- 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, a young couple's dream of creating a tennis academy leads them to the country. - We both wanted to have something more rural, and we really fell for Martinborough. - But their two new homes face an uphill battle to get there. Jesus. We're going up here? - Ooh, pretty tight, bro. - Is the weather going to prove the wildcard? - Hold it, bro. Hold. - There's no way we can go any further. They're about to shut the road. - Did you move at all? - We haven't moved an inch. Is this one match that might not have a winner? - I don't think it's gonna happen here, mate. - That doesn't sound good at all. This is Moving Houses. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 - Such a great morning. - It's beautiful. Jacob and Teresa are a big-city Wellington couple with a dream of leaving it all behind for a new life in the country. - The dream is about moving out and having a bit more space for us and the dogs and just slowing down, really. - We both wanted to have something more rural. We didn't want to buy a farm or something like that. And we really fell for Martinborough. - Teresa works for the Ministry of Education in Wellington. So they've been looking for country, but within commuting distance. - Definitely, when we were driving through Martinborough, with the vineyards and olive trees, it's just so beautiful. - Right, let's go kick down the T. - Jacob's a top tennis coach. - Nice. Good. And again. - And Martinborough will give them space to build a tennis academy, with courts made from crushed red-clay bricks imported from Italy, just like the French Open is played on. - Building a clay court has been something I've thought about for a long time. The vast majority of the top hundred players all grew up on clay, so it seems pretty conclusive that it's gonna be the best thing for the kids. - Until now, Kiwi tennis players have had to go overseas to play on clay. So there's a lot of excitement in the New Zealand tennis community about being able to train on Jacob's clay court from people like under-19 tennis champion Jade Otway, who's keen to improve her international game. - A lot of the best competition in the world is in Europe, and those competitions are on clay, so having clay courts in New Zealand to prepare and train on before going over there is definitely a huge advantage for tennis players in the country. - Once I'd had this idea of building some clay courts in New Zealand, I was looking for something with the lowest rainfall. And funnily enough, Martinborough kind of was perfect in that way. - Martinborough's just over an hour's drive north of Wellington. It is a quaint little village full of cellar doors selling local artisan wines. And the reason that the wine here is so good is because of something they call the Martinborough halo, a little microclimate that is the perfect conditions for growing grapes that are said to be small in yield yet intense in flavour. But Jacob and Teresa aren't moving here for the grapes. They're moving here because it's also the perfect climate for Jacob's dream tennis court. Although probably not today. In fact, there's no evidence of the Martinborough halo when I meet Jacob and Teresa at their 1.4ha site. But it's a big blank canvas, and I can immediately see the attraction. So your section starts here and then runs down to that fence line, does it? - Yeah. So along this tree line here to the pines at the back there. - Nice little carve-out. - Yeah, we love it. - Teresa, was there much discussion? Because you've got a lovely big parcel of land here. So heaps to play with, which can often cause headaches about deciding where everything is gonna go. - It's a beautiful spot. It usually is sunny and warm, so we wanted to be able to face the sun. But that also meant facing the wind. So we had to think about different wind barriers and things to put in place. - But what are we waiting on? So, we've got a four-bedroom house coming and a two-bedroom house coming. - And so you're bringing in two homes? - Yeah. One will be for us, and the other will be for players and coaches, as a bit of accommodation. - Yeah. - Yeah. - So, was that always the plan, to bring in places that were pre-built ready to go? Or did you want to build on site? - I got on to a developer that was bowling houses, and they wanted someone to take them away. But it just didn't work out with any of those. And from there, we started looking at new-built houses that were transported. - Right. And so did the idea of a relocatable appeal, or is it just what you guys had to do? - Once we understood the process, and you can get it built in eight to 10 weeks, that was really appealing. - And so it all make sense financially? - It works out really well. So, for the two houses to come in delivered is 550. - What, two houses on site, set up, for 550? - Yep, everything. - When they come down, they've got everything in there ` the carpet, the painting, even some appliances. They're coming ready to go. - Plug and play houses. It sounds like a fast and affordable solution. - And so this is where the main house is going? - Yep. There was a few different designs we looked at, but we wanted to make the most of the sun and the view. - We've got a big deck going out the front here, overlooking the vineyard there. - Excellent. And so where's this other home going? - The other house is gonna face out towards the hills. - Oh, I see. So turned around this way, taking in the view, guest accommodation. - Yeah, that's right. And this is just a little two-bedder. - And at the far end of the site, there's plenty of room