- All over the country, people are moving houses. - RT: Watch that truck, eh? - Wow. This is getting tight now. - Can you swim? - (LAUGHS) - From old villas to modern homes, (TRUCK HORN BLARES) and even historic churches. - Good work there, Clarke. - Like a glove. They're giving new life to buildings and structures that once faced destruction. - Front wheels are skidding. Whoa. (BLEEP) - There's no obstacle too big ` (CHAINSAW WHIRRS) - I only need a millimetre. - and no challenge too great ` - RT: Up a little bit on the hook, John? - for the people who take this on. - Starting to get very ugly down this hill. - RT: Whoa, whoa, whoa. - Whoo! (TRUCK HORN TOOTS) - How far would you go to match your ideal house to the location of your dreams? This time ` a couple take huge risks in their quest for happiness. - The place that we're moving, I haven't seen it yet. - Wow. - It looks quite big, if it's right to plans. - The 100-year-old two storey house has to be split into five pieces and trucked over 300km. There is going to be 10 other homes on the road at the same time. - It's got nothing against the kerb. Can you see his tyre? - Will the dream home survive the journey to the coast? - Oh, what the hell? Really? - Or is this one road trip about to get blown apart? (BANG!) - RT: Yeah, the tyre's just gone. - Looks like we've shredded a couple of tyres. So, come along for the ride. This is moving houses. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Hardworking couple Becky and Dean and their three teenage sons are looking to set up an alternate life for themselves in a place that, well, couldn't be much more removed from here in urban Auckland. The Ogilvies live in Mount Albert. Dean is in analytics and Becky works as a manager for a large health insurer. They're proud parents of three very active teenage boys. - The youngest one, he's always outside on the bikes and surfing. And one of the other kids is starting to get into his fishing now, with me, so... - Oh, cool. With roots in the Far North, the family's ultimate dream is to create a home away from home there. A place where they and their wider whanau can enjoy the outdoors. After years of procrastination, it took the impulsive Becky to get things moving. - Beck took the step last year when I wasn't there to go and buy a piece of land, so... (CHUCKLES) - Wow. OK. So, you really` You've been able to follow through with the dream. Whereabouts is this? - Uh, in Ahipara. - Yep. - So, bottom end of 90 Mile Beach. - It wasn't really intentional. Grace, one of Dean's cousins, and I went driving and saw a section and we were like, 'Yeah, that's the section for us.' - Wow. I mean, I've made the occasional Trade Me purchase at night, perhaps after a glass of wine. But to just, sort of, buy a piece of land, that's` - (LAUGHS) - that's quite something. - Part of it is connecting back to that side of our whakapapa, for the whanau and for the generations. Hopefully, our kids hold on to it and their kids and keep it going. - The plan is to move a massive six bedroom bungalow from Auckland. Sticking with her impulsive streak, Becky found and bought the bungalow online, much to the surprise of Dean. - The place that we're moving up there, I haven't seen it yet. - You` So, you haven't seen the house? - No. - Have you seen the house? - Once. - (LAUGHS) Once? - Very briefly. - Wow. Impulse. Have you seen pictures of it? - I saw` I saw pictures. Yeah, yeah. - OK. - But this is a pattern` a pattern of behaviour. - (LAUGHS) A pattern of behaviour. (ALL LAUGH) Has Becky always been like this, through the relationship? - Yeah. - And have you gotten used to it? - Uh, well, I suppose I have to. - This is great, Becky. I like that, though. But was this particular things that you were looking for, or were you just, on a whim, decided that this was the house you were going to make work? - Oh, initially, Dean and I talked about building new, um, but then, with COVID, and the costs looking like they were going to spiral out of control, we thought, you get a beautiful house at a lesser rate. - You get something that's a bit different as well. And you've got a` you've got a place that has a story behind it already. - I can't wait to see Dean and Becky's dream family home. The fact Dean hasn't seen it makes it even more exciting. So we've come to EasyMoves in Auckland to check it out. You a bit anxious, leading the family down here, Beck? - Little bit. - Dean? - Well, I've seen it in photos, but it's always different when it's in the flesh, eh? Looks pretty big. - That's way bigger than I thought it was. - Becky and Dean's new home is a 1920s, six bedroom, two storey transitional bungalow with more than enough room for their three teenage sons and all the whanau. Tim, Mike and Joe, have you boys had a chance to look at the floor plan and work out which one of your bedrooms is whose? - Nah. - Not really. - Not really. - What did you say to me, Mike? - I said that I'm going to have the best room. - You're gonna have the best room. - No matter what. - Yeah, no matter what. (LAUGHTER) A vast 194m2, Dean and Becky's new home was rescued from a site in Herne Bay because the previous owner insisted it had to be saved. It's been sitting here at the EasyMoves yard, waiting for someone with enough passion and space to take it. So, Dean, do you think it's going to fit on your section? - Yeah, I think so. Um... it does look big. - Beck, so, can I ask, how much did a house like this cost? - It cost 310k, and that's relocated. And it includes the crane hire, too. - Does that factor in the additional costs of bringing it up to spec, once it's in