George Clarke’s Homes in the Wild UK Season 1 Episode 2

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Transcript

00:00From the windswept cliffs of Australia's coastline, to the ancient silence of the New Zealand bush.

00:11That is without any sort of a doubt, one of the most amazing journeys I've ever been on.

00:19I will venture to places where the landscape still calls the shocks.

00:24Every decision is shaped by the elements.

00:34And the isolation.

00:36Look how beautiful this is. That is unbelievable.

00:42What I've discovered isn't just clever design, it's passion.

00:48This is a healing house. It's like a marriage.

00:52It's creativity.

00:54Looks like some alien ship that's landed from outer space.

01:00And it's survival.

01:03On an island that doesn't have a corner store, you can't just shoot down and get a little sight of something.

01:08Because out here, you meet a different kind of person.

01:14Friend or foe?

01:16Definitely friend.

01:18Daring.

01:20I want Pat's house. I want her house, I want her shower, and I want her bathtub.

01:24Innovative.

01:28And deeply connected to the land they live on.

01:32My grandfather must have really loved my grandmother to have built a room like this for her.

01:40Shall we move on? Because we're going to cry.

01:46Join me, George Clark, and together we'll discover some of New Zealand's and Australia's wildest hauls.

01:54Now this is how you do a morning commute.

02:12I'm on a private boat, heading out into the wilderness of the Horaki Gulf.

02:22I've honestly got that buzzing feeling you get when you know you're at the start of an adventure.

02:30While my journey is a mere 40 minutes from Auckland City, I will be leaving behind all of its big city conveniences.

02:40Like shops, restaurants and electricity.

02:44Who needs them?

02:46I am feeling a bit weary though.

02:50I'm told that out here, southern gales and tropical storms rule.

02:56And the weather can change its mood at the drop of a hat.

03:00But luckily for me, today the sea is calm, the sky wide and clear.

03:10And I'm in the safe hands of my skipper, Steve.

03:14Who makes this trip several times a week.

03:18So Steve, I'm on a bit of a journey of discovery.

03:22Tell me about Rakino.

03:24Rakino is a beautiful little island with a colourful collection of locals.

03:29And how big is the island, roughly?

03:33It's about two and a half kilometres long and just over one kilometre wide.

03:39So that's pretty tiny.

03:41And the number of permanent residents?

03:43I think there's 18 people that live there full time.

03:4618 people?

03:47Yeah, yeah. So they all know each other pretty well, I'd say.

03:50That is incredible.

03:54Rakino is the smallest inhabited island in the Horaki Gulf.

03:58Its permanent population may be small, but on weekends, its 76 dwellings welcome visitors looking to escape the city.

04:12And reconnect with the quiet simplicity of island life.

04:17Thank you very much, you're a superstar.

04:22Awesome, right.

04:23Take care, look up to yourself.

04:24Yeah, good on you mate.

04:25Unsurprisingly, there are no taxis or buses.

04:30No hospital or emergency services.

04:37And the ferry only comes every few days.

04:42This should be an experience.

04:48Now, unlike some of the islands I've been to, Rakino does have roads.

04:53Not many, and they're very small.

04:55But they do have lots of cars, and what's slightly weird is they're all just hanging out in the same place.

05:06Now, because there's only one car ferry a month, when people do get their cars here, they tend to just leave them.

05:12Unfortunately, some of these have been here for a long, long time.

05:18Most of them probably don't even move.

05:21But the good thing for me is I get to borrow a car.

05:25And I think it's this one.

05:28I just hope it starts.

05:34Yeah, this is it.

05:35Look at the cobwebs.

05:36It's covered.

05:38I don't think this has been used for a while, actually.

05:42Oh, don't bother.

05:45Now, this might look like I'm stealing someone's car.

05:49But don't worry, I'm not.

05:51It's been loaned to me by a local.

05:55I wonder when this car last moved.

05:59Looks like it's been a while.

06:02Come.

06:04That should awfully work.

06:11Woo-hoo!

06:13She starts.

06:15Thank God for that.

06:20I mean, the number of cars for an island this small is kind of ridiculous.

06:25Let's get away from all this.

06:27And then...

06:31Mother Nature.

06:36When the island was divided and sold off in 1965, the public had a choice.

06:42Claim a sprawling ten-acre block or stake out a modest plot for a single home.

06:49This, along with the minimal amount of roads, resulted in small clusters of houses in all shapes and sizes.

