NZ Herald - Plus Feature August 2021

Monday, August 30, 2021

New Zealand needs its own Covid vaccines p4

Half of New Zealanders over 65 will have to rent soon Home ownership rates for senior citizens are falling fast p8-9

How Scrabble can help your brain p6

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

HOPPER LIVING RETIREMENT

Life in Style When the time comes to take the next step into your retirement lifestyle, you need to weigh up your options and consider what is important to you. Jules aka ‘Gaga’ made the move to the Country Club Huapai for a number of reasons, one being security and not having to worry about things that go bump in the night.

At the Country Club Huapai, members can feel secure in the knowledge that they live in a community that cares about their peace of mind with subtle security features, welcoming staff and club members. The luxurious resort-like property enables Jules to live a life in style with beautifully appointed amenities such as the indoor pool and spa, Country Kitchen Café, Salon, outdoor putting and bowling green, fitness hub and social spaces. Only the best for the descerning over 60 year old’s!

With so many things to do, it is surprising ‘Gaga’ still has time to enjoy visits and sleepovers from the Grandchildren. But of course they just love staying with ‘Gaga’ and going to the indoor pool and café for treats. You don’t have to take our word for it though, watch the video on the website and find out why the Country Club Huapai is the perfect lifestyle for ‘Gaga” and her family.

Country Club Huapai is currently under Level 4 lockdown restrictions.

23 Vintry Drive, Huapai 09 476 4 2 20

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C OUN TRYCLU BHUA PA I.C O.N Z

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09 427 0090

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

PLUS CONTENTS p4 The need for a NZorriented Covid-19 vacciine

p8-9 More senior citizens forced to rent

p10 Men: don’t fall foul of the bowel p5 Time to spring into spring gardening

p6 6 How word games can help your brain

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COVID VACCINES ESPECIALLY FOR KIWIS

NZ Z vaccine “mind-blowing”, wing”, Cost of not developing a N “mind-blow expert rt tells C Colleen olleen F Fowler. exper owler.

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ovid vaccines especially for Kiwis Cost off not developing a NZ vaccine “mind-blowing”, expert tells Colle een Fowler.

A leading New Zealand Immunologist says making our own vaccine is the only way to guarantee the country can survive the coronavirus pandemic.

“Coronavirus is not going away, we will have variants circulating the world now and forever and, iff the Delta variant had gotten in at the sta art, we never would have recovered,” says Professor Graham Le Gros, research director of the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa NZ (VAA ANZ).

“There are more e and more deadly mutations coming g all the time, we’ve got to be prepared for th he next time”, he says.

He is one of the scientists concerned, as the virus continue es to mutate around the world, that New Ze ealand could be left either without a guarantteed vaccine supply or unable to afford on ne.

“The consequen nces of not having our own supply arre mind-blowing. The international pharrmaceutical companies would love to keep p autonomy; there’ss nothing to stop su uppliers from doubling the price this year, the en tripling it the next, it could go into the billions.

“Our country wo ould not survive that, we simply couldn’t aff fford the ongoing cost of ff the vaccine,” says Le Gros.

He is also the Dirrector of The Malaghan Institute of Medica al Research, which is working on a nu umber of vaccine “candidates” after being granted $10 million from the NZ goverrnment. The first will undergo phase on ne of trials early next year.

“No one else is going to make a vaccine specific to our nee eds – another powerful reason to future-proof New Zealand.

“We hope one off these candidates will help with the muta ations. There are some design features in our potential vaccines that are not presen nt in the current options.

They give our vaccine the ability to spread across all sorts of coronavirus and stimulate a more powerful and long-lasting response to Covid d-119 and its variants,” he says.

But the Institute e needs another $50 million over five years to get a viable vaccine on the ma arket, an amount Professor Le Gros says is a drop in the bucket compared to what could happen if we don’t secure ou ur own supply.

“The world can’tt afford to vaccinate everyone every ye ear. The real race is on to

Professor Graha am Le Gros

make vaccines that will give us 10 0-20 years’ immunity from one jab.

“This virus is so quick…globally y, we’re going to have more pandemics. The world economy relies on globalisation, so it’s going to be extraordinarily difficu ult to keep variants out,” he says.

“The current vaccine doesn’t sttop people from contracting or spreading corronavirus.

It is designed instead to minimise e symptoms and prevent death. We e don’t know if it’s effective for other muttations and there’s no data on how it perfforms in the long term.

“It certainly y keep ps some of us up at night, because we don’t understan nd yet what all those variations mean. We have some variants of the virus…if they y got into New Zealand, they can cook up their own mutations, so we could make e a fit-forpurpose vaccine that would work k just for New Zealanders.”

Professor Le Gros says the currrent strategy of keeping borders closed has done well but, to guarantee the co ountry’s future economic and health secu urity, action is needed now to help prev vent future outbreaks of Covid-19 and other contagious diseases.

“More pandemics will no doubt come every 5-10 years. Everyone around the world now realises that we’re going to have to link up our distribution and manufacturing, upgrade our platforms so that we can make a vaccine that’s, say, good for Covid 2025, then Covid 2030.

“Kiwis are at the forefront of biological and infectious research around the world, we’ve got the brain power. We just need the resources in place.”