place? - No. - No. - No. - Right. - No. - But that's what Dean's for, right? - Even though he doesn't like doing any of the work himself, he might get a rude shock. (LAUGHS) - Any whanau that you can call on up there for a bit of a painting, working bee? - I think they'll probably head for the hills, actually. (ALL CHUCKLE) - Should we go and have a look inside? - Yeah. - Let's go, eh? - Ooh. - It's a big moment for Dean and the boys, stepping inside their new home for the first time. - What do you reckon? - This is cool as. - Yeah. - Bex, do you think Dean's making all the right noises? - Well, he's smiling. - Yeah, yeah. - That's pretty animated for Dean, to be honest. - I'm liking it. - You're liking` You haven't` You've only seen about 1/8th of it so far. Bungalows were pretty popular 100 years ago, and Becky and Dean's new home has all the classic features of the era, with rimu, timber panelling, plaster ceilings and led light windows throughout. I'm sure they'll want all these antique features retained when it's hauled over rocky roads to Ahipara. - Wow. Oh, I like that, eh. Look at that woodwork. Yeah, love it. It's got a nice feel to it, as soon as you walk in. - Tim reckons he's bagsed his room. - Holy. This goes up to the roof. - I might have to explain to the kids what a chimney is. - (LAUGHS) - There's more than enough room for the extended family downstairs, along with two bedrooms, a conservatory, two living rooms, a bathroom and a big kitchen for all those hungry kids. Oh, wow. This is huge. You've not only got a home, looks like you got a dishwasher and a fridge and an oven, if they all still work. (CHUCKLES) - Tim, if you open that fridge, it's looking a bit... (ALL GROAN) - (LAUGHS) past its best. - There's your first job. - It could be like an office. - Three teenage boys, I'd say that's a walk-in pantry. (LAUGHTER) Becky and Dean's new home is a far cry from its glory days right now. Even to get here to the saleyard, it had to be pulled apart, braced and stitched back together. And now, the house will have to go through it all again. - All right, this is my room. - This is your room? - Yeah. - Ooh, you were the last one in here. Do you get to..? - I was first in here. - You're first in there, right? - Nah, this is mine. - Oh, wait. Hey, wait. Wait a minute, boys. How do you guys normally sort out these sort of decisions? - Oh, we usually fight. - Does it` Is that constructive? Does that work well for you? - Yep. - Yep. - Most of the time. (LAUGHTER) - With six bedrooms to choose from, surely there's got to be something for everyone. - That would probably look straight at the maunga, I think. - Nice. - There's a bit of height, too. You don't really appreciate it till you get up here, but we're a few metres off the ground, eh. - What's our time frame? When's this moving? - It's supposed to be moving at the end of the month. - This month? - Um... yeah. And we still don't have building or resource consent, so that's starting to get a little bit nerve-racking. - OK. So there is` There is a little bit to do between now and then. - Yeah. - Yeah. - And time's ticking. - Yeah. - Yeah. - What's the plan, once the house is in place? - Well, there's a loose plan. We've sort of done a budget, but the problem is, there's no money to pay for it. - Is part of this whole process a sense of, just get a big house up there and in place, and then, over time, you're going to develop it into the whanau family home that you want? - Yeah, completely. And actually, it is about the connections with people. We will make it look good over time, but it might take a while. - All right. Well, we'll see you in about four weeks. - Sounds frightening. (LAUGHTER) - I can see why Becky fell for this place. It's a house that can accommodate their budget, their boys, plus, all the cousins. But there's no denying there's a few barriers in their way yet. This is a big house, and the move has a lot of moving parts. So five pieces of this house, they have to come back together in Ahipara. They also have to find a crane that's not only big enough, but fits within the family budget. This prized transitional bungalow has lots of special character features to preserve. It's definitely a big challenge ahead for everyone involved. With that in mind, and Dean having now seen the home in the flesh, the couple have made the trip up to Ahipara to get a better feel for how their new home will sit on their land. It's a gorgeous site, located only a minute from the beach, for $165,000 ` I'd call that a real bargain. - Just that it's quite overgrown, since we haven't been up here. Last time` It used to have horses on it, so it was nice and mowed down before. - It's quite deep down here. - It is quite deep down there. - Which causes a problem ` trying to find the survey pegs laid out by their engineer. - We should have done the meterage, and you could have been pacing out... - Should've brought a tape. - Yeah. - Well, there's a peg. (LIGHT ROCK MUSIC) Look, there's another one there. There's none other? No other pegs? - No. - Dean and Becky are forced to rely on a tiny survey chart on their phone. - It's actually` It's quite far back, there. I'd say it's on that` right on that top of that mound. - The house actually comes quite a long way over this way, more than I pictured, actually. - At 1200m2, they've got a pretty decent sized section. This is a huge house, and with their site long and narrow, I just hope the house fits the way they want it to. - Yeah. - Sure it does. - Section feels big when you first walk onto it, and then you` you step it out and you realise the house is actually going to take up a bit of` bit of