06:58So the house I'm about to see is bang on brand for me.

07:03It's a tiny house.

07:05But what makes it so special is that it's been inspired by the space-saving ideas of a boat.

07:09So here it is.

07:10This is a tiny house with huge personality.

07:24Sitting in an elevated position, with a roof line that mirrors the gradient of the site, this beautiful two-bedroom home is far beyond what I was expecting.

07:41Hello?

07:42Are you there, George?

07:43Hey, how are you doing?

07:44How are you doing?

07:46Architect and homeowner, Arch, along with his wife, Anna, a lawyer, have broken the moulds of how a holiday home should look and feel.

07:57Isn't it special?

07:59Very special.

08:01It's a little bit of a shift, actually, because I've seen lots of houses by the sea where the roof goes up.

08:05You know, it's like, let's have that kind of view thrown open as much as possible.

08:09Yeah.

08:10But yours drops down.

08:11Yeah.

08:12And really draws your eye down from the bay, right down into that view.

08:15I mean, I can hardly see the horizon.

08:17Yeah.

08:18Yeah, very much intentional.

08:19It's kind of like a lens.

08:23Concentrate that view down into the bay.

08:27With no building merchant on the island, Arch and Anna's home had to be pre-built on the mainland over four months.

08:36But in order to fit it on the boards, they had to get creative.

08:41Most of it is prefabbed, and we had that initial constraint of a 3.2 metre width and a 4.2 metre height.

08:48It was the sort of easiest size before it started to get really complicated with pilotage and the route you have to take.

08:54I see.

08:55So I'm a real kind of believer that constraints actually drive really good solutions.

09:00Archer's solution?

09:03Completely fit out the interior of the structure before shipping it to Rikino.

09:09Saving on build time and costly trips back and forth.

09:12We went out a few times while the prefabs were being put together.

09:17And then you stand in them and go, oh yeah, I can live here.

09:21Everything up to the edges of the walls came out on the back of a truck, which in turn was put on a barge, which then sailed out here, drove off.

09:31Puffer squeaks were, there's a couple of vehicles that were left by the side of the road and had about an inch to spare.

09:38We were asked if we wanted to be here for the day that it got installed and we were like, no one's lives are improved by us being there.

09:48Our builder was fantastic.

09:51Really trusted Scott.

09:52We got WhatsApp updates through the day.

09:55It's coming up the hill.

09:57We get it slung off the crane.

09:59They haven't dropped it.

10:00They put it on the footings.

10:01The building's the same size as the footings.

10:03Perfect.

10:04So did you not come here for that part of the build because you didn't want to put pressure on the builders or you couldn't bear to see it if it went wrong?

10:12Oh, I think it was my heart rate.

10:13Your heart rate?

10:14Yeah.

10:15Yeah.

10:16Like...

10:17No, leave them to it.

10:18Yeah.

10:19Protect my heart.

10:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.

10:21Well then, let's explore your mini miracle.

10:24Love to show you round.

10:25Come on.

10:26Love to show you round.

10:27Oh, that's very cute indeed.

10:32This is a tiny 30 square metre house, huge on innovation.

10:39Lovely little spot to the end, just facing out to the sea.

10:43I like that because you haven't got any hinge mechanisms or anything like that.

10:46It's literally lift the panel off, clip it in, pull the legs down.

10:53Very spatially efficient.

10:55I mean, your living space, which is probably one of the tiniest I've ever seen, is tripped right in the corner there.

11:01Then you've got a whole kitchen run down this side.

11:04Staircase that side to a little kind of mezzanine level, little bedroom up there.

11:09And then what's at the back?

11:10Just a teeny little bathroom.

11:12What else have we got?

11:14I know you love a window seat, George.

11:16I do love a window seat.

11:17I'm glad you picked up on that.

11:18Yeah, it's like we've got a big kind of storage locker in here, which is more kind of valuable space.

11:23And just kind of perch ourselves in here.

11:25This is really one of my favourite kind of spaces.

11:27Morning sun comes in, it's really beautiful.

11:30And, you know, if the mood really takes you, and you're absolutely tuckered out after a day at the beach, you can just stretch out into there.

11:39And catch 40 winks.

11:42There you go.

11:45Maybe after an afternoon gin and a day swimming, so yeah.

11:49By utilising space where other people wouldn't.

11:53And lots of storage everywhere.

11:56Look at that full height pantry.

11:58Crammed in everywhere.