for Jacob to build his red clay tennis courts. - So, we've got two courts here beside each other. And the plan is to sort of wrap a big hedge around it to protect it from the wind. - Wow, it's all happening quite quickly, isn't it? - Yeah. - Has it felt too quick? - I could have the houses now, happily. - Right? You're already mentally here, living here. - Yeah, definitely looking forward to it. - It's two weeks later. I'm 650km away at the Transbuild yard here in Auckland, where Jacob and Teresa's houses are being built. It's three days to their move, and I'm in awe of their confidence. Today Jacob and Teresa are seeing the near-finished houses for the very first time. So, Jake, what was the house like last time you were here? - Last time I saw it, it looked something like here ` just framing timber. - Yeah. And Teresa, you haven't seen this at all. - No, haven't seen it at all. - That's brave, isn't it? Just agreeing to buy a house without seeing and walking through it. - Yeah, it feels like that. It's just all in my head so far. - And here it is. This is your house. - Yeah. (LAUGHS) - Here it is. - Awesome. - Yeah, wow. It's a lot bigger than what I had in my head, that's for sure. - So as framing, it looked like a smaller proposition? - (LAUGHS) It did. - Yeah, because even when you've got your pegs in the ground out on the site, it still doesn't take into consideration the volume. - The pegs made it look small. We were like, 'Oh, OK.' But now, yeah. - No, you'd never think this would fit in the pegs. - No, that won't fit in the pegs. I just can't believe it's going to fit on a truck, to be honest, in one go. - Yeah, very true. - Yeah. It's a lot wider as well, thinking about all the roads that we just drove, getting here. - Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm dying to have a look inside. - Yeah, absolutely. - The rain seems to have followed us up for Martinborough. But it's not bothering us in here, because just 12 weeks after they started the build, this is a whole finished house. - First thoughts? - Yeah, it's great. Nice and big, yeah. - This is your lounge, essentially, right? - Yep, that's it. Well, almost finished. The builders are still doing the final touches, and it'll need a sweep. But with the kitchen installed, it's almost just add furniture and move on in. - I bet you're just dying to have a look around. - Let's do it. - Walking around the house, all the rooms look ready to live in. What's most surprising is that the house isn't cookie-cutter. Jacob and Teresa have worked with the Transbuild team to customise it to their particular needs. - We moved this wall a little bit to make this a little bigger, and we added this sliding door as well, so they sort of indulge some of my requests. - Yeah. Well, you're the client, of course. You're never wrong. And it's not just about Jacob and Teresa. A big part of their drive to move to the country is on behalf of their much-loved canine companions. - Currently, they sleep on the couch. - (GASPS) - Well, you know, when you move to a farm ` farm dogs, outside dogs. - These aren't farm dogs. - No. (LAUGHS) They're still city dogs. - Yep. They'll just have a bit more space now. - Right. You've got some lovely windows that go right down to the ground here, and a sliding door. What's the view going to be? - Yeah, so we've got our neighbours' vineyard out here, and then we've got a couple of nice hills over here. - So all going well, we should be looking at hill views out there in just a few days' time. - Yeah. - That's true, actually, yeah. - Jacob and Teresa also need to sign off on their smaller two-bedroom house. This is the guest accommodation for visiting coaches and tennis up-and-comers, as they train on Jacob's world class clay court. I mean, to ask an obvious question, what do you think? - Pretty happy. - Pretty happy? - Yeah, it's fantastic. It's come out really nice. - The owners have given both houses a clear stamp of approval. Now the tradies at Transbuild have a race to get the final touches finished before the critical council sign-off. It's lunchtime Friday. We're leaving Sunday night. So it is all go. Think that glue is gonna be dry by the time the house gets picked up? - Oh, yeah, it be, mate. No problem. - And this your usual workflow? - It is a little bit like that. We've got a council inspection in probably about an hour and a half. - So depending on what the council finds, it could ruin your weekend. - We've got checklists in place and everything like that. Yeah. - It's not just cosmetic. The idea really is the house is plug-and-play. So on-site sparkies hook up to the mains power to test the house for electrical certification. - Going all over the countryside. Gotta make sure they work correctly. - Got your neutral and positive round the right way. - Yeah. - Most importantly, the lights work. - Yeah. Basically, what we do here is we set it up. All the other electrician has to do is connect it up, and it's plug in and away you go. - Doing everything with all the tradies on site is fast and efficient. Jacob and Teresa's houses are brand new, and they still need to look brand spanking new after their nearly 700km journey. At 1pm Damian from Andrews Housemovers and his team turn up to load the houses for the big move south. The last time I saw Damian, he was moving a dilapidated old villa. This move is the opposite. These houses are pristine. - Your measurements work out all right? - Perfect, every time. So what is the difference between towing something brand new like this, versus an old villa? The old villas and stuff like that, they're a bit different. You