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British migrants Janice and Peter Bass don't do things by halves. After a two-week, fact-finding trip to Canterbury they bought 10 blocks of land so the rest of their family could follow them.
"We felt like we'd come home when we first came to New Zealand," said Janice,
49. "My husband cried on the plane when we went home from that first trip."
The pair are among growing numbers of Brits drawn to New Zealand, the unspoilt beauty of the South Island, in particular.
Fed up with four hours of daily commuting across London, they're enjoying life at the purpose-built Pegasus township, about 25km north of Christchurch. They are building a house on each of their sections. Janice wouldn't say exactly how much it would cost but confirmed $8 million was close.
She said it was worth it to convince their family to swap their grey, wet British existence for a life of skiing, water sports and "friendly Kiwis".
It's easy to see the attraction of Pegasus. Built around a lake near the pristine coastline of Pegasus Bay, the community will be home to about 5000 residents, a golf course, resort, retirement village and shops.
The town's website says it has been designed to be a "vibrant, sustainable community with opportunities for work, education and leisure".
House and land packages start at $467,000 or £186,000 - considerably cheaper than many one-bedroom flats in central London.
Janice said the deal was sealed for her outdoorsy family when they skied at Mt Hutt and visited New Brighton beach on the same day.
The midwife and her IT specialist husband settled in Christchurch in January 2004 with their two daughters and son. They had no problem finding great jobs and schools.
Four years on, Janice's sister and family have followed and her mother, second sister and cousins will move out next year.
They will live in houses the couple built. Others will be kept for their business Dream Catcher, which offers migrant families rental accommodation and resettlement support.
Figures from Britain's Office for National Statistics show more than a quarter of Brits leaving home headed here or to Australia in 2003.
Almost 95,000 Brits have arrived in the past decade.
Real estate agents have profited, with Bayleys selling more than $300m property to British buyers through UK-based marketing.
The developers behind Pegasus are also targeting disaffected Brits with a marketing exhibition at New Zealand House in London next month.
British-born Suzi Bunting travelled New Zealand with her husband and daughter before settling in the "safe" lakeside township of Wanaka, where she works as a real estate agent.
The young family bought a beautiful, four-bedroom home with self-contained apartment straight away.
"When our friends visit they know why we moved here," Bunting said. "They are envious as hell. We have no thoughts of ever returning."
Bunting and her manager at Wanaka Wide Realty, John Morgan, have noticed an increase in the number of British people drawn to the area.
"It's our weather and lifestyle that attracts them," Morgan said. "Our climate here is so special."
Steve and Stephanie Combe moved to Wanaka four years ago for a better lifestyle. The couple, who have two sons, Alexander, 5, and six-month-old Joseph, haven't looked back.
"My husband is a helicopter pilot and he wanted to fly in the mountains," said Stephanie, 40.
"When we arrived in Wanaka we fell in love. The community is so special down here. When I was pregnant people cooked us meals."
Steve, 35, who flies with Wanaka Helicopters, and Stephanie, a Pilates teacher, bought an open-plan three-bedroom home.
But the dream doesn't come true for everyone. Some of their friends who tried to settle here found it too expensive and went home.
"If I hadn't been for the fact I had a well-paying job in London as a management consultant I don't think we could have afforded it," Stephanie said. "We were given a book that said the average house price was $180,000. When we got here we realised that was a bit out of date.
"But we were chasing a dream rather than practicality."
Queenstown real estate agent Kezia Evans emigrated to New Zealand from Britain three years ago to escape the weather. Last week she was granted permanent residency.
She too had noticed a surge in Brits chasing the lakeside lifestyle but warned it might not always be like that.
"It's a lot easier for English people to buy here as opposed to the UK. But with interest rates in the UK at between 5 and 6 per cent, and here 10 per cent, it could tip the scales."