11:59Archer's made this home, which is barely the size of a large caravan, film more than twice the size.

12:08Very simply done, but very efficient.

12:10That's the idea.

12:11And I think one of the really big influences was, Anna got us into sailing about 10 years ago.

12:16And one of the wonderful things about sailing is that spatial efficiency.

12:20Nothing is wasted.

12:21So, you know, you use every space.

12:23And there's lots of ingenious little devices, ins and unders.

12:26And that really influenced what we did here.

12:29And just like on a boat, the sleeping quarters are tucked away out of sight.

12:35Kind of like the forward berth, if you imagine.

12:39So a really tight little space nestled up in the roof, really close to the ceiling.

12:44Very, very, very cozy, isn't it?

12:46Yeah.

12:47And the central skylight, like you can look up, look through, see the stars at night.

12:53And it's so cozy.

12:55You know, in a storm, you hear the rain beating on the roof, which we just love.

12:59We find that really soothing.

13:01It's beautiful.

13:02Well done, Mick.

13:03Well done, Mick.

13:04What I love is clearly for Arch, this was even more than a passion project.

13:12He was absolutely meticulous in his planning and overall design.

13:18And it shows.

13:19I'm on Rakino Island, off the east coast of New Zealand.

13:33Checking out the tiny house that's been cleverly inspired by a boat.

13:39It's really cute.

13:40And I'm told homeowner Arch and Anna have an even tinier structure that's right up my alley.

13:52So this was, I mean, that's like, I was going to say that's as cute as the actual building.

13:59In the palm of your hand.

14:00Probably more cute.

14:01For some reason I feel like I'm living inside an architectural Russian doll.

14:05You've kind of got this one and then this one.

14:07Is there another one inside there and then another one and another one?

14:10There's one in there at a table that's just this big.

14:12That is a beautiful model.

14:15Talk me through those lovely triangles that go down the side elevation.

14:20They kind of give us a third space outside the building.

14:24It's that arrival corridor and it was really lovely having the side of the building on one side

14:28and then this geometry that wobbles up and down and frames that kind of view.

14:33And they also play a really important structural role.

14:36Because it braces the whole thing together.

14:38Yeah, this is in what's termed an extreme wind zone, which is the highest wind zone you can design to.

14:43And it gets a real lashing.

14:45And so that big kind of triangular beam, if you like, on the side is strapping the entire thing down.

14:51Yeah, so of course triangles are perfectly structural, right?

14:54So the whole thing is this big bracing line there.

14:57You really don't know until you've sat through the howling gale and wondering how it's going to go.

15:02And now we're, you know, we're really comfortable.

15:07It's very secluded.

15:10It's not too far away from Auckland, but it still feels quite wild and remote, doesn't it?

15:15Not many people come here at all.

15:17Because it's not easy.

15:18You've got to go get your gas bottle three full and clamber up the hill, you know.

15:24You've got to bring everything.

15:25Every couple of months.

15:26Everything you need.

15:27There's nothing you can buy here.

15:28So you've got to be quite resourceful.

15:30And how respectful of the community did you need to be with the bells?

15:35I think it came naturally from our constraints that we weren't going to build a three storey house, obviously.

15:40But I think we never would have considered that because it's got to be in keeping with the landscape.

15:49From the silhouette that sort of, you know, mimics the landforms to the colours which blend in.

15:57I suppose you've got to be respectful of the landscape, as you mentioned, but also your neighbours and the other people on the islands.

16:04Yeah.

16:05Because you're all sharing it. You're all part of it, aren't you?

16:07Yeah, that's right.

16:14I've only been on Rackino Island for a day.

16:18But already I'm struck by the creativity and determination of its residents.

16:25Nothing really, that's all, everything's like two storeys.

16:30Low lying.

16:32Peaceful.

16:36And this couldn't be more the case than at the next house on my journey.

16:47Dramatically poised on a sheer bluff, overlooking the breathtaking West Bay.

16:55This extraordinary piece of architecture commands both attention and awe.

17:03Just how beautiful and minimal is this?

17:08But for owners Stephen, the company director, and his wife Stacy, this place has more than just a two bedroom weekend hideaway from their home in Oakland City.

17:19It's a statement piece, a stunning work of art, grounded right at the edge of the earth.

17:32Hello.

17:34How are you doing?

17:36Stacy, lovely to meet you.

17:37Good, I do.

17:38How are you?

17:39You well?

17:40Yeah.

17:41Stephen, nice to meet you, mate.

