah, it's just amazing. (BRIGHT ROCK MUSIC) - So, the big turn off into Gordy's driveway. After over 700km,... we're here. 'Such a big drive. It's astonishing we've made it a day early.' - (CHUCKLES) I'm actually speechless. What an effort. Yeah. - 'But the elation is short-lived. The arrival of Gordy's dream home has coincided with his worst nightmare.' From the very first time that I met you guys and came here, your one fear was the weather on the day. - Yeah. Worst fear was this. This is just horrendous for us. Just terrible, and it's forecast for the rest of the day. But this is Southland weather. - Yes. - So we'll just, erm,... we'll just see how it goes tomorrow. We've got the gear to tow them up. It's just something we're gonna have to address. - Yes. - But the house is here, so I'm not worried. - I mean, is part of that emotion just that moment of realising that you're going to... put a home there for your family to make something of? - It is, yeah. It's just really exciting now. - You know, when I think about what this dear old villa has been through ` such a tough life in recent years, sitting unloved and unused on the yard with such an uncertain future ` to now be here on such a beautiful site and so close to its final destination, I can feel Gordy's emotion in it all. And it's going to be a wonderful story once we get it up there. 'But we're not there yet. Tomorrow's slog up this big muddy hill 'might be the toughest part of the trip so far.' 'It's 8am, and the team face a mighty task to get Debbie and Gordy's home up a steep incline, 'around a hairpin bend, and on to their hilltop site. 'More rain overnight is causing Gordy and the crew a few headaches.' Just 25mm they reckon they've had, but everything's looking pretty boggy, so this next part is going to be a real challenge. Gordy, normally it's quite comforting to lie in bed at night and listen to the rain on the roof. What were you thinking last night with all that rain coming down? - Well, I'll think that rain gave me nightmares. Yeah. It was` Oh, the last thing we wanted was a rain. Just... It's just gonna make this job real hard today. - 'First job of the day is getting the roof craned on. 'That means they'll only have to take one truck up to site, not both. 'Too many wheels tearing up the muddy track will make it impassable. 'But crucial traction is being lost on the wet ground, 'trying to get close to the Hiab that will be doing the lifting.' - Come on, guys, Come on, guys. 'The truck's been through a lot getting Gordy and Debbie's home this far. 'Now it's under pressure again. Seeing their precious cargo struggled to even make it out of the paddock 'can't be filling Debbie with much confidence.' You've just turned up for the most nerve-wracking part. - I have. Yeah. Yeah, I'll be quite happy when we get it up to the top of that hill, but until then, I'll be a bit on tenterhooks, I think, yeah. - Yeah. (TENSE MUSIC) - 'And a stressful 15 minutes later, Grant seemed satisfied with where they're lined up.' - I just wanted to get it in close so that the crane could reach. So, uh, I think we're far enough out, and we'll start craning the tops back on. - 'With the truck out of the mud, the team get busy reattaching the roof, 'which gives Grant his first chance to have a look at the track.' And so, do you think that this is enough distance for the home to get past? - We just want to keep up the high side, because when you start breaking traction, the truck can start sliding. - 'I reckon this hairpin at the top here is also going to be a problem. 'Then I spot something up at the site that seems to have been overlooked.' You haven't got it pegged out. - No, we didn't worry with that. We just got a rough guidance. She'll be fine. - So you're comfortable just sort of, you know, lining it up and going, 'Yeah, that'll do'? - Yeah, I'm happy for that. Yeah. It doesn't matter where you are here. You've got a view. So we'll just get it close enough and she'll be fine. 'That seems a little loose to me, but there's no time to change Gordy's mind. 'The roof's on the house now and Grant's team is ready to tackle 'the last steep section of this epic move.' Ah, so here we go, eh? - Yep. (TRUCK ENGINE WHIRRS HEAVILY) (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) 'And straight away, first corner, the truck struggles with the wet ground.' - It's, erm,... Yeah. I never expected 70` It was going to be 70-odd tons, and you can see the truck sinking in. - 'And that's why you hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. 