can get away with a bit of cracking here and there, because at the end of the day, they're all getting redone. Whereas this is brand new, so the main aim of the game, really, is to get it from A to B with no damages. - OK. So what's the plan from here? - The main objective is to actually get to our destination within two nights. If we start running into a third night, then it just puts the plan out, for inspections and all that sort of carry-on, you know? So we'll leave Sunday night, and hopefully by Tuesday morning we'll be at our destination, all going well. - With just two days for such a long move and inspections already lined up at the other end, Jacob and Teresa are not making it easy for themselves. Even the distance we're travelling seems like an enormous ask. Our journey takes us down State Highway 1 into the Waikato, straight through Hamilton all the way to Taupo; but there we turn left and travel through Rangitaiki; tackling the hills through to Napier, where we'll spend the day sleeping; then we head south down through the towns of the Wairarapa ` Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Eketahuna. By day it's a beautiful scenic trip, but we'll be making it at night. And with a southerly storm forecast, I hope we're making it at all. And most importantly, hope that no damage has occurred during the move. You know, Teresa and Jacob, they've got a lot of money tied up in this big move, which all kicks off on Sunday night. - I realised that it's more than just me. It's about our communities; it's about our families, my elderly grandmother at home as well, and being able to ensure that she's safe (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) (THUNDER RUMBLES) It's Sunday night in South Auckland. It's raining. The forecast says there's a storm blowing up the island, due to hit tonight. The plan is to get Jacob and Teresa's brand new houses on the road as fast as we can, hoping we can knock off the big half of the move and get all the way to Napier by 6.30 in the morning ` 380km of heavy trucking. Are you worried about the weather? Because it's atrocious. - Yeah, we're in for a few high winds and a lot of rain on the way down. That ultimately can sorta stuff up our timeframe. - At the end of it all, we just gotta think of safety as well. - Yeah. The goal tonight is trying to get to Napier. Once we get there, then we know we're in with a chance to get the rest of the way on our second night. - Have you got a good heater in the cab? - Yeah. It'll be off, though. (LAUGHS) - It's gonna be a long night. - Yeah. (LAUGHS) - A long, cold night as we head south towards a wintry blast. I'm a little anxious. I can't imagine how Jacob and Teresa are feeling at home in Wellington. - Hello, you two. How are you going? - Hey. - Yeah, great. Yourself? Good. Look, I'm excited. I'm also quite cold. You look quite cosy and warm there. I think today we had about 7 or 8 degrees. So we're nice here, but I wouldn't want to be outside. - Good. Well, what I am excited to tell you is that there is a truck behind me, and it has your precious home all strapped down and ready to go, and I can't wait to get this underway. - Yeah, fantastic. Enjoy your night. - Great. - So you, guys. See you soon. And we're off. - So this is it, Damian. - We're on the way. - It all begins. - It's what, 650 Ks? - That's right, yeah. - (LAUGHS) Buckle up. And we're trying to get over halfway tonight. But making it all the way to Napier towing two brand new houses feels ambitious. - Slowing up for the trees. - Right. We've pulled out of the gates, we've come about 300m, and we've already slowed to a crawl. There's trees hanging over here. I just hear the guys on the comms now. - RT: Dave. - Giving a bit of distance each side. - Brushing through, bro. Brushing through on your left. - Jacob and Teresa's four-bedroom home is 22m long and 7m wide. On this tight road, Damian will have to answer for every single scratch. - At the front of your passenger side, Dave. - You can hear from the radio, the boys are saying that we're just clipping the trees as we come through, which shows just how big this load is. We've only just started. - And clear that white fence, bro. And the moment we're through the trees, we hit a rail crossing, crawling speed. - Rails clear at the moment. - So just through the railway tracks now. - 2.5m at the top of the rail. - You wouldn't want them to change the layout of that, would you? - (CHUCKLES) Nah. - Just one car here. I'll stop the others. - There's two houses coming, so wait. - Every delay works against Damian's ambitious plan, so he's brought in extra pilots to help us move as fast and as safely as we can. So we're running three pilots on this? - Yeah, just cos of the distance we're going. - Yeah. - The more pilots, the more warning people get. - Stay there, mate. Stay there. - He's still rolling, eh. But just as we get close to the motorway, the height of our load sends us off on a detour. It feels like we've almost weaved back around on ourselves. - Yeah, this is the bypass. Cos we can't fit under that bridge there. - Unfortunately, that means more intersections, more traffic, and more time. If we're wanting to beat that storm to Napier, we're starting to cut it fine. - Car coming in on the bridge now, bro. Should be all good after that. All clear on the motorway. - Finally, at 11pm, we hit State Highway 1. And once we merge our pilot vehicles, trucks and Jacob and Teresa's houses into the southbound traffic, we're away. - Good after the grey car, bro. Come across, Damian. - Yeah! It should be plain sailing from this point forward. It's all wide lanes and smooth curves, and it feels like we're flying. It's just after midnight, and we've got six hours to get to Napier. We might just do it. - As you can see, we're travelling a bit quicker now. (LAUGHS) - Yeah. - This will be the easiest part of the whole trip, won't it? - Yeah, pretty much. This bit from here to Hamilton is actually quite boring. - Boring? - Yeah. (LAUGHS) - Do you like it when it's a bit more technical? - Oh, you know, keeps the brain ticking over. - Yeah. - Keeps you a bit more alert. State Highway 1 takes us straight through the middle of Hamilton. 