17:42Nice to meet you, too.

17:43Lovely to meet you.

17:44It's a little bigger and we'll talk about that in a second, but hang on, look at that.

17:48That is unbelievable.

17:49What a location you're in.

17:51You are unbelievably lucky.

17:53Very lucky.

17:55It's really special because as soon as I've walked up to it, it's like looking at a modernist pavilion.

18:01How did you come up with this architectural design?

18:03Darren Jessop came up with the concept. He wanted the glass house look.

18:08And here's the object.

18:10And he wanted it as open as possible, lent itself to basically being a pavilion on the water.

18:15So it's all about that horizontal. There's hardly any verticals in this at all. The verticals have been played right down.

18:21There's no walls.

18:22No walls. There's no walls, just glass.

18:24You don't need much artwork.

18:25Exactly.

18:27Well, why do you need artwork when you've got that?

18:29Exactly.

18:30I mean, that's the greatest landscape ever.

18:31Exactly.

18:32And you're surrounded by the most gorgeous nature.

18:34Talk me through what we've got.

18:35Well, the funny thing is, these two big bodicards, my wife calls them the Guardians of the Bay.

18:41And they're probably four or five hundred years old.

18:50Guardians of the Bay.

18:51Yeah.

18:53What a lovely phrase that is.

18:54Yes.

18:55Now you know that, and you look at them again, you understand.

18:57Absolutely.

18:58We've been there for hundreds and hundreds of years.

19:01They were pretty much all that was here when we built.

19:04Because originally, Rekino was cleared for farmland.

19:10Every tree on this property that you see now that's huge, we've planted.

19:15Yes.

19:16In recent years, property owners like Stephen and Stacy, along with local councils, have been actively trying to reforest the island, which has thankfully seen many bird species return.

19:30That's incredible.

19:31Yes.

19:32That is incredible.

19:33That is incredible.

19:34So, can I see the house?

19:35Can I have a little mini toast?

19:36Stephen, should we do it?

19:37Of course you can, George.

19:38Come on, let's go for a walk.

19:39There's a cover charge there, George.

19:40I'll tell you what, it's nice just walking into the shade.

19:54It is hot out there today, but it's brilliant.

19:57The roof is just like one huge shading device, isn't it?

20:00You've even designed it with these amazing big overhangs either side to give a little bit of protection from the summer sun.

20:07Yeah, it's very much a big umbrella.

20:10One massive umbrella.

20:12And everything in between.

20:13Just look at it.

20:14It's just floating.

20:15That is a floating roof over the top of the simplest, most minimal steel structure.

20:20Very clean, isn't it?

20:21What timber have you used?

20:23That's cedar in the roof, all the sacking.

20:26And then this is French oak.

20:28Skipped.

20:29It's a little bit unusual, and what they do is they put it down a rough sawn and sand it afterwards,

20:33so you end up with this rusticated...

20:35Oh, I love that.

20:36In New Zealand, we're always trying to create sort of a bit of history and a bit of Europe now,

20:41because New Zealand doesn't sort of have the depth of it.

20:44I love that.

20:45So, it's a way of doing floors that look like they're 100 years old.

20:50This hall may not be steeped in history yet, but it does have a layout that's all about bringing people together.

21:01Because you've got your living room, your dining table in the middle, and then the kitchen at the end.

21:06And then opposite the kitchen, a beast of a fire.

21:11It's enormous.

21:12The big focal piece, really.

21:14It's absolutely enormous.

21:15I mean, that's like one, two, that's three metres wide.

21:18We did fill it up one night and have the whole thing going, and we couldn't...

21:22We had to stand behind the kitchen.

21:24It was too hot.

21:25We've never been able to do it thin.

21:27I'm not surprised.

21:28That will belt out so much heat during the winter months.

21:31It's true, isn't it?

21:32It's beautiful, Matt.

21:33Beautiful.

21:34Can we see some more?

21:35Should we do the bedrooms?

21:36Certainly.

21:37Certainly can.

21:38How many bedrooms have you got?

21:39Two bedrooms.

21:40How many bathrooms?

21:41Two ensuite.

21:42So, bedroom two's there.

21:48So, this is your primary bedroom.

21:51Oh, look at that.

21:55That's beautiful, mate.

21:58There's so much thought behind every detail.

22:02Welcoming and properly homey.

22:06It's so simple.

22:08It's like solid wall, solid wall, full height doors, which I love the full height doors,

22:13to be honest.