room, here. - It's quite hard when you're not here, because you can't really see. It looks quite big, if it's right to plan. So, yeah, hopefully, it fits. - For Dean and Becky's sake, I hope it fits too ` or it could be one very costly mistake. Over the following three weeks, things start to come together for Becky and Dean. Their consents are granted and they resolve that their house will, in fact, sit happily on their land. But their sons might have to accept that a cricket pitch is out of the question. Now, with under a week to go, the team at EasyMoves begin preparing Becky and Dean's new home for its big trip from Auckland to Ahipara. - All good out there, Rob? - All good, mate. - Doesn't look like there's any rain coming, eh? Should be good for this afternoon. - Yeah, we're looking good. - It's a huge move for the relocation company. The top storey is split into three ` one centrepiece, two gable ends, and the bottom storey is split in two, right down the middle of the hallway. If he house isn't big enough, we've got time pressures, too. On this particular move, we have to get out on Sunday. - Yeah. Yeah, so, there's a bit of stress, to get it all loaded up tomorrow, because on Sunday is our last night to go through Dome Valley for a week, because from Warkworth to Wellsford, they're closing the Dome Valley for roadworks. So I think we're going to have about 10 companies going through with houses that night. - 10 other houses? - Yeah. - In the same night? - Yeah, pretty much. I'm hoping that we'll all fit in. Otherwise, it's going to cause a bit of disruption. Um, we'll want to be in the front of the queue, put it that way. - (LAUGHS DISBELIEVINGLY) Not making it through would be bad for Becky and Dean, but also for EasyMoves. They've had to hire a very expensive large crane in Whangarei to put the roof back on the Ogilvie's home, and they'll be paying for it, whether the house is there or not. And so all of that's on your shoulders as well, Connor? - Yes. Yes. Obviously, we've quoted this for Becky, and the crane's part of that. So, if something goes wrong, we're not quite ready for them, and they have to take another day, well, that's a charge that we're probably gonna have to wear. So we definitely want it to run smoothly. - With the Auckland crane rolling in in 24 hours, the EasyMoves team are setting up the jacks and bringing steels in that will support the top pieces during the lift. - So, when the crane arrives tomorrow, we'll drop the crane points through the roof and it will come down underneath these steels, which will pick up all our bracing, which will lift the top storey off. - Yeah, try and find one more. - I'll go down there and I'll come around. - So, it's Thursday afternoon, and Connor and his team have got a whole lot to do to get this home ready. They've got to pull it all apart, take the roof off, and then get the bulk of it down onto just three tracks. And then, of course, we've got that Sunday night hard deadline, because the road shuts for an entire week after that. And we're not going to be the only ones affected by that deadline. There is going to be 10 other homes on the road at the same time, apparently, all lined up. So it's going to be either a great big trucking convoy or absolute trucking chaos. First job is to crane the five pieces onto trucks. - Just check that we don't have any catching on that back there. - It's crucial the lift goes smoothly. Any delays could stop the team from making it to Ahipara before the Dome Valley Road closures on move night. - Holding. Holding. Here it goes, guys. Here it goes. - Put another ton on it. Think we're free now. Go another ton. - This is the second time Becky and Dean's house has been split apart and craned, and 100 year bungalows weren't designed to be relocated. - I think it's sort of leaning down onto the back, once again. - The top section is now hanging seven metres off the ground. - What are we on the hook there? 13. OK, yep, we're all good. (SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC) It's good on the marks on the front? - Yeah. - Coming off, eh? Nice. On the trailer... Lovely. - It's a relief for the team to have one half of the most technical aspect of this move in the bag. - We're pretty good, eh. Yeah, everything's on the trailers now, so we're just going to help put the crane away and have ourselves something to eat and then we'll lift that bottom piece and split it open and get it ready to go. - With the bottom storey now exposed to the elements, it's vital the team work quickly to move the trailers into place. - Yep, we're in. - The weight can now be taken by the trailers, and the bottom storeys are wrapped, protecting the special features of the home from the elements. The plan for night one is to convoy north from the yard in Glen Eden, through roadworks, one lane bridges, and low hanging power lines, towards Dome Valley. We'll be under time pressure to reach there before the main highway is closed for roadworks at 3am. Beyond that, it'll be a race against the clock to reach Whangarei before our cut-off of 5am. We'll rest up the next day, then, at 10pm, we begin a 170-odd km trek to Ahipara. The roads are in less-than-ideal condition, so we'll need to take it slowly, if we're to deliver Dean and Becky's new home unscathed. It's moving day, and Becky and Dean's two storey bungalow is in five pieces on four trucks. Here we go. Almost 10.30, and at 10.30, we're allowed to head out that gate and go north. And we're not going to be the only ones doing that tonight. Now, there's always a bit of time pressure with a house move, but tonight, it's very real, because the road