1am on a Sunday night, with most of the city asleep, there's only one local shocked to see a couple of houses heading their way. - (LAUGHS) Cheers, mate. - RT: You're all clear ahead for moment, Damian. - Roger. Coming through. - Back on the open road, the late night is starting to get to me. It's 2am ` snack time. - You got some snacks sorted? - You want a Buzz Bar? - Nah, no thanks, mate. - You sure? - Yeah, all cool. - What about a chocolate finger? - No thanks, buddy. - You sure? - Yeah, I'm all good. - Would you like one of my snakes? - (LAUGHS) - Actually, yeah. - I knew I'd get you on something. - Did you bring the whole dairy with you? Cheers, mate. - As we turn on to State Highway 29, the sugar rush is winding down. A low rail bridge in Tirau means a one-hour detour off the main drag. With a storm fast approaching Taupo, it's time we can't afford. - RT: Truck on your right, bro. - There should be enough space to get past. - Copy. - Yeah, bro, 1500 at the top. 2m at the bottom, clear. - Slow down. - Te Poi. - Right, Damian, so this is the turn-off. - Yep, this is our detour here. - The road narrows up a wee bit going through here. - Yeah. After Te Poi, we turn south again to make our way back to State Highway 1. But as we race south, that Antarctic storm is racing north towards us. - RT: Yeah, bro, looks good. - And as the rain starts and visibility closes in, it feels like we're on the edge of the storm. (TENSE MUSIC) At Tokoroa, it's a squeeze down the main street. The weather is worsening, and we've still got 200 K's to go. Damian makes the call to stop, refuel and reassess. Fuel up here, get back on the road? - Pretty much. We'll just get as far as we can, and just take it as it comes. - Look, if there's one thing I've learnt in this game, it's that you've got to be prepared to stop and start. - Yeah, yeah. Flexible. (CHUCKLES) - All right. Go and get some pants on, man. You're making me cold. - (LAUGHS) We're through the first band of rain, but it's sounding bad ahead. Damian's plan is to get as far south as we can. We get Jacob and Teresa's houses through Taupo, but when we turn off onto the rugged Napier-Taupo Road, we get bad news from the pilots. - Nah. It's 4am. We're on State Highway 5, the notorious Napier-Taupo Road, racing to try and get Jacob and Teresa's house through to Napier before sun-up. But there's worrying news. - Nah. - They're saying, what, they're gonna close the road? - Yeah. - That could change things. - Big time. The pilot radios through that the southerly storm has hit the hills and the already dangerous and windy road is going to close. As we gain altitude, the temperature plummets. - That might be a big of snow, mate. - Hey! It's definitely snowing. - Wow! - Oh, look at that. You can see it on the windscreen now, eh. - Yeah. - Can you move up a little bit? - Is that a snow plough? That warm Napier bed is starting to look a whole lot further away. - That's us, mate. - Damian makes the call ` get the houses off the road before they disappear under the snow. Just 100 K's short of our finish line, our luck has run out. - Ooh. Ground's white. - Not a picture I was expecting to see. 5 o'clock in the morning. Couldn't drive for much longer, anyway. - (SIGHS) And this is where we'll stop for the night. There's no way we can go any further. They're about to shut the road. And hopefully this is just a passing snow flurry, because if the snow keeps coming down like this, well, these homes are gonna be stuck here for quite some time. It's freezing cold. And there's no room at the inn here in Rangitaiki. So we backtrack to Taupo find breakfast and a bed. Jacob is clearing his section for our arrival. And once again, the weather's no good for tennis. Someone's forgotten to turn on the Martinborough halo ` again. - We've gotta get this done before the trucks come through tonight. It's been raining all day. The ground's absolutely soaked. I can't even see the trucks getting in at this point. So I've got a guy coming in with a huge tractor. If the houses get stuck, we can drag 'em out of the mud with that. - There's snow on the hills in Taupo, too. And after a day sleeping, we wake up early evening, hopeful the road will be open tonight. This is less than ideal. We couldn't travel till later in the day. It was clear. And now, as evening has fallen, it is snowing ` and snowing quite heavily ` and they have closed the road. And somewhere up there is Jacob and Teresa's houses, on the back of our trucks. As darkness hits, we're allowed through to check on the houses. They made the absolute right call in closing the road. This is just half an hour later, and it is pelting down. It's starting to settle on the road, which means our trucks, with the houses on the back, are getting absolutely covered in snow. Now, I've got no cell phone reception here, so I can't actually call Jacob and Teresa and let them know the unfortunate news that we're gonna be stuck here for another day at least. Back in Taupo, it's time to break the bad news to the folks in