Family encourages others to make the move to Rotorua

Dave and Carolyn Fletcher love having the space for animals at their Hamurana home. Photo/Stephen Parker

The Fletcher family always wanted some privacy, a patch of land and some farm animals. Now they have it.

Kiwis Dave and Carolyn Fletcher were living in Australia for years, only to make the jump back to New Zealand in 2015.

Along with their three children, Callum, 20, Ella, 17, and Kyan, 11, they moved from the Sunshine Coast to Tauranga where Mr Fletcher grew up, but felt they needed another change of scenery.

The Fletchers were looking at buying their own home, which led their search to Hamurana, just outside of Rotorua.

"It was just too expensive to buy land in Australia and Tauranga wasn't looking much better, so I Google searched property in Hamurana and we came across this place."

Having lived in their new home for 10 months, the Fletchers have no intentions of leaving.

"Moving to Rotorua was such a smooth transition. The kids have settled in well and don't want to move back," Mrs Fletcher said.

She said there was much more for the family to do in Rotorua than Tauranga.

"In Tauranga all you have is the beach and we're not really a beach family.

"We like to be active so having the Redwoods nearby and being able to take the kayaks out on the lake is an added bonus."

Although the Fletchers have left friends in Australia, they said there wasn't much about the Sunshine Coast they missed.

"The climate here is so much better. In New Zealand you actually notice the seasons while Australia is either hot, or hot and rainy all year round," Mr Fletcher said.

"The only downside to Rotorua was the brutal first winter. We're still not that used to the cold."

With Ella and Kyan still attending school in Tauranga, Hamurana wasn't too far to uproot their school lives.

"We feel like this is the perfect spot. We're close enough to the CBD and we are only 30 minutes out of Tauranga which is handy for the kids," Mrs Fletcher said.

The family is now living in their dream home with chickens, pigs and sheep roaming out back, and Mr Fletcher, who works in the oil and gas industry in Papua New Guinea, recommends Rotorua to others looking for a change of scenery.

"I'm always telling my mates in Tauranga to make the move because you get so much more value out here. We love it and I'm sure others will too."