22:14I've got exactly the same detail in my house, by the way.

22:16Glass, glass, thin column, just propping up that gorgeous roof, and then view.

22:22It's very timeless, isn't it?

22:24When I consider we built it 2007, 2008, we haven't done anything to it.

22:29That's like, so, yeah, that's 15, 17 years later.

22:32And then it all opens out onto the deck.

22:35Every room does, doesn't it?

22:36Every single room in the house opens out of the deck.

22:40And even your toilet has an amazing view, mate.

22:43You can sit on that loo and look out at that.

22:51This home may look calm and effortless now, but the path to get here was anything but.

22:58It's just a short 40-minute boat ride from Auckland City sits Stephen and Stacey's remote cliff top hall.

23:13The bedroom, too, I can even see your fireplace just down there at the end.

23:20Everything opens out of the deck and then gets the reward of the view.

23:24It was this unique bit of coastline that brought them to Rackino Island.

23:32And I'm dying to know what building out here, in the thick of the wilds, threw at them.

23:38Crikey, look at that.

23:42There's a building site.

23:44Completely blank site, right next to the water.

23:48Steep as well.

23:49You've got the barge, you've got the massive digger, you've got the piles going in, you've got a huge amount of groundworks.

23:56It's quite a feat of engineering, actually.

23:59Yeah, especially when you consider the piles.

24:02How deep are they?

24:03Fifteen metres.

24:04Fifteen metres?

24:05So they basically go to the bedrock.

24:06You could build a 30-storey building and it would stay up.

24:09The councils, they're very weary of coastal builds.

24:12Well, if I'm honest, if the island got washed away, I think the house would still be here with those piles.

24:16Yeah, it still would be. It would be like an oil rig. Yeah, it would.

24:18Fifteen metre deep foundations.

24:20Do you get battered by the elements?

24:22When it blows, it blows.

24:24Because I can feel it even today. It's quite a calm day.

24:26Well, this is nothing. This is nothing.

24:28For you soft English people, this is like...

24:30This is only five knots.

24:32Erm, we...

24:34It's a fair point. It's a fair point.

24:37Every home here is shaped by the raw power of the elements.

24:42But that's only part of the story.

24:45What truly defines life out here is isolation.

24:50And look at the barge bringing all of your house here.

24:53Yeah, so this was once we had the slab done.

24:55The sealant barge came and pushed up against the rocks and sat there.

24:59Literally here?

25:00Yeah.

25:01Right off those rocks.

25:02I'll tell you an interesting story with this.

25:04So the fireplaces shuttered concrete.

25:06So old boards behind it.

25:08They had 20 tons of concrete.

25:11Really poor.

25:12Sitting out there.

25:13The pump would sit out on the barge.

25:15The pipe would go along the sea floor.

25:17Come up here to pump.

25:18And our first pump, the pump broke down.

25:22So they had to dump all the concrete.

25:25Not in the sea, obviously.

25:26No, I hope not.

25:27And so it was just a write off.

25:30I can't believe that you had to send a whole delivery of concrete back to the mainland.

25:35What are you doing with the pump breaks down?

25:36From Gauzen, that's it.

25:37We should have bought two pumps.

25:39Yeah, but you'd have to buy two of everything now.

25:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.

25:43Building on an island, you have all these logistic issues that you have to overcome.

25:47The logistics of doing concrete.

25:49Those things you say, if I knew what I knew now, you wouldn't do the build.

25:53But my word, it was worth it.

26:06It's so peaceful.

26:07It's so quiet.

26:13Even just sitting in this position now, you've got land.

26:16Land, steeply sloping down to the coastline.

26:21And then this very simple piece of architecture just slotted in between.

26:25And it's mind-boggling how close it is to the water.

26:31What a special place.

26:35I could sit here for weeks.

26:40Honestly, I really could.

26:42Look at that.

26:43It's the stuff of dreams.

26:49And when your front yard is the Pacific Ocean, you might as well explore it.

26:55Check this out.

26:57So you're literally going to drive this across land and then put it in the water?

27:00Oh, my God.

27:01That's amazing.

27:05Do you know what?

27:06I've never really wanted a boat before.

27:09Until now.

27:10It makes it pretty easy for us, you know, come in and drive straight up.

27:19That is absolutely brilliant.

27:21So far, Rackino Island is more than living up to the hike.

27:31There's a raw strength in the people and their homes.

27:35The kind that comes from living in complete isolation.