'A bulldozer Gordy's had on standby is hitched up to try and pull it round.' (ENGINE RUMBLES LOUDLY) (TENSE MUSIC) - I think I'll have my head in the sand. It's a big house when you see it on there. At least they've only got one truck to come up. But if we had two trucks coming up, it'd be a whole different scenario. - 'It's an impressive sight, but an enormous weight. 'Even with the bulldozer, the truck is struggling. 'And we're not even at the steepest part yet. 'It's a slow, painful climb, and I don't know who's feeling the stress more ` 'Gordy,... 'or the cable straining with the weight of the house and truck.' (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - I'm not too sure, Clarke, about this. Bit apprehensive at the moment when it's sitting like that. - It's struggling now. (ENGINE REVS HEAVILY) Ooh. 'Now we've stopped. On its own, the bulldozer isn't enough. 'It just doesn't have the guts to pull the house and truck up the steepest incline.' - Plan two. - Plan two? - I need to go and get my digger, and hopefully dig out the front of this, and we'll will try and bring it up with the digger as well. - OK. - Yeah. - That wasn't part of the original plan to here, though, was it? - No, it wasn't. No. - 'Gordy reckons his digger has seen better days, 'so will it have enough grunt to help his house up the muddy track?' Are you confident once the digger's in line that will get it? - Well, 20-ton is a good pull. - OK. So we're adding at least another two thirds pulling power, and hopefully that's enough. - We'll see. - And meanwhile, you're in the back, trying to manipulate this house around the bend. - Yeah, steer the wheels around the corner. - You've got a little bit on your plate, haven't ya? - Oh, yeah. Yeah. - So now, we have a significant tractor, 20-ton digger, big bulldozer, and then a great big Mack truck. If that's not enough, well, I'm not sure what we're going to do. 'The extra haulage comes with extra health and safety advice. It's pretty simple ` stand clear.' - Keep away from the chains. That's always the weakest link, is the chain. A strop will go straight the way it's going. A chain will go either way. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - Here we go. (DIGGER ENGINE WHIRRS) (MUSIC BUILDS) 'Slowly and reluctantly, the house starts groaning up the track.' Who'd have thought, at the start of all this, that we'd need a tractor, a digger, a bulldozer and an incredibly powerful truck just to get the house up here? But that's the sort of effort it takes when you're dealing with roads like this. 'But there's another problem. - The digger's starting to fight. (ENGINES WHIRRS) And we're in trouble. - It's taken two hours to get 200m, so we're doing around 100m an hour, and there's still another 500m to Debbie and Gordy's site. - So, we'll just use the dozer for this wee pinch up around here. - Might have to put the tractor on. - Yeah, yeah. Nah, bloody every little bit helps. - It's, erm,... Yeah, it's a bit more than I expected, but... - Most important question ` how's Debbie doing in all this? - She's gone. She's hiding up the top. - She can't face it? - No, she can't face it now. Yeah. - 'Debbie can't face it, and the digger's been ditched, 'leaving us with just the tractor and bulldozer to get up the hill.' (TENSE MUSIC) (ENGINES RUMBLE) - It's getting there slowly but surely. Yep. We're on the homeward straight now, so that's good. Yeah. Quite a relief. - 'But that final tight corner comes back to haunt us.' The truck has completely lost traction and they can't get enough of an angle on that bulldozer to pull it far enough forward to bring the house around the corner, if that makes sense. So they've had bring the tractor up. You can see it in the background. They're going to hook that direct to the trailer and try to pull the whole thing straight, then bring it around. - Can you watch it? No, no. Too stressful for me. - 'We've now got two vehicles pulling the house in different directions in order to crab it around the corner.' (TENSE MUSIC) - (GORDY SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) (ENGINES RUMBLE) - So, this is actually quite a pivotal moment where the truck looks like it's getting traction on this next part of the driveway, and that's what they were really hoping would happen. And it was a little bit drier down there, and then, it's able to pull itself with the bulldozer, and it looks like we're in business. 'Grant still needs to negotiate the half-completed driveway along the top of the narrow ridge. (SUSPENSEFUL ROCK MUSIC) 'Gordy's out front in the tractor, and the stress is showing.' (MUSIC RESOLVES) (GENTLE STRUMMED MUSIC) It's arrived! - Yep. 700-plus kilometres, a hell of a steep track, a tractor, a digger, a bulldozer, a truck with its diff lock on, and we're here. 