we're going on is about to shut for a week all the way through Dome Valley. And that means we're not the only ones affected. Every other house move this week is also trying to roll out at exactly the same time. It's a nervous moment for Becky. Are you aware that if we don't get the house through tonight, the road shuts for an entire week? - Oh, what the hell? Really? - (LAUGHS) Don't worry, Becky. Dome Valley won't shut until 3am. That should give us loads of time... surely. - We all ready, are we? - This truck smells different to all the other trucks, I reckon. - Yeah. Brand new smell. First job. First job tonight. - This is the first job? - Very first job. - This is the first time this has taken a house anywhere? - Yeah. - See you, guys. See you in Ahipara. It's been a long time getting to this moment, so, I imagine that's quite emotional for them. It's the last Dean and Becky will be seeing of their precious old new home until it reaches the site. We're going to be travelling in a mammoth four truck convoy tonight, plus four pilot cars ` the widest and the main upstairs pieces leading the way. Fitz and I are one back with a living room and kitchen. Behind that is the downstairs bedrooms and bathroom, and the two gable ends are on a flat deck truck at the back. - RT: All clear to come out, mate. - We're on a race out of Auckland City tonight, with 76km to go until Dome Valley. - RT: Just touching a wire, Darren. - There's only so fast you can race when you're towing a house. - Our biggest problem on this road is just the wires. - So, what's the highest point of this load? - Uh, 5.3. - 5.3? And power lines are, what, 5.4? Except when they sag, right? - Yep. - We're relying on the eagle eyes of the pilots front and rear to guide us to the end of the road. And the height of the sagging power lines is much harder to gauge. - RT: Keep coming up. Keep coming up. - Can you touch it? - RT: (INDISTINCT)...all good. - Oh, yeah. And, finally, we make it. (LIGHT ROCK MUSIC) Here we go, out onto Great North Road. - RT: A little bit of a bubble, there. A little bit of a bubble. - A little bit of a bubble? - Just the tarps blowing out a little bit. - Oh, I see. I think I learn something new nearly every trip. So the pilot vehicles are split between the four trucks ` two in front, one in the middle and two bringing up the rear. Riding in such a long convoy is making their job extra tough. - RT: Looking good, Drew. Come on down. Cops oncoming. Lights on. - We're going through a built-up area in town, so there's just so much to look out for. (POLICE SIRENS BLARE) We're making good time as we approach Massey. But up ahead is the narrow Triangle Road Bridge. We're forced to drop our speed right down. - RT: You've got 100, 150 over at the moment. And you're close on your driver's. Slowly... You only got about 30 mil. - A little tight, so he's going to try and get above it, eh? - Yep. Good now. It's gone. Yep. Good to go forward. - Roger. - So we're just pulling onto Triangle Road Bridge. And the interesting thing about being in the middle truck is watching the load ahead and seeing them navigate it. And you heard on the comms, Connor saying that Troy only had 30mm to play with, which, you know, is nothing. But Fitz and the other drivers negotiate the gap successfully, and I'm now hoping for a good run. Our route has us jumping on State Highway 1 at Massey to avoid narrow roads ahead, (DRAMATIC MUSIC) but the pilots have just relayed some bad news. It just came through on the radio that there's even more roadworks up ahead that they weren't aware of. And of course, all this slows us down. There's an unexpected roadblock on State Highway 1, and they're redirecting all traffic onto roads that we're too wide for. Conner's wish of getting to the head of the queue at Dome Valley looks in doubt. - They're making us wait 20 minutes. - We're forced to pull over. So we've stopped right here in the middle of the motorway under an overbridge. All the other traffic has been detoured off around us because there's roadworks up ahead, but this load is just too big to do that, so they're having to move everything over, and then allowing us to go through. And of course with every stop like this, it adds time, and time means that we'll be further back in the queue, and further back in the queue is going to delay us getting through to Whangarei, so you can see how it has that real ripple effect. But at 12.30am, we get the all-clear from the roadworks crew up ahead. - RT: Yeah, we've got the A-OK. Roll on through now. (TRUCK HORN HONKS) - This is good, now. Getting the special treatment. All the other cars having to divert off through the detour, but we're allowed to carry on through. This is how it should always be, eh? - It helps. - Too good. - Roger. We're on the way. - But it's nearly 1 in the morning. We've only driven 40km of the 170km to our Night 1 destination of Whangarei. We have to be off the road by 5am to avoid the morning traffic, but, perhaps more importantly, we have to make it to Dome Valley by 3am, or we can forget about Whangarei at all. - RT: Slow down. - RT: Slowing down. - We've only just hit Dairy Flat when the truck ahead carrying the lounge and dining room strikes disaster. (ELECTRICITY BUZZES) - RT: (BLEEP) Marks on the wires, cuz. Marks on the wire. - RT: Slow down. - RT: Stopping, bro. The wires have touched window height. - What's happened? - RT: Oh, wires are too low, bro. - RT: Bro, it's at my window. - Has he got wires off? - Mm. - And it's on his window? The convoy to Ahipara has come to a complete stop. Well, slight hiccup. The load ahead came across lines that were lower than