Wellington. Hey, guys. Nice to see you. - You too. - Tell me about your day. Where have you been and what have you been up to? - So, I was just getting the site ready for you guys, but I have to say, it's pretty boggy. It's a disaster. - OK. Disaster's a strong word. - The weather was so bad, and the wind as well, so we're definitely keen for an update on how the house move has gone. - We are unfortunately back in Taupo. We tried to get going tonight, and they closed the road on us. And your houses are safe, but they're probably under about a foot of snow right now. (CHUCKLES) - So did you move at all? - We haven't moved an inch since last night. - Wow. - Wow. -Have you checked the forecast for tomorrow night? - I'm almost too scared to look. The snow flurries seem to keep coming, and then we see stars and we get hopeful. And then it closes in, and down it comes again. So we are in the hands of Mother Nature. - Yeah, good luck. - What a difference 24 hours makes. The snow's gone. It's still freezing cold, but most importantly, the road is open. So as soon as it hits 7 o'clock, we are off, all the way, ambitiously, the target to Martinborough. Tonight's trip takes us 100 K's across the mountainous terrain to Napier, then we head south and wind down through the towns of the Wairarapa, Dannevirke, Pahiatua and Eketahuna, all the way to Martinborough. We've lost two days to the snow, so the pressure on Damian is bigger than ever, and he's just where he needs to be ` fuelling up for another big night. (SIGHS) We all set? - Ready to go, mate. Ready to go. - It's a good forecast. - Yeah, nah, we've been talking to a couple of the truckies that have come across,... - Yeah. - ...and they said, yeah, the conditions are pretty good. So we'll roll with that. - We've got a pretty anxious couple of clients at the other end. - (CHUCKLES) - Really worried about the state of their house, but smooth sailing from here. - House is in good nick. Had a look around it. There's no damages. She's all safe, so, yeah... - Right, well, you finish your dinner, and we'll be out the door shortly. - Yeah, man. (ROCK MUSIC) Ready to rumble. - RT: All good, Damian. Bring it on. - So this is what we like ` nice and clear. - Yeah, man. No traffic. - You can see some stars. - Stars at night ` it's gotta be all right. - No snow on the road ` it's all go. - (LAUGHS) - We're taking these houses all the way to Martinborough, only slowing for steep hills. - Now entering the Hawke's Bay District. - Just like that, we're officially down on to the flat. Right, so this is a big intersection. This is officially us off the Napier-Taupo Highway. It's one I know well, because that way is my hometown of Gisborne, whereas here, we're off to the Hawke's Bay. - RT: Looking good, bro. You're all good. - Into the port we go. - Yeah, gotta fuel up. - We hit Napier. It's a chance to refuel and check Jacob and Teresa's homes. We've just cracked a 100km, and we've definitely made the best time of the entire trip, so hopefully that's an omen for the kilometres ahead. Fuel up. One big final push. - RT: Clear, bro. Clear there. All good, bro. You're on the road. - From here, it's 280km south to Martinborough. The pilots keep the roads clear for us to get through Waipawa. - RT: Just one coming over the bridge, and then I'll block 'em off. - RT: Yep, clear there bro. - And then we're all go to Waipukurau. We're really ticking off the towns. - RT: Clear the rail. - RT: You've got about 1500 at the top there, bro. - A low bridge in Norsewood puts us on a tight bypass. But it's no real challenge to Damian. - RT: All clear, bro. - It's so easy, I slept my way through Dannevirke,... - RT: Looking good, bro. (HORN TOOTS) - ...waking up in Pahiatua for a bit of a wiggle through the trees. - RT: You're under the tree. Very low brush. Looking good, bro. - Jeepers. We're going up here? - Yep. - But then Eketahuna takes us right off-road. - Wow. - It's a goat track. - It is an absolute goat track. - RT: Just slight brush on that wire up the top. - This is tight. We've had to turn off the main road because there's a bridge that we just simply can't fit under. But there's trees overgrowing this way that we're brushing on. We've just brushed some wires. And we're down to absolute walking pace. We've got guys out in front of us here showing, exactly how much room we've got, and as it turns out, not a lot. - RT: Keep it going. Keep it going, bro. Keep it going. Looking good, bro. - Roger. We're underway. - It's 4am. We've got about 80km to go. But before we're on the home straight, we've got one last bridge to cross. - Bit of a squeeze through the next one. - The Anzac Bridge? - Yeah. How are we lookin'? - RT: Ooh, pretty tight, bro. - We've come to a complete stop on the road here, and now trying to work out whether we can hold the house flat and go through ` sounds like this just 100 mils on each side ` or we take the whole lot up in over,... - RT: Might have to go up, cuz. - ...which is what it looks like we're gonna do. - Looking good over that bridge, bro, on your left. - There's almost no play in it. Damian here has to be lined up exactly down the middle, and the house is jacked up almost as high as it can go. - RT: Good like that, bro. Nearly there. - Just like that, eh? - All done. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, man. Good to go. - RT: Righto. Let's lean forward and do it. - Yes! - Nearly there, man. - This is exciting. - (CHUCKLES) - 'A smooth ride to Martinborough.' Oh, I can see the finish line in sight. - RT: There's issues here. - What did he say? - It sounds like we've got issues. - Oh dear. 