'Now, all we need to work out is where to put it.' - Looking at the front of the house, I think it needs the` - You're talking about lining it up with the driveway, right? So it comes up` - Yeah, lined up with the driveway. - ...and flows into the house and then out. So just around this way. - Stand back, Gordy. - Stand back! - Don't mind us, Gordy. We're just discussing where your house goes. - It's just... - Nothing to do with you! - (LAUGHS) - Gordy, it's just the front of the house. I'm wanting it kind of lined up near with the driveway. - My view was it was going to look over Orepuki, and then looking on to Stewart Island. The side windows we're going to have will take the view into the left-hand site. - I mean, at the end of the day, you are spoilt for choice, and this is what's causing this discussion, right? The view is magnificent in all directions. If it's really an issue, Debbie, I guess you could push just for bigger windows. (CHUCKLES) 'But Debbie gets her way and Grant moves the house 4m to the right. 'I can't wait to get inside.' Oh my goodness. Look at this! Wow, and now framed by a house. - All the hassles in the last few days ` this is worth it just to see this view. - What about you, Debbie? What did you think walking through the door? - Absolutely amazing. Yeah, it's quite good that we've got that judged right. - Moving this house that 4m ` it definitely was the right decision. - Master bedroom in here. - 'Glad to see Gordy being gracious in defeat. 'I wonder how the rest of the house has held up.' So, it looks like there was, what, a little bit of movement during the move? - Bit of Gib board was cracked. It's not a big job to re-fix that. The damage was quite minimal for the whole house, really, considering the torture we've put it through. - That's well-phrased ` the torture it's been put through. - Yeah. - 'There's a bit to do to make the house liveable, but they knew about most of it when they purchased. 'Top of the list ` ceilings to repair, fireplaces to reinstate, and re-plastering walls. 'The plan is to move in in just four weeks.' That's a tight timeframe. Do you have faith in local tradespeople that it's going to happen? - Oh, yeah. The tradesmen we've got are really good, so, yeah. Every faith that they'll turn up on time and get the job done. - 'No pressure (!) But I can't wait to see what they do in that time. 'The house still needs piling and the roof needs to be finished to keep out those Foveaux Strait gales. 'All I can say is good luck.' - Gordy and Debbie shipped a beautiful 110-year-old wooden villa a staggering 720km it ended up being all the way from Christchurch to here in Tuatapere to one of the most exposed sites in the whole country. Now, when I left them, they were determined that they would be living in the house within four weeks, but that was in June and the rains had started. So I've come back six months later to see how they've gotten on. 'The earthworks out front make me think that, well, there may be a bit more to do. 'The site looks as stunning as ever, with the house perfectly positioned for those epic views. 'But the blue tarpaulin rather hints that there's still some work in progress, 'and the planned deck out the back ` well, that hasn't eventuated yet. 'And while the house now sits on piles, it's in need of some pants. 'I'm worried I've turned up a bit early.' Hey, Debbie! - Oh, hi, Clarke. How are you? - Hey. It's so great to be back here. - Yes, I bet. - Hi, Clarke. How are you? - Hi, Gordy! How are ya? - Good. Good. - Great to see ya. - Great, innit? Beautiful, sunny day. - Has the sun always been shining? - No, the sun has not always be shining, I can assure you that. - Talk me through what's been happening. - A true winter of Southland approached, and we decided the next two months to three months, we were just going to hold back a little bit because the weather was just against us. - We were all ready, and then COVID came along. I think we were in lockdown for two, three weeks, was it, Gordy? - In Southland. Yeah, we were. - Yeah, yeah. So that delayed it again, but that's all right. We're in now. - Six weeks ago, we decided we'd move in. We've just kind of been moving forward since then, so, slowly, we're getting there. - How has the house stood up considering its exposed position? - We just had a little bit of water come in the living area. It was in the flat part of the roof. The carpet was right underneath, so we lost the carpet, but we're doing as much as I can myself, and the reason for that is just