January 2023

The media is awash with stories about the state of the real estate market, house values plummeting, interest rates rising, an increased average in the number of days to sell which could strike fear into the hearts of any prospective vendor who wants to sell their house and move on. However, for mother and daughter duo, Jo-Ann Townsend and Victoria Day, it is business as usual,…

By the time you read this, the Christmas season will all be over, and we will be heading into a brand-new year, 2023. That’s 23 years since the world teetered on the brink of a potential disaster as computer programmers grabbled with the Y2KBug, the point at which the world slipped over to the 21st century, and the year 2000 ticked over from 1999. It was thought and hyped up by…

Stroud Homes has experienced tremendous growth in recent times and is building a brand-new show home to showcase the latest styles and features that Stroud can offer. He has been building homes for over 17 years, ensuring every customer is given the very best level of service which is reflected in the growing number of families in the Franklin area that are choosing to build with…

The sun is finally shining and the temperatures are going up and with that, its time to show off one of our most important assets, our feet! in a hot new style from Bakers Shoes and More in Waiuku. Fiona Baker and her fully trained team are well known for keeping up with the latest fashions, plus have all the know how to keep your feet looking good as well as being comfortable…

The Business Association hopes you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and an enjoyable and safe break. Welcome to 2023 New Businesses to Papakura: We welcome • Fork Café in East Street • Midtown Bar in the Selwyn Centre on the Great South Road • The Art of Framing in Elliot Street • Automate X in Railway Street • Vets at 77 on the Great South Road Where to Eat Guide: …

The New Zealand property market has experienced a bigger downturn in property values and sales volumes than expected in 2022.The introduction of tighter lending regulations, loan-to-value ratio rules, higher mortgage rates, and more listings all tilted the balance of power away from sellers. For the 2022 calendar year, total sales volumes are estimated to be around 67,000, the…

No matter what your age or fitness level you will be more than welcomed and encouraged to participate in the Navigation Homes Fun Run series. After running successfully at the start and end of last year, the new season of Fun Runs kicks off on Tuesday February 7th and every Tuesday after that until late March. Starting at 5pm with registrations, the race kicks off at 6pm…

Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It was traditionally a time to honor deities as well as ancestors, and it has also become a time to feast and to visit family members. Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern…

A Covid delayed Repco Beach Hop went off with great success back in November at the cool Coromandel town of Whangamata. New Zealand's largest celebration of the 50's & 60's proves to be as popular as ever with people coming from all over New Zealand as well as other parts of the world. The nearly week long event kicks off on the Wednesday at Waihi, then onto Thames on the…

We have all seen the social media posts of ‘free kitten/puppy to a good home’ sweet, cute, innocent faces looking back at us in all manner of colours and fluffiness. Small, defenseless, ‘presents’ for that child or family member who we want to please. But for Taryn Gibbs, her team at Fur Paws Sake and many hundreds like them throughout the country, the aftermath of that impulsive…

As we look into the New Year, there are a lot of crucial issues facing the country – how do we deal with the ongoing unaffordability of housing (notwithstanding the recent fall in house prices); how do we increase our rate of productivity growth so that we can afford the good things of life that wealthier countries take for granted; how do we improve the serious problems in our…

RECIPE : Frozen Cherry Chocolate Pudding Cake Ingredients 1kg store-bought Christmas pudding, crumbled 6L vanilla ice cream, softened 2 cups cherries in cane sugar syrup (from delis and specialty food shops) 2/3 cup (165ml) cherry syrup Chocolate shards and pitted fresh cherries, to decorate Chocolate Icing 1/2 titanium-strength gelatine leaf 11/3…

Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51 BC - 30 BC. She is celebrated in many historical records for her beauty and her love affairs with the Roman warlords Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, but was a powerful queen before her interaction with either and a much stronger monarch than any of the later Ptolemaic Dynasty. Fluent in a number of…