'We can see the finish line, but can we cross it?' - Slowing down. Gonna have a look-see. - RT: Come with me, Damian. We'll have a bit of a look. I don't think it's gonna happen here, mate. - Oh, that didn't sound good. That didn't sound good at all. - We're on the road by Jacob and Teresa's driveway with the precious houses, but there's a fence post and trees blocking our way. The four-bedroom house is just too wide. It's just one of those things where we have travelled 650km over several days. We've done 380 tonight. And to now stall here at... 4.08am is... (EXHALES) it's kind of deflating. Talk me through it, fella. What's happened? - We've gotta go down to the side street and then drive back up and approach the driveway from this way here. - Ah, right, just because you can't get that turning circle to get in. - So there'll be a bit of jiggling around. And while we're doing that, the small load is just gonna sneak in first. - OK. - It's just the issue of getting through the paddock and down the rest of the driveway will be the problem. - And it's looking pretty soft down there. - Yeah, yeah. The start of it's really soft, but we basically just want to clear everything off the road, wait for a bit of daylight. - While the big house heads down the road to turn around, we have a go with the guest house. - RT: Keep it close to the fence there. - So, we managed to turn the main house around, and we're sending the smaller one forward as a bit of a test case. There's a couple of areas concern here. One is just getting through the gate; we've got overhead power lines. The other problem is that once we go down the driveway, one wheel is gonna be in the mud on the side, and they're really worried, because it is really soft all the way down. - Just give him a hand to get a bit further down. It's one. - That wasn't too bad. - (CHUCKLES) - That's the two-bedroom house through, but I'm glad Jacob and Teresa are tucked up in bed and don't have to see us try to wedge their much larger home through the same gap. - OK, bro. Forward you come. Stay straight, wheels. Hold it there. Hold it there. Oh, might have to lift over, cos it's still tight up there. - RT: OK. - Forward you go, clearly. Keep it going. Nice and easy. Nice and slow. Brushing on both sides. Uh-oh. Hold. How's that tree? - So, this is a bit of a stalemate. The back of the house is blocking the entire road, and it's now after 5 in the morning, which means that morning commute will start, and if we're not off the road soon, this could be a real problem. - Make a hard right. Looking good. Stay hard right. Yeah, we're all clear now. Just go forward slowly, bro. - It's taken us an hour to get in the driveway, but they're gonna do it. - We're gonna park it behind Dave, bro, and wait for a bit of daylight. Moe time! - Moe time indeed. We're all ready for a sleep. (LAUGHS) I can't believe you made it. - (CHUCKLES) Yeah, man. It's a bit tight, eh. (LAUGHS) Nah, boys done their job pretty good. (LAUGHS) - Yeah. That's very impressive. It was only a quick kip. The moment we hit daylight, the tractor's out, hauling the trucks across Jacob and Teresa's waterlogged section got. - Yeah. - Long night. (LAUGHS) Got the small one in so far. For us, it sort of tested out the ground to see how soft it is. Yeah, fun and games. - The guest house makes it safely across the wet ground. But the truck carrying Jacob and Teresa's bigger home has a much weightier load. - Mats. Chuck some mats off. (TENSE MUSIC) - Yep, push the truck forward. Uh, so this here on this corner is` the ground got a bit soft due to a hole that's been dug in the ground, so we had to throw the mats down just to firm the ground up for the trailer to drive over the top of it so we didn't sink out of sight. And we're just now having to steer around the last piece of the corner so we can line ourselves up with the driveway there. - Where it's even wetter, Damian's crew bust out a few more tricks of the trade. So, this morning has revealed good news ` that as the truck has come on to the section, it's actually reasonably firm underneath, so they've managed to get the house all the way around to here. And it was just the last couple of metres where it's really started to sink down. - Trade secret, this one. Sweet. - With the sun out, it's finally starting to feel like Martinborough. With the houses close to position, it's the perfect time for Jacob and Teresa to arrive. Well... - Yeah, here they are, eh. - ...the next stage. - Yeah. - Absolutely. - You know, they've already worked so quickly this morning. We've got the main house in, and this is all that's left to do. - They look fantastic, eh. - They look so good. - Yeah. The colours came out really nice. Really happy, yeah. Everything looks great. - So good to see them finally on the land. - Yeah. - And so now seeing the main home sitting here, is that the right place for it? - Yeah, yeah. I was just looking at, like, our front yard. It's great. The dogs will have heaps of space. It feels much bigger than I thought it would be. - Yeah, with it sitting there, it really does block out where your tennis court's gonna go, and sort of almost divides the property in half. - Yeah, certainly. I didn't wanna feel like I was working from home. - Yeah, I can understand how you want that separation, Jacob. Just go over to work, hit some tennis balls, and then come back and unwind. - Yeah, it's a tough job, yeah (!) - The guest house is yet to be placed, but Jacob and Teresa's home is just where it's supposed to be. - I'm loving it. You know, this is, like, our houses on the land finally. - It is really long, though, eh. - Once