anticipated and clipped them, which has brought them down in a big hail of sparks. Now, luckily the load behind has been able to stop in time and that's come through from some clear comms telling them, 'Whoa, careful, trouble ahead.' But as a result, with that line being so low now, well, that truck's not going anywhere until the power board comes and lifts it. So we could be here for hours. We're stuck and we're blocking both lanes. Class 1 pilot Michaela isn't wasting any time. Are you on hold to someone right now? - Vector. - Vector Power. And you're desperate for them to pick up, so we can get this sorted? - Yeah, I've spoken to them. She's just trying to lodge the job and get me an ETA of when they can arrive, so that we can know how long we'll be blocking the road for, make a plan and update the guys in Dome Valley to let them know how far away we will be. Because tonight's the only night we can go through till next week. - It's a big blow for Connor and the team. Precious time is ticking away and the chances of us getting to Dome Valley before the road closures... they're not looking good. We're not even at Dome Valley yet. - Yeah. Yeah. So time's definitely coming down on us. So the main goal, sort of shifting now, is to get through Dome Valley. We realise now, we're probably not going to make Whangarei, but we just can't afford to be stuck this side of Dome Valley, with the closure all week. So yeah, a little bit of pressure coming on. - At nearly 2 am, the power board arrives. All right. This is good. Some progress. Now, hopefully we can get that line lifted or shifted out of the way and we can keep going. We will see. The height of the problem power line is just under 5m, and we are well over that. - We'll hold it up for us and we'll go through, and he's all good. We can carry on after that. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (ROCK MUSIC) - We're through, without any damage to any parts of the house. But we've got only three quarters of an hour to drive the 38km to Dome Valley before 3am. And in our first stroke of good luck for the night, reports from the pilot vehicles ahead that some of the scheduled house moves have cancelled their dash across Dome Valley, and others have already been through, which will leave us as now the only convoy in the queue. Which is a complete turnaround from there being 10 homes on the road, all in one go. But the good news is short-lived. So we've just come to a complete stop. We're just out of Warkworth and this is just the start of the roadworks to get through Dome Valley and on our way. Dome Valley is literally five minutes away. - RT: Got another car coming through on the left. - RT: Car down now. - Thankfully, the journey through the roadworks is just quick enough and we scrape through and reach Dome Valley with only seconds to spare. How close can we get to Whangarei? Because of course, every kilometre will help with another long journey ahead tomorrow night. Well, the sign says Whangarei, 96K's. - So, what're we're looking at, now? Half three? - Yeah, it's coming up half three in the morning. Oh, this is good news. We're going down, down hill. The other side of the Brynderwyns. Unfortunately, we've left our run too late. Starting to see morning traffic kick in, which means, pretty much, the end of the road for us. - Oh, tonight was a bit of a disaster, eh. So we're just going to get to Ruakaka, park it up there. Try and get some sleep, and then do it all again tomorrow night. - Yep. That's the plan. Hopefully, tomorrow night goes a bit better. We're looking at 5 o'clock, and we're still at least an hour's drive away from where we'd hoped to be. And we were hoping to be there at 4 o'clock. So, we've got some time to make up tomorrow night. But that's moving houses in a nutshell, where you have your best laid plan, and then it can all just go out the window when things start to go wrong. You get this real snowball effect. Time to get some sleep. Night 2 takes us from Ruakaka through Whangarei, all the way to Dean and Becky's site in Ahipara. Throughout the 201km journey, there'll be some gnarly roads to deal with that will push these trucks to their limits. Ideally, we'll get there by 6am, but when does moving houses ever go to plan? It's almost 10pm, and after a day resting and recovering from last night's disasters, we're hoping for better luck tonight. The house is undamaged so far. Let's hope we can keep it that way. So, any minute now, those trucks behind us are going to turn on and we're going to start our journey again. We can't go back because, quite literally, the roads are shut. The only way is that way ` to Ahipara before daybreak. All right, here we go. Night 2. So, what are our main obstacles tonight? - Yeah, there's a couple of narrow bridges, up towards Ahipara. A couple of low wires, but not as many as last night. - Yeah. - And a few trees. - We don't have a huge amount of wriggle room, do we? - No, no. - We've only just come through the first set of roundabouts when the pilot's noticed something's not right. - RT: Something's going on with the trailer on that door side, mate. Flat tyre, I'd say, bro. - Is that us? (BANG!) - RT: Yeah, the tyre's just gone. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) - I'm just gonna have a look. So, a whole lot of sparks were seen flying out the back` oh, and here we go ` out the back of the trailer, and it looks like we've shredded a couple of tyres... one minute into the journey. I just finished a conversation with Whiti about the fact that, you know, we have to be conscious of time tonight, and making it all the way through without anything going wrong. And, well, this. It's a devastating blow. And we're blocking an entire lane of State Highway 1. You can see the weight that these trailers have to be able to handle, the way that those tyres have just been absolutely shredded in such a short distance. So, is this something that happens very often? - Nah. Once a year. Not too sure what happened, but it's` it's just weird how they both went away like that. - Yeah. It's quite nice that you don't need a jack, eh? - Yeah, mate. It helps, eh. Helps, just having to lift up the axles when you need it. - The truck's hydraulic system is coming in handy. Each tyre weighs a mighty 60kg. (CLICK!) So, that magical clicking sound is the torque wrench coming up to tension, so that Fitz knows all the nuts are set at the right rating. And just like that, all done. Back on the road. Just after midnight, as the rain starts to fall, we arrive at one of our narrow bridge obstacles. 200mm, so, not a lot in it across this narrow little bridge. Just up ahead, a parked car is also going to make life difficult. - Yeah, we've got a parked car opposite a pole and wires above it up here, just before we come to the end of the road. - RT: Coming to the car now. ??? the car, wires are coming over. Clear the wires, clear the car. - So that was a classic case of all three. Both sides, pole, car, wires. But we managed to squeeze through. It's going to be another long night. At 1.40am, it's time for a quick leg stretch and I jump into the pilot car with Michaela for the final push to Ahipara. Gidday. - Sup. All good to go? - Up ahead is worst of the one-way bridges. There's a sharp left-hand turn to get onto it. Not an easy task for the drivers with a 10m trailer following behind them. There's only centimetres each side to play with, and it's slow going, as each load navigates its way across the bridge. - Got, like, nothing against the kerb. Can you see his tyre? - Oh no. Have we got more tyre trouble ahead? (INDISTINCT RT TRANSMISSION) - The first three loads have made it through. - RT: Nice and easy. Nice and` touch. Yep. - One to go. It's my mate Fitz that's driving, and it seems like he's got himself stuck. - RT: Just a touch left. - But he manages to squeeze himself through this most impossibly narrow of bridges, - RT: I'm off the bridge now, mate. - There's 35km to Dean and Becky's site in Ahipara, and just as well. I'm struggling to stay awake. - Put your head out the window, like a dog. I find it wakes me up. - RT: Can you see under the trailer? It's an old rough-up. - We might almost be there but, behind us, a pilot car has spotted another problem. - RT: Inside tyre on the middle driver's axle's flat on Fitz's one. - Another tyre. - Incredibly, just 30km out of Ahipara, Fitz's truck blows a third tyre. - Already used two of my spares, and this is the one trailer that's got different rims to the other two trailers. So, just try the tyre guy in Kaitaia. We'll carry on. We've lifted the axle up. Just have to go a bit slower. - OK. - So` and then, he'll meet us halfway there, I suppose. We'll limp forward slowly and just keep an eye on it until we get to a better spot. - Yeah, right. OK. So, there's not much we can do when there's no tyres left that will fit. But thankfully, the beauty of these trailers means that we can lift the affected tyre up and carry on. But we have to go slowly... (SIGHS) and we're running out of time. The Far North District Council dictates this convoy must be off the road by 6am in Ahipara. We've got 60 minutes left to crawl the final 15km. It's half an hour later, and the tyre guy from Kaitaia catches up with us. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) We're still 6km from Dean and Becky's site. This tyre is going to need to be changed in record time for us to get there in time. With only a quarter of an hour left before the driving deadline, we're off again. (DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES) With only minutes to spare, we make it to Becky and Dean's. Oh. After two big nights of towing, that hasn't been without drama ` roads closing behind us, downed power lines, three blown tyres ` and now we're here. Or nearly here. Just got to back down the cul de sac and bring it all back together. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) After a quick brekkie, the team are back into it. I don't know where these guys get their stamina from. The first job of the morning is to back the two bottom halves onto the site. - (INDISTINCT) Looking good. - Becky and Dean's new driveway is narrow, even with the neighbour's permission to use some of their property. - We've only got about 16m radius. - Back coming down. - If Connor and the team don't get this right first attempt, it will cause delays for the crane, and that's going to be expensive. - 2 hundy. Hundy. - It speaks to the incredible range of skills that these guys have, Fitz having driven a 685 horsepower truck over two nights, navigating a huge section of house, all the obstacles that we've had along the way, to now be down on the controls, doing all the little fine scale work to bring the two sections of house back together. It's just` just amazing, really. The two halves are being manoeuvred to within 10mm of each other, using the truck's hydraulic system. - The front need to go up, mate. - Couple of inches, cuz. Thank you. - Yeah, looking good. - We're so close. All we need is a couple of good winches, and the bottom floor is together. Now the crane from Whangarei rolls in to reunite the top half of Becky and Dean's home with the bottom. First up, the big piece with the upstairs bedrooms. Connor and his team have craned