27:39How old are you?

27:40I wish I had this boat when I was 11.

27:53Ready?

27:54One, two, three.

27:56One, two, three.

27:57Woo-hoo!

28:01Oh!

28:03Now that is amazing!

28:04Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

28:05There's something about waking up on an off-grid island.

28:17All you can hear are the waves and the birdsong.

28:23And also the island's only tractor.

28:27To get an idea of what it's like living on a wild island like Rackino,

28:32I want to meet some of the full-time residents.

28:35Now, there aren't many of them.

28:37There are 18, to be exact.

28:40And I'm being picked up by Tom, who's the local garbage collector.

28:44Mr. Fix-It as well.

28:46And his trusted assistant, Pat.

28:51That's a great truck.

28:53Love that.

28:54Hi.

28:55Hello!

28:56Pat!

28:57Hello!

28:58What a lovely surprise.

28:59You look so elegant to be a garbage collector.

29:04Can I be really honest with you?

29:06You're going to kill me with this.

29:07I thought Pat was a bloke when I thought I was meeting Tom and Pat

29:09and you turned up.

29:10I mean, you're beautiful and amazing, so I'm really happy about that.

29:13Far more elegant.

29:15Tom, nice to meet you, man.

29:16How are you?

29:17You all right?

29:18We can hug it out if you want.

29:19I mean, do you not do that?

29:20Do you not do that?

29:21It's all, like, manly on the island.

29:22Let's go.

29:23Come on.

29:24Oh, my God.

29:25Here we go.

29:26What was that for me?

29:27Yeah.

29:28You're going to put me to work today, yeah?

29:29We're going to collect some garbage.

29:30We're going to have you on the back of the truck.

29:32I'm going to work you to death.

29:34You haven't never collected garbage before, so this is a first for me.

29:36Yeah.

29:37Should we do it?

29:38Yeah, why not?

29:39Let's go.

29:40Lovely to meet you both.

29:44We're off.

29:45Tell me about your jobs, what we're doing today.

29:58What we're doing today?

29:59I'm Regino's Waste Management Engineer.

30:02Waste Management Engineer.

30:04That's correct.

30:06And Pat's title?

30:07She is the Cardboard Coordinating Chief.

30:12I'm the Cardboard Coordinating Chief.

30:15Chief.

30:17And so, what are people like on the island?

30:19Are they quite unique characters?

30:21Oh, there's 15 to 20 permanent residents.

30:24So, it's sometimes like living in an episode of Everdale Farm.

30:29I live in Everdale Farm.

30:31But everyone chips in and helps each other out?

30:33Yeah.

30:34You relinquish privacy and anonymity.

30:38And how did you become rubbish partners?

30:41Well, Pat was doing it before.

30:42Were you?

30:43Yeah, I was.

30:44Before I was.

30:45It was your job first, Pat?

30:46No, I've just been helping the guy.

30:48Voluntarily.

30:49Helping the guy voluntarily for years.

30:51He was an old guy.

30:53So, I traded him in for a younger version.

30:58And the younger version really knows his stuff.

31:04Alright, come on, George.

31:05I'll explain to you the mysteries of the rubbish.

31:09How it works, we have a look.

31:10Yeah, that's a goa.

31:12Right.

31:13So, I can lift that out?

31:14That's empty.

31:15You pull that one out.

31:17And that's a goa.

31:20I just broke it.

31:21Look, don't tell anybody.

31:24And we'll replace them with a couple of empties off the track.

31:26So, you literally swap over.

31:27You don't actually empty these.

31:29You put that on the van and that one comes off?

31:32No, the magic happens somewhere else.

31:33I like that.

31:37I lift it or do I have to make it come down?

31:39No, no, we'll break it up.

31:40I don't want to break any health and safety laws, you know?

31:42No.

31:43No, you're a big strapping boy, you're right.

31:49Now, if there's one place where you'd be very happy for many years to collect rubbish, it'd be here.

31:56I never thought I'd take so well to rubbish collecting.

32:01Have we got the job?

32:02You've got the job, mate.

32:03Get in.

32:04Hey.

32:05Which is my Yoda power.

32:07There must be something special in the air on Rakino.

32:10Or maybe it's Pat's Pearls.

32:12Either way, I'm just itching to visit the next house.

32:15Which, as it happens, is Pat's house.

32:19We're there, Pat.

32:20Hey.

32:21Pat's way?

32:22Yeah.

32:23Is that your place?

