The area around Snells beach comprises spectacular scenery – as does most of NZ. The country round here has rolling hills, distant mountains and sheltered bays.

Like a lot of the country the population is deceiving – it looks rural, but there are quite large collections of houses in the valleys. Here we came across big box stores and large early age schools, and you can only get that where there are a lot of people to fill them.

Hereabouts a million dollars buys you a nice place with a view of the sea. Anything waterfront and you pay a whole lot more.

Warkworth, the local town, tries to retain its aura of yesteryear with slightly old looking cafes and shops, but a fair smattering of smart dress shops, the Beemers and Audis parked on the streets, and 5 real estate agents within 100m tells a different story. After all, in a flash car you can practically commute to Auckland from here.