and stitched this home back together once before, but it's a completely new job for the crane operators from Whangarei, and it has everyone on edge. - Little more on the hook. - Yeah, OK. - Even the Ogilvie family don't want to miss this bit. - It's incredible. - Yeah, it looks good. - It's precision work. If a crane is overloaded, it can overturn. - Align this side. - Yeah. - OK. - To Andy. - OK. (WOOD SCRAPES, GROANS) - The main section is in. Now, for the two gabled ends. - Yeah. The ends are lighter to lift, but it's vital that teams stay in constant communication to control the swinging of the load. - Up a little bit on the hook. Nice and smooth, down on the hook. Yeah, hold it there. Looking good. - Down you go. Good. - OK, we'll sit it down there. - Finally, the ends are landed. - Happy with that, eh? - I'm happy with that, mate. - After two nights and five pieces, over 350km, and a handful of small disasters, Becky and Dean have finally had some good luck go their way and their new home is back together. How are you, mate? - Kia ora. Good. - Kia ora. Welcome` Welcome. - Yeah. - Welcome home. - Awesome. - How's this? You've got a house here. - Awesome. - And it's looking pretty good already. - It's amazing to see it here. And it feels like it fits the site really well. It feels like it's always been here. - Now, to find out if there's any damage from the move. Here we go. Your new kitchen, all in place. - Yep. - Benches intact. It looks flat. - Awesome. Good. - I say, just walking in here, it already feels so much different to being on the lot. - Yeah, it really does. - It smells different. (LIGHT CHUCKLES) - That's probably because the fridge is gone. - The fridge is gone. (ALL LAUGH) - Lost the old fridge. - Quite keen to see if the fireplace made it. - Oh, you're talking about the surrounds. Oh, there we go. The mirror survived. - That's nice. - On the surface, it looks like the house has survived the move remarkably intact. - Yeah. Not` Not too bad at all, actually. - Where the house has been brought back together as equally impressive inside as it is outside. It's hard to tell. - You've got to` You've got to look twice, to see which one it is. - I mean, the only giveaway is where the saw blade has lifted a bit of this varnish. If you sanded that back, you'd have no idea that this was two halves of a house. The house is looking great downstairs. I'm keen to see what the views are like from upstairs. Oh, there. That's just... Just coming up those few extra metres has transformed that completely. - A water view. (ALL CHUCKLE) - You've got a water view. Fantastic. - I'm just picturing sitting in a` in a sofa, here and looking at it the maunga. It's awesome. - Oh, the boys are going to be so excited about this, right? - Oh yeah. Boys. Are you still settled on bedrooms? Are you happy with that decision? - Yeah. - And you're happy with your bedroom and you're happy with your bedroom? - Yeah. - And how did you sort all this out? - I got 15 bucks. - (LAUGHS) Well, it's been quite the adventure, bringing Dean and Bex' home here to Ahipara. And there's a real sense of satisfaction in knowing that this awesome holiday home is going to help connect that family to what is such a special place for them. There's still a lot of water to go under the bridge yet. They've got to get the bracing out and do the renovation. The boys are probably going to have at least 3 or 4 more fights as to who really does have the best bedroom. But I can't wait for that and I can't wait to come back and see what they've done with this place. So it's been nearly a year since Becky and Dean lowered their very big bungalow onto their section here in Ahipara. Of course, their house had been split into five pieces and trucked over two nights nearly 400km from Auckland to this Far North beach. And Becky and Dean had big plans for their beachside bungalow. I can't wait to see how that's gone. Also can't wait to see if they've finally settled the great bedroom debate amongst the boys. It was a huge task. If they haven't finished, I wouldn't blame them. But have they what. It's unrecognisable from the fractured home I last saw. There's a new roof, skylight, a brand new paint job, and a wraparound deck. When the landscaping is done, that'll be the icing on the cake. - Gidday, Clarke. - Becky. Hi, how are you? - Good. How are you? - Good. - Awesome. - Kia ora, Clarke. How are ya, mate? - Hey, kia ora. Very good, man. You guys have got lovely big smiles on your faces. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Well, it's a relief to be here, finally. - I just was gobsmacked coming around the corner and seeing this. You know, the last time I saw it, it was not this place. - No, it definitely was not this place. It's pretty much not. We had very good bones to work with, though. - Yeah. I've seen my fair share of restorations now, and they've all been good. But this is something special. Dean, I do remember a conversation where you were going to try and, sort of, remove yourself from getting on the tools, but has that been the case? - Um, I've done a little bit, yeah. Yeah. I think the tradies would probably laugh if I said I actually did much. - Oh, I see. Show us your hands. - I've got a little bit of paint there. - Oh, there we go. There we go. - Really, it's a big group of guys, ` tradies, painters, builders, all sorts ` coming in, working, sometimes even 15, 17 guys here at a time. - It was awesome, eh? A really good experience and made lots more connections. I mean, the whole point of this move was about reconnecting the kids to the whanau, but now we've just connected with the whole community, so