32:24Yeah.

32:25Oh, fantastic.

32:26I'll have to take a look.

32:29Sitting on a ten-acre block with its own exclusive coastline, the lovely Pat's house is one of the island's originals.

32:40It's beautiful.

32:43I mean, it's really magical.

32:45I feel like I've just kind of walked through the wilderness and discovered a lovely little prairie house nestled in a gorgeous spot.

32:53Yeah.

32:54Did you even come across this?

32:55Oh, a friend.

32:56Ben's got a place here that we bought about 40 years ago.

33:00At what point did you decide to live here permanently?

33:03I think after Christmas in 2016, when the children were here and we'd had Christmas and we'd done all the party thing and they were heading home, back to work, and I thought, oh, what am I going to do?

33:16You don't have to leave.

33:17No.

33:18I don't have to leave.

33:19But I didn't.

33:20And what's your favourite part of living here?

33:21Because you're here full time.

33:22What do you love about it?

33:23I think I probably like the peace and quiet.

33:24Just doing what I want to do.

33:25Home with the garden.

33:26I've got a few sheep.

33:27I've got a couple of chickens.

33:28What more do you need in life?

33:29Not much.

33:30Not much.

33:31Can we go inside?

33:32Yes.

33:33Come on.

33:34After you.

33:35Shall I take my boots off?

33:36No.

33:37Are you sure?

33:38I'll wipe my feet.

33:39Oh Pat, it's wonderful.

33:41It's really beautiful.

33:43It's really beautiful.

33:46I've got a lot of people.

33:47Yeah.

33:48Yeah.

33:49Yeah.

33:50Yeah.

33:51Yeah.

33:52Yeah.

33:53Yeah.

33:54Yeah.

33:55Yeah.

33:56Yeah.

33:57This two-bedroom home is truly a reflection of Pat.

34:03Warm, homely, and a little bit quirky.

34:10Inside and out.

34:13Ha ha ha ha, ha ha, it's a shower.

34:18And that is fantastic.

34:21You'll need anything fancy.

34:23Pull that up.

34:25Beautifully made, actually.

34:26actually turn that tap on that is brilliant you literally have to have your shower from one bucket

34:36of water it's quite ecological that water saving in every corner of pat's property

34:44there's a little bit of magic waiting to be discovered what's this

34:56everything that pass has at her home is very special and very magical

35:10and playful as well it's fun it just puts a smile on your face look at this for a bathtub

35:17you can build a fire under there to heat up the water and then it's a piece of engineering

35:22that is fabulous i'll tell you what to sit in that location in that bath with a drink in your hand

35:33and that view it's nothing short of being absolutely staggering

35:40i want pat's house i want her house i want her shower and i want her bathtub

35:44and i've saved the very best for last

35:53look how beautiful this is

35:59it's tiny i thought pat's house was small but this is even smaller oh my word

36:07it doesn't get any better than that

36:18so what i really love about new zealand is someone like pat says yeah go on george i've got a little

36:25sleep out go go and check it out and you turn up and it's unbelievable

36:31the view is staggering its position is mind-boggling it couldn't be any better

36:41in many ways this is quite a humble piece of architecture in other ways it's spectacular

37:01that's what i'm going to be doing now whenever i visit any place i always like to check out the local

37:22establishments but on raikino there's absolutely nothing

37:31but i've managed to track down the next best option

37:39food obsessive and award-winning restauranteur michael dearth

37:45what a lovely place to meet and greets

37:48michael hey george so nice of me how are you nice to meet you really good thank you

37:53who's the dog oh this is marlo he's the he's the keeper of the pichecos

37:58keeps them all in line hey marlo um where's your place so my place is just over the hill here

38:04it's a bit off-road okay so just stay close and don't be nervous enjoy the ride

38:09a bit bumpy yeah okay i'll let you go first i'll back up hang on

38:21very bumpy you all right there

38:26now i've been on dirt roads before but michael's driveway is something else

38:32i feel like i'm driving off the edge of the earth

38:42absolutely beautiful though what a spot

38:51michael and annette's three bedroom slice of rakino paradise

38:55is the perfect escape from auckland's big city life

39:01anchored into the hillside and given them a 270 degree view

39:08annette come meet george

39:10hi how are you doing hi thanks for having me at your beautiful batch thanks for coming nice to

39:15meet you thank you and you it is stunning it's absolutely gorgeous thank you thank you

39:21even done your light fitting which i've just noticed that's unique that's that was our first