you've got, yeah, the whole house sitting there, it does look a lot bigger. I'm pretty happy. I think it was good to make the most of the sun, because we've got such big windows along that side of the house. - Yeah. - That's a stamp of approval for the house. But they might not have noticed their guest house is in a bit of trouble, with Damian's team getting down and dirty. - OK, give that a go. - This guy's worked so hard. We're so close, but the further we go this way, the softer the ground gets. - Pull it forward. Yep, that's it. - Well done. So everything's lined up. What happens from here? - We're gonna start putting the jacks around and then pulling the trailers out so we can start digging holes for the foundations and start pouring tomorrow. - Houses in place, I'm ready for a rest, but Damian's team gets straight into digging foundations for the main home and get stuck into... getting the other truck stuck. And then a tractor. So the team brings in another tractor, and, well, you guessed it. - Two tractors stuck, trying to pull out our stuck truck and trailer. - It's been a long day, and Damian wisely makes the call to pull the plug. I could've slept for four nights, but one will have to do, and I'm on my way to Jacob and Teresa's again. And so here we go, back on the site. I've actually got no idea what to expect this morning, but given the problems yesterday wit tractors as being stuck in the truck going absolutely nowhere, I'm hoping that the guys have had a good night's sleep and that they are gonna try and solve that problem this morning. And so here we are, 7.30, and they've had to bring in a digger. - We've had the digger man in this morning to try and clear some of that soft ground out of the way for us, cos it is quite hard when you get about half a metre down. - OK. - And then use the digger as the main anchor point to be able to push-pull ourselves out of the position we're in now. - Gently, gently. Finally, the new digger drags the truck out, so Damian's team can fix the houses in place and start cleaning up the chewed-up field. It's crazy to think that these homes were built just a short time ago and they've already had such an adventure. But as we complete this section, then the next section of work kicks off, and you can already see it well underway behind me. We've got to get in a new driveway. The garage has to go in. We've got to put down sewerage, get the water tanks in place and then connect power. And somewhere in all of that, Jacob wants to get a nice big deck happening out here. They wanna be living here in just six weeks, so the race really is on. Not to mention the original dream that brought Jacob and Teresa here ` the clay tennis court. With so much to do, I don't imagine we'll be hitting some balls next time I visit. That clay court dream looks quite a bit further away. - VOICE-OVER: Morning, Ricky. - What? - You're in an ad for fibre. - What's that? - It's a tiny cable under your feet connecting New Zealand to fast, reliable broadband. Let's go. (PAINT SPLASHES) ECHOES: Aah! I thought you said it was a tiny cable. - It is. This is a metaphor. And as the country's needs grow, our fibre network can deliver way, way more when we need it. It's bigger than we can even imagine, Ricky. (RUMBLING BUILDS) - (CHUCKLES) Got you. - Oi, what should we...? (BOTH SPEAK INDISTINCTLY, VEHICLES ZOOM) - Oi, Clipboard. - Hullo. - What are you doing? - LOUDLY: Reviewin' the speed limit. (VEHICLE ZOOMS) - The what? (VEHICLES ZOOM) - Speed limit. - Why? - It's just too fast... (TRUCK RUMBLES LOUDLY) ...for roads like this one. You know, stuff's changed ` new schools, new builds, people movin' in. We're lookin' at the speed limits to make sure they're right for the roads to keep us all... (SIREN WAILS) ...safe. - Did you like that? - Eh?! - Wait. - Wha...? - So are you changing all the speed limits? - Yes. No, just the... (TRUCKS RUMBLE LOUDLY) rubbish ones. Just the sh... (HORN TOOTS) ...ones! - All right. Hurry up, then. - OK. - Bye. - Thank you. - For Jacob and Teresa, getting a new home on to their Martinborough property, the move was more dramatic than the build. Two houses built in just 12 weeks and then put on to the back of a couple of tracks before promptly getting stuck on the Napier-Taupo Rd in a heavy snowfall and then stuck again down the end of this driveway between a tree and a fence post, before being stuck again on-site, with the trucks bogged down in heavy mud. In fact, the last time I was here, the whole site was just a sea of earthworks and mud, really, and the idea of them living here with a lovely big deck out the front was nothing more than a dream. And that was 11 weeks ago. Teresa wanted to be living here six weeks after that. So let's go and have a look. The property's looking so established, and there's more than just a deck. Jacob and Teresa have clearly been busy with a hammer and a post hole borer. All this fencing is brand new. And the beauty of it is that it makes the recently arrived homes look like they are really starting to bed into the landscape. - Hey, Teresa. How are you? - Hey, Clarke. Nice to see you. - This looks great! - Yeah! - Hi, Jake. How are you going? - Gidday. Welcome. - Wow. We're standing on your deck. - Yeah, how good, eh? - When did this go in? - It's been done for about three or four days, I think, yeah. - (LAUGHS) Just three or four days. