A fire destroyed their home but the Craw family have a relocatable house coming next month. Pictured is Frankie-Lee, Kas, Rio and Nic. Photo / Stellmach & Winter
A fire destroyed their home but the Craw family have a relocatable house coming next month. Pictured is Frankie-Lee, Kas, Rio and Nic. Photo / Stellmach & Winter
Frankie-Lee Craw has already written her sleepover list when the family get their new house.
She's been looking forward to having her own room and sleeping in her own bed since the Craws have been living in a caravan. A devastating fire destroyed their home in September and they've been living off the kindness of friends and the community.
The Waihi Beach family, owners of The Nest, are ''excited and inspired again'' after buying a three-bedroom relocatable house which will be put on their land next month.
They're relieved to finally have a place they can call home.
''I can not wait to dance around in our living room with my children again soon, to have my children's art on our walls, to start slowly collecting our books again, to cook in my kitchen and be inspired to prepare food for our loved ones,'' Kas said on a recent Facebook post.
The fire took hold on husband Nic's birthday last year while the family was away. No one was harmed but their 100sq metre home — built lovingly themselves from two railway cabins — wasn't insured at the time of the fire.
The community rallied around offering clothes and items, accommodation in local baches and held community fundraisers. About $44,000 was raised on a Givealittle page. A further $70,000 was raised through friends, family and community fundraising, Kas says.
Building was beyond their budget so the couple researched relocatable houses. They visited a few including the three-bedroom 1930s bungalow in Auckland.
''This was the only one that felt good for us to stay here. We didn't want to be in a house we weren't happy with and wish for the rest of our days we hadn't — it had to be something we were excited about.
''But my first instinct was to think 'no way, it's way too much work'.
''So we sat in the car for a while and talked about it ... 'okay, what if we do it ourselves but accept some help from others, we could make it work'."
The relocated 1930s bungalow which will become Kas and Nic Craw's new home in Waihi Beach.
The house will be cut in half and transported to the site in March. Much work will be done in the lead up to the move with council consent, building to make the house liveable again, followed by a complete renovation. Initial costs for the relocation is $150,000.
Kas sees the bright side and knows despite what they've been through, they are better off than many enduring hardship.
''We got through the hard times with just the clothes on our back but we have got our family, food and shelter — now we have just got some hard work to do.''