39:26beach walk with the family and we found this excellent piece of driftwood that reminded me of like

39:32gandell staff and so now it lives above our table i'm a bit of a collector what's it like being here i

39:39love it i love it i just everything my energy just comes down switch off on that crazy hectic life

39:45because you two must be very very busy on the mainland yeah at the moment we have two restaurants

39:52we have a lot of staff we are a team so annette does a lot of the back of house yeah and you actually

40:01bring any work here or do you switch off completely no i always do the wages on a monday so today's

40:07wages day you're going to be doing the halfway through i gotta finish it up and where do you work

40:11from do you set the dining table right now i'm in my bed you lie on your bed and i look at the sea

40:17because that's the best spot do you know what that's that's like the greatest office ever isn't

40:21it just lying on the bed that view paying the bills exactly and what's it like being here all year

40:27around because we're seeing it at the peak of summer the winter time is wonderful here because it does get

40:32windy and wild and crazy and actually the batch shakes a little bit and so it is pretty wild yeah yeah it

40:40does so wind comes in we have a little wind turbine as well to help charge the batteries and when you

40:46have this fire going it's so it's just this whole place just it's just magical the hard thing is just

40:53getting here in the winter because the sea can be really rough and you could get trapped here and you

40:59can get trapped which is a good thing yeah that is we've been trapped yeah for the past five years

41:05michael and annette have spent as much time on rakino as they can one way they make that possible

41:13is by having a garden that's always ready to feed them so we have some beautiful avocados for breakfast

41:21and they're really going off got our little grove of trees here nectarine two varieties of plum but this

41:30is one of my pride and joys this is our fig tree they are huge i mean they must grow in abundance

41:37in this location because look at the slice of them we get figs in the uk and they're like that big

41:44look at that you can eat it like an apple what straight there yeah i like the skin and everything

41:51you just eat it like an apple i've never bitten into a fig through the skin we normally do that and take

41:55yeah just eat the whole thing that's outstanding it's a rakino fig that's amazing that

42:09i think i might give up architecture and do a food show can i present it with it i wouldn't know what

42:14i was talking about i am genuinely quite jealous you've got your beautiful batch and i love it i really

42:22love the humble side of a beautiful kiwi batch and you've nailed it but i have such a gorgeous garden

42:29and be producing food on an island that doesn't have a corner store you can't just shoot down and

42:34get a little side of something yeah because there is nothing that's magical stuff i'm glad i'm glad you

42:40see it and i'm glad you appreciate it and you've taught me one or two things about plants and gardens as

42:44well great winning everyone on rakino is winning and honestly it's no wonder this place feels like

42:54one of auckland's best kept secrets i've spoken to many people in auckland and when i even mention

43:01rakino they say oh i'd love to go there one day and i'm like how long have you lived in auckland

43:07and they go all of my life yeah and they're in their 40s or 50s yeah and they've never been here never

43:13which is fine by me stay on the mainland yeah and why does the wildness of the islands connect with

43:24you why did you come here i'm not a new zealander we've moved here over 20 years ago there's something

43:30in the accent yeah but where i'm from in new england we would go camping all seasons so i've always

43:36loved the outdoors and when i came to rakino for the first time so there's a saying in the local

43:43the today of maori it's called it literally means where you stand but it means really that it's

43:50calling you yeah so when i came here rakino really called me and this is like no this is where you have

43:57to be rakino is calling yeah i like that

44:15oh well that's sizzle

44:16oh the smell if only you could smell this everyone i've met on this island including michael and annette

44:27seem to have found something rare acquired kind of contentment that's so good i could nearly swear

44:37to describe how good that is and it doesn't come from grand architecture or endless luxury it comes

44:45from connection come on up guys that's how you doing

44:49to the land to each other i mean thank you come on doesn't get about that in there

45:00and to the freedom of living simply but fully cheers

45:07but it is the most fantastic it is yeah

45:22now on this island i've seen some wonderful architecture from the most humble to the most

45:28modern but what i adore about rakino is its size a small island with a small tight community who depend

45:36on each other so much to all the elements it just goes to show that small really is beautiful

45:59to blenheim palace no less its gardens and woodlands in all their glory great estates from above a brand

46:05new series is on more for in a few minutes betony's got some very special plans this saturday

46:11hunting for treasures of the world in coastal croatia a new series starts here on channel 47

46:17the taskmaster has got plenty of nonsense planned here next tonight

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