that's been really amazing. - Yeah. I can't wait to have a look inside. - Come on. Let's go and have a look. - It's time. - Yep. - Let's go. - Let's go. (INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC) - Oh, my goodness. I'm just trying to piece this all back together with how the original was. That was a window. - Yeah. - Once, a manky old bedroom, this new lounge, thanks to an awesome set of bifold doors, have the room bathed in light. And what else has changed in here, Becky? - Well, that was a solid wall. And so, we just opened it up. - There's a few options, so you can actually have a quiet area too, if you want to read a book. - You've got three teenage boys. You need abilities to to shut walls and close things down. Shall we go and have a look? - Yep. Wow. You've got a lovely fireplace in there. And this has survived. - Yeah. - That looks fantastic, actually. - It's got all the marks and knocks on it, which tells a story over the years. - Absolutely. The old lounge has been opened up to reveal its full potential. All the original features have been enhanced, with no compromise on quality. It just gives you that sense of this being a, you know, an older, beautiful old home. But some cool styling helps take the room to another level as well. It also gives me some tantalising views of a new kitchen. Wow. Everything has changed in here. (LAUGHTER) Far out. The old kitchen's been ditched in favour of new cabinetry and appliances, with some beautiful bespoke tiles. - They're hand-kilned in Warkworth. So, they're local tiles. - Yeah. - Yeah. And they look pretty awesome, eh? - Yeah, it really worked. Gives it a, you know, nice soft hue. Of course, you had to get this room right. With three teenage boys, this is very important. - Yeah. - No locks on the cupboard just` just yet. - No locks on the cupboards, because from past experience, it doesn't work. - They got their rooms sorted? - Yep. I remember the issue around that, and how are they going to sort that out? - I wonder how that turned out. All right. I need to ask you some serious questions, because I think the first time we met there was pretty heated discussions, may have broken into a fight, over bedrooms. - Nah. (ALL GIGGLE) - Yes? Just no. Nothing. It seems the brotherly code of silence applies here. Are you happy with your choices? - Yeah. I like my room. It's good. - Any regrets? - Nah. - LAUGHS: No. So we're all happy with where it's settled? - Yeah. - Mm. I'm not overly convinced here. I'm not sure I believe a word of that. (LAUGHS) Anyway, let's go check out these bedrooms. Apparently, all three boys got to choose their own colours. This should be interesting. Look at this. The colour makes room feel quite cosy. - We're pretty lucky, because that was Mike's choice, but it just, sort of, works. - Loads of storage here. - Loads of storage. - Yeah. Oh, very good. Nice view out there, too. There's also a skylight that brings in extra sunshine. It also gives Mike a surf report, with views of the ocean... at a stretch. Oh, yes. You can check conditions from up here. - Yeah. - Tim And Joe's colour choices are a little more understated, but what a blank canvas for all those surfing posters. In Dean and Becky's bedroom, I can tell something's changed, but I can't quite put my finger on it. - The ceiling line's changed. It was a lower ceiling. - Oh, is that what it is? You must be happy with this. - I can lie in bed and see the manga. - Must be nice to actually wake up here and have that all be real. - Yeah, completely. Just stunning. - Yeah. I've said it once, but I'll say it again ` the transformation this home has gone through is one of the best I've ever seen. Everything's been done to a super high standard, but it doesn't feel stuffy. It's a family home, designed to create memories. Rumour has it, they may have gone a little over budget. So, can I ask, how over budget are we talking? - Yeah, well, we've stopped adding it up, because it was a bit eye-watering. Because there's such an amazing community here, and they all came in to help, we were able to get across the line, but it was painful. - Becky and Dean paid $165,000 for their section in 2022 and $310,000 for the house and move. - Regardless, we'll be spending a lot of time up here anyway. Any kids' school holidays will be up here. - What an incredible platform for them to grow into young men and to be able to get out and enjoy the outdoors. I mean, that's going to set them up for the rest of their lives. - It's just those chances to get out and fish, you know, and it's just down the road. We can walk down. - Yeah. - And go and get some tuatuas or mussels and that sort of thing. - Yeah. - All that stuff that a lot of kids don't get the opportunity to do, nowadays. - Actually, they're just there. Hey, boys, you want to come in here for a second? We thought we'd give you guys a small gift to try and really remind ourselves who is in whose room. Michael. - Thank you. - Here we go. - Yeah, it's good. Suits my door. - Tim. There you go. - Thank you. - Joseph, in the corner. - Thank you. Oh, that's cool as. - And then, here we go ` 'Mum and Dad's.' - (LAUGHS) Well, that's... - That's brilliant. - For me, this is` This has been such a fun journey. And I think, as far as putting down roots, there's no better statement than putting in a place like this. I'm jealous. You've got a lot of living to do here. It's going to be fun. (ALL CHUCKLE LIGHTLY) Well, this has been quite the ride for Becky and Dean, with some unintended consequences. But the result is magnificent. It's a superb home and the perfect platform for many happy whanau gatherings to come.