Grand Designs New Zealand

On a steep site in Mahurangi, just north of Auckland, architect Felicity Brenchly is prepared to do whatever it takes to get their family home built...even if it means moving into a caravan.

An hour - and seven river crossings - inland from Geraldine is where arborist Li Tane and his landscaper wife Michelle are building their rammed earth, off-grid, sustainable mountain home.

When John and Sharon bought their vertiginous site above Queenstown, they thought their biggest challenge would be signing up other owners until they discovered what lay beneath the ground.

In the Waitaki Valley, Michael and Olivia Pavelitch embark on breathing life into an historic rabbiters’ cottage whilst carefully preserving its 160-year history.