THE BULLER GUIDE TO LIVING WELL Come join us in “New Zealand’s Happiest Place”* * The Happiness of New Zealand Report – UMR Research 2012 Top 10 reasons why people move here • Easy lifestyle and quality of life • We’re kid-safe and family focused • A strong sense of community and caring • So much to see and do right on your doorstep • World-renowned scenery • Get a great house on an average wage • Getting to work, school or play takes just minutes • An unbeatable range of sport and recreation • Great retail, support services and cafes • Great transport links to main centres Click on our interactive menu and links throughout to go directly to the section you would like to see. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 great Housing, Perfect Place Education & Sports, Health and Culture, Relocation reasons Living for the Active Community Recreation, Wellbeing The Arts, Support Intro Essentials Retiree Learning Entertainment Heritage & Useful & Climate contacts SPACE & freedom The Buller district covers Reefton just less than 8600 square – gateway to the Buller from the Lewis Pass route from kilometers with 84% in Christchurch - born from gold in the 1860’s and now a conservation land and National modern goldmining town with a wonderfully preserved Park. All of this wonderful play heritage main street. Entry way to the magnificent Victoria Conservation Park. area for a population of around 10,000 people! Westport Choose your town – – our biggest little town of around 5,500 with all mod cons. The service centre for the Buller sited at the mouth or go country of the Buller River. The Buller seaside settlements of - Waimangaroa, Granity, Ngakawau and Hector – nestled Renowned for their pioneering between the forested high plateau and the Tasman Sea. spirit and friendly hospitality, These areas provide entry to the Denniston Area and Charming Creek Walkway. The areas of Charleston, each of our towns is true to its Carters Beach, Tauranga Bay and Cape Foulwind also roots: surround Westport. Punakaiki – a tourism centre right in the middle of the Paparoa National Park on the famous Coast Road. Tiny in population and size with huge visitor numbers to the main attraction the spectacular Pancake Rocks and Blowholes and so many other beautiful areas to explore by horseback, walking or kayaking Karamea A MILLION DOLLAR LIFESTYLE – rich in dairy and horticulture with an amazing Pictures speak much louder than words so microclimate. Gateway to the Heaphy and Wangapeka click on this amazing video for a taste of Tracks, Kahurangi National Park, the Oparara Basin, Buller. Oparara Arches and the world heritage Honeycomb Caves. http://www.buller.co.nz Click on our interactive menu and links throughout to go directly to the section you would like to see. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 great Housing, Perfect Place Education & Sports, Health and Culture, Relocation reasons Living for the Active Community Recreation, Wellbeing The Arts, Support Intro Essentials Retiree Learning Entertainment Heritage & Useful & Climate contacts 2 Moderate Climate with few frosts Our climate is similar to Nelson and Golden Bay – moderate to warm (normal range of around 9 – 25 Celsius). Our regular rainfall is something we can count on and critical for economic growth - Champagne for the rainforest. Click on our interactive menu and links throughout to go directly to the section you would like to see. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 great Housing, Perfect Place Education & Sports, Health and Culture, Relocation reasons Living for the Active Community Recreation, Wellbeing The Arts, Support Intro Essentials Retiree Learning Entertainment Heritage & Useful & Climate contacts 3 Transport Links There are excellent passenger TRAVEL TIMES TO OTHER CENTRES: and freight services by road, rail, Westport to Nelson 2.5 hours air and sea linking Buller with Westport to Christchurch 4 hours all major markets – including Westport to Greymouth 1.5 hours flights operating most days. Westport to Picton 4.5 hours Westport to Wellington by air 45 minutes Travel by Air - Flights operate most days see www.soundsair.com for information and bookings. Charter flights to and from Westport are also available for corporate groups, sports teams, special interest groups and those attending events. People and History Early Maori arrived here by canoe around 950 A.D. but the population was small and mostly coastal. The routes you travel today by car were all old Maori trade routes. The Maori name for the Buller is Kawatiri – which means “swift and deep” referring to our mighty Bull- er River flowing swiftly and deeply through the rocky gorge. ‘Buller’ is named after a British politician Charles Buller – a director of the New Zealand Company which was formed to set up the colony of New Zealand. The rest of New Zealand call us - “Coasters”. Early Coasters came mainly from Ireland, Scotland and Eng- land to mine gold, coal, or break in the land. To survive they had to pull together…and that ‘togetherness’ still exists today. Coasters work hard and play hard with a strong sense of family, community and a huge sense of humour. Click on our interactive menu and links throughout to go directly to the section you would like to see. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 great Housing, Perfect Place Education & Sports, Health and Culture, Relocation reasons Living for the Active Community Recreation, Wellbeing The Arts, Support Intro Essentials Retiree Learning Entertainment Heritage & Useful & Climate contacts 4 “Even if you win the rat race you’re still a rat” Living Lily Tomlin Essentials By making the move to Buller, you will keep more of what you earn and lower your stress levels – so what are you waiting for? Housing – Spend less and get more! A recent Fairfax Media home loan affordability survey, done by interest.co.nz, shows the weekly mortgage repayment on a median-priced Auckland home would swallow up 97 per cent of the median net pay packet of people aged 30 to 34. But not in Buller where the average house price is around the $195,000 mark (QV May 2015). This is one third of the price of Auckland properties and half that of the national average. In Nelson prices have steadily risen with the average 2015 house price around $412,000. Just think what you could do with the thousands you would save by buying in Buller. Rents range from around $160 (studio) to $300 plus for a And of course Christchurch and the surrounding Selwyn new 4- bedroom quality home. Compare these with other area is also a heated market – with average house prices places. Follow these links to the great market rental data on there from $553,000. the Ministry of Business and Innovation’s site. This means that Buller people have a much higher rate of www.dbh.govt.nz/sector-information home ownership than in most places – and there’s a great range from quaint early settler cottages by the sea to brand new four and five bedroom homes in new subdivisions. To see the range of properties available here visit: Buller Real Estate www.propertybrokers.co.nz Ray White Real Estate www.rwwestport.co.nz Click on our interactive menu and links throughout to go directly to the section you would like to see. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 great Housing, Perfect Place Education & Sports, Health and Culture, Relocation reasons Living for the Active Community Recreation, Wellbeing The Arts, Support Intro Essentials Retiree Learning Entertainment Heritage & Useful & Climate contacts 5 Keep all the money you used to spend on city living costs Parking at $280 to $400 a month superb recreational and cultural facilities as part of business/ (based on Auckland CBD charges) community partnerships. Living ‘out country’ can mean Even in places like Nelson hourly parking fees are around anything from a 10 – 20 minute drive from Charleston, $1.60 and there are no parking buildings so over a month Tauranga Bay or Carters Beach or a slightly longer drive from you can expect at least $30 a week on extra parking expense North of Westport. These areas that surround Westport ($120 a month). It all adds up. In Christchurch as the provide a fantastic lifestyle - wherever you make your home rebuild expands, parking is increasing – currently $3.10 an the commute is a stunning drive with breathtaking scenery hour or a $7 all day fee in Council car parks. and sunsets with no traffic jams unlike city life! In Buller we have no parking costs not even in the town centres, you get more for your money when buying a home, Shopping and land or business and our rental prices also give great value Everyday Services for money. Other costs not required in Buller unless you live ‘out country’ are: Daily commuting costs and monstrous Westport’s busy CBD provides a wide range of retail fuel bills. shopping and services. All the essentials are here with Nor do you need to keep up with the rat race – why not? two modern supermarkets, post office, pharmacy, There isn’t one! Giving you the opportunity to live well in service stations, and a great range of individual retailers Buller and spend that saved money on living life, socialising, specialising in everything from Asian imports to fashion, entertainment, holidays, family, fun and friends. furniture and appliances. Westport has everything except the complications of city life Buller has seven different banks and building societies Born from the self-sufficiency of isolation, modern day based in Westport to assist with mortgages and lending Buller is now digitally connected to the rest of the world including all the big names in banking.