Paeroa, Te Aroha in spotlight
Waikato towns feature in NZ TV show episodes
Two Waikato towns are becoming reality TV stars this week with Paeroa and Te Aroha featuring in the second season of Country House Hunters NZ.
The programme, created by Australian production company Abode Entertainment and presented by Matt Gibb, follows house hunters as they look for their dream homes in the New Zealand countryside.
Paeroa was the star of the show on Monday which is something Hauraki District Council was very excited about.
Community development adviser Rebecca Jenks said the production company approached Hauraki District Council last year to ask if one of the local towns wanted to be part of the show.
“The goal is to highlight rural and provincial towns and show what makes them special while the show follows someone looking for a local property.
“It was an exciting opportunity to show how great the Hauraki District is . . . I’ve been living here for four years and I’m loving it. It has this small-town vibe that is especially great for young families.”
Jenks said the house hunter looking for a place in Paeroa, had a longstanding relationship with the town.
“From my understanding, they grew up in Paeroa but moved to Aussie for a while.”
The filming took place in May last year and it all went “really well”, the only cast member not playing ball was the weather.
“A part of the show is a promo video for the area. We thought Bullswool Farm was a good spot [to film part of this] because of natural bush and the views.
“It was pouring with rain and we had to leave promptly without having filmed anything . . . but the crew came back two days later on a day with better weather.”
Jenks said the show had not only a local following.
“It has an international viewership . . . so [being featured] will not only show house hunters but also potential visitors what Hauraki has to offer.
“They’ve promised to be back to feature another one of our towns if they make another season, so let’s get those TV ratings up.”
Paeroa’s episode aired January 15 at 7pm on TVNZ One.
Te Aroha’s episode was shown on Tuesday, January 16.
In the inaugural NZ season of the show last year, properties located in Cambridge and Ohaupo featured as the only ones from the Waikato.