trying to get skilled staff now in this remote area ` it's quite hard, and we've just been let down a few times. - Still an unfinished project, but still plenty of drive and passion to get it there and get it done. - Every week, we're getting things done and it's feeling more like home every week now. - It's not on a budget. We're just being real conservative how we spend our money. - Yes. - I don't think I've ever seen a budget that's been done. - (LAUGHS) - It's just when we can afford it, we'll do it. - You know, obviously, as you've expressed, it's still a work in progress, but you're waking up here each morning, you're having a cup of tea with that view, so I can't wait to hop inside and have a look. - Come on in, Clarke. - Let's have a wee look. - 'Heading inside, Gordy and Debbie have got me fearing the worst.' Here we go. - Yeah. - Oh, this is great. Home! 'But what I see is that they've turned this house into a warm, welcoming home.' Amazing. - Amazing, eh? - Oh, look at that. Beautiful. 'Back on the lot, this recent extension was a bland, blank canvas. 'Now, filled with Debbie and Gordy's possessions, it's an open and inviting space.' What was it like when you got to spend your first night up here? - Like home now. Yeah, yeah. - And what did you think when you woke up in the morning? - Oh, I just thought, 'Oh, this is the right place.' - And so, how have you got on, Jamie? - Erm, it's good. I've settled in quite well. - What's the best thing you like about living here? - Being able to do farm work and ride my motorbike. - You proud of all the work that's gone on here? - Yeah, it's amazing. - 'The old master bedroom has been completely rejuvenated.' I can already see what I was most intrigued about in here. The fireplace survived! - It's in where it belongs, eh? Looks pretty stunning, doesn't it? - It was quite a quite a good, heated discussion as to whether the fireplaces would stay or not. - Must admit, I think it finishes the room off. It's a part of the villa. - 'Given she also made the call on where the villa was placed, 'it looks like that's two from two for Debbie, but Gordy's picking up points for his DIY.' Because, obviously, you had the big area where the chimneys were to fill. Man, last time, we had all the plaster coming out of the walls and everything else, and now it's your bedroom. - Yeah. - Yeah. - So it's just trying to figure out now what I put in to finish this off, but we'll get there. We will. - 'The bathroom's in great shape, and the other bedrooms are ready for a lick of paint when time allows. 'Now winter's behind them, they may have a lot on their plate, 'but it's definitely going to be worth the wait.' Is that what I think it is? - It is, yeah. They smell beautiful. - Oh, fantastic! Oh, this is perfect. I'm so happy that you brought a plate of cheese rolls out to round out my visit here, to now be able to sit at a dining table and see your couch and pictures and everything else, and it just` it feels like a home here; liveable. It's amazing, really. - It is, really. Yeah, that's within a year, isn't it? - Just... Yeah, it just blows you away. - Yeah. It's great, isn't it? - This is the reward, what we're sitting, looking at here. - It's just lovely, isn't it? And as we go into summer, obviously you guys have a list of things to do that's a mile long, but, you know, you'll get to really enjoy the fruits of all the hard work and that slog through winter to get here. - That's exactly it. Summer's around the corner, so summertime's a great time to do everything. - 'Debbie and Gordy bought their house, had it moved to site and piled for $180,000. 'Living here between the sea and the mountains caps off a dream they've had since they moved to New Zealand.' I guess if everything in life was easy, it just wouldn't... it wouldn't feel as rewarding, and speaking of which, I have a small gift ` a little something to remind... - Oh, wow! Wow! - (LAUGHS) Look at that! It's perfect. You've even got the digger on it. (LAUGHS) - Oh, how amazing! Thank you very much. - I'm not sure that I will ever have the experience again where we required each one of these vehicles pulling in unison. - Thank you very much. - That's quite clever. - That's just amazing, yeah. - 'I've sampled a few of these classic Southland delicacies on our travels, 'and this doesn't disappoint.' Great. Nice bit of garlic. Lovely. Good cheese roll. - Thank you very much. - Debbie and Gordy have big plans. There's solar panels to install, landscaping to be done, and a house to finish. But if there's one thing I've learnt about this family, it's that if there is an obstacle ahead,