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Which would suggest that you have been living here, Teresa. - Yeah, we're on week three. - So does that mean that you've moved in seven weeks after the house arrived on site? - Yeah. All the services and things took a while, and then there was lockdown in there as well, so things took a bit longer than we thought. - Yeah, but when you said a little bit longer ` that was only one week longer than you'd planned, - so that's quite quick. - Yeah, that's true. - But we did have a composting toilet for the first few weeks. - (LAUGHS) - Living it tough. - Yeah. (LAUGHS) - And so how does it feel knowing that this is your home? - I think for the first week we were staying here, I think every day I just said to Jacob, 'I love it so much.' You've got all the farm animals over here and then the vineyard and the hills, - and even at night, the stars are just insane. - Amazing. - Feel so lucky. - I can't help but spy a whole load of planting's gone in around the corner. - Yeah, that's our native area. So the idea is just to create some separation between the houses. - We wanna have, like, a little track that runs around it, so you could kind of walk in the bush and then a bit of a clearing. - But that is a long time away, because they're currently yay high. - Maybe in 10 years. (LAUGHS) - So you're getting everything in place and you almost just need to give it 10, 15 years to grow in. - Yep, totally. - Yeah, that's it, yeah. We've still got, you know, the vege garden and the orchard, and there's plenty of things. - And of course, there's room for a couple of tennis courts. - Right. You wanna come inside and have a look? - Absolutely. I love seeing the lounge with all Jacob and Teresa's possessions in it. Back at the factory, it was full of potential. Now it feels like a real home. - I just love it so much. I was just like... well, still trying to see it in, like... - Yeah. - ...I actually live here now. Yeah. - What was the first night like? - We ordered in pizza. - We got pizza. Yeah, it must've been good. - (LAUGHS) - We didn't have curtains at all for about a week, so we got to enjoy waking up with the sun and all that good stuff. - Yeah. - And what a place to wake up in. Jacob in Teresa's home is gorgeous, but the views, they're the real scene stealers. I can't wait to see what they're like from the bedrooms. - It's really nice with all the bedrooms flowing outside and little bit of a deck on each one, yeah. - Bet you've got friends and family dying to come and stay. - We do actually have a bit of a list, yeah. - Yeah, we do. - It's hard to beat Martinborough, right? - Yeah. But something tells me Jacob and Teresa have saved the best for their room. Ah, the views. For most people, waking up to a vineyard is something that happens on holiday. But to be able to do it every day must be such a treat. - Definitely something we've been enjoying. - Nice. - It's so beautiful. - That vineyard's not part of your property and yet it feels like it's... - I know, right? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, we get to enjoy it. - All the benefit. - And so have you found this layout with your walk-in wardrobe? - Oh, great, yeah, yeah. - It's great. - Teresa, most importantly, have the dogs enjoyed the transition? - Oh, the dogs love it here so much, yeah. - And I'm pleased to see Jacob and Teresa haven't put the tools down after working on their house. With some clever separation in place to ensure privacy, the tennis players' accommodation is looking just as inviting. Great! - Yeah. - That's a lovely outlook, isn't it? - Oh yeah. - Yeah, we're really happy, yeah. This is a nice rural outlook with those hills off in the distance. It's small, but I think it's got everything you need, so, yeah... - With two bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen, it will be a welcoming space for the players and coaches who come to Jacob's tennis academy ` which reminds me. Just looking over your shoulder, Jacob, one thing I have noticed might be missing at this stage is the tennis court. - Yeah, well, certainly the budget for the courts, that has blown out, cos we've got a few challenges with shipping, so that's just on hold at the moment. But we own sort of 120 tons of clay over in Italy, so we're fully committed to the project. It's just gonna be a matter of time. - And so the two homes delivered on site for 550. - Yep. - Has your budget held together outside of that? - It's actually not too bad. We got a little carried away with the deck. - You can never get too carried away with a deck. - (ALL LAUGH) - We might end up 50,000 over for the whole project, so, I mean, that's pretty good, I think. - Jacob and Teresa spent $550,000 to move one four-bedroom house and one two-bedroom to their site, ready to plug in and settle down. The dream of the red clay tennis court is still in play, but they're well on the way. - (POP!) - It's just so beautiful to be able to sit on this deck with that view, knowing that we've got, you know, two, three hours more of sun in the day. - Yeah, you guys have cracked it. - Yeah. This is really what we had in mind. - We were able to design this for us, our lifestyle and the tennis as well. Like, that's quite a luxury. - Not only design it, Teresa, but six months later, have it. - Yeah, yeah. - Yes, very true. - This is really the start of where you guys are going to the next stages in your life. And so as soon as you get that new court in, away you go. - We'll be off. - Cheers. - Cheers. (GLASSES CLINK) - Actually just before I go, I got you a little gift. - Oh! - In lieu of there... - Oh my gosh. - ...not being a tennis court, many a world champ has started on a swing ball set. - I've heard that as well. - I thought maybe this could tie you over in the meantime. - (LAUGHS) - Yeah, perfect. - (ALL LAUGH)