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

NATURE IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL But, as gardener, writer and blogger Sarah O’Neil says, the rewards of planning, training and directing your garden can be vast – and now is the time to start.

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ardeners get ready – the starter’s whistle is about to blow. The new growing season is upon us, time to cast patience aside and throw ourselves into all things gardening.

Whatever kind of gardener you are, whether you grow flowers and trees or vegetables from seed, it is the same for everyone. The new season starts now. You can’t help but notice it, with blossoms all around and the scent in the air lighter and hopeful. Good times are ahead.

There are many ways to garden and no way is wrong or right; a novice gardener with a heart full of passion will feel the fruits of reward in the same way as a seasoned gardener with a head full of wisdom.

However, in the midst of spring fever, it can be helpful to step back for a moment and take in the season ahead. Take some time to plan what you want to achieve from the garden. Decide how many plants you want and need from a space – instead of sowing hundreds of seeds and then desperately trying to make them fit into the garden.

Start with the design of the garden and make a beautiful layout – even if it is ‘just a veggie patch’. Choose to grow the things you love, not what you think you should grow. Gardens are immensely personal; they evoke memory through fragrance and delight, at the same time creating new memories. They reflect the personality of the gardener, so cast fashion aside and grow what you love. You won’t regret it.

The garden is more than the plants within and its foundation is the soil that sustains it and gives it life. Without healthy soil, all plants will perform poorly.

Early spring is still fraught with frost and too soon to plant tender young plants without the risk of being deeply chilled.

However, it is a blessing in disguise as, while we wait for the weather to warm up, carefully and intentionally tending the soil will feed not only the soil but the beneficial micro-communities that live within it.

You will create a welcoming environment for plants to thrive in; not all

gardening is caring for the plants, a lot of it is caring for the soil.

Growing from seed is a mindful way of approaching the bountiful season. Each seed, when taken care of properly, kept in warm, moist soil, with plenty of light for the emerging seedlings, will leave you marvelling at the wonder of nature.

Those tiny seeds will become something enormous in the months to come.

Gardening can be a great way to take a break from the fast-paced world beyond the back yard. There is nothing more relaxing at the end of a busy day than to take a tour of your green space, often with hose in hand, and just take notice of everything.

Nature is always in control – but that’s part of the reason why there is so much reward to be gained from growing a garden

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HOW RUSSIAN PEASANTS CAN BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH Most people believe that puzzles and word games are good for your brain – and could even help Alzheimer’s and stroke patients. Joanna Mathers talks to a man who is certain of it.

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UZJIKS, if played correctly, is a killer in Scrabble: 128 points.

This (the Russian word for peasants) can give you an insurmountable initial advantage and ZO (a type of cattle) and XI (a form of currency) are also big scorers.

Never heard of them? Never fear.

They are all officially sanctioned by the mysterious World English Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) and sought after, by those in the know, with fervour.

“How often do you think that combination of letters comes up?”

Christchurch Scrabble aficionado Paul Lister is talking about MUZJIKS, palpable longing in his voice. “It’s like winning LOTTO.” Scrabble, that summer holiday staple, is a game of endless combinations: “It’s like a dog chasing its tail all its life,” laughs Lister.

“The combinations are infinite.”

But it also has a health benefit for the numbers of older people passionately involved with the word game. For Scrabble may, in fact, help fortify the brain against dementia.

“People [who play Scrabble] die as normal,” says Lister. “But they seem to suffer few diseases of the mind, because of the brain activity involved. I have known very few Scrabble players who suffer from dementia.”

The positive effect of all those word combinations on the brain has been backed by recent research from University of Calgary, showing that Scrabble players’ brains work very differently from the rest of us.

Twenty Scrabble experts, and 20 nonScrabble players, were put in front of a computer displaying jumbles of letters.

They were then asked to identify, as quickly as they could, which letter jumbles were real English words. Electrical activity in the brain was monitored.

The research revealed that Scrabble experts were much faster and more accurate at this task, and made use of a different part of their brain than usually associated with such a task.

“They’re actually recruiting areas [of the brain] more associated with visual processing and working memory. So they’re doing the task quite differently,” post-doctoral fellow Sophia Van Hees reported on Canadian website CBC News. This suggests that humans can use different areas of the brain to do the same task, something that may have implications for Alzheimer’s and stroke patients in the future.

“If someone has a stroke and they damage some of those language areas that non-experts are using for the task perhaps, with training, we can tap into these alternative areas that these Scrabble

players are using to do the same task,” Van Hees said.

However people play Scrabble, the infinite possibilities, and the strategic, analytical and mathematical thinking required to master the game, make it an excellent brain workout for older people.

Lister and his Scrabble-loving cohorts across the globe have a passion for the game that verges on obsessive. He’s been playing competitively since 1980, when he joined the University of Auckland Scrabble Club. The multi-linguist (he boasts four languages) loves uncovering the origins of words, which gives him a distinct advantage at the Scrabble table.

He’s a major player in the New Zealand scene, most recently being part of a small team who compiled, then presented, a few hundred Maori words for official approval to WESPA in 2017.

It’s the WESPA “Scrabble scholars” who decide what is acceptable, he explains.

And they don’t always get it right: “There was a bit of a fuss over ‘jandal’ recently, which they decided was a brand name and couldn’t be used. They allowed ‘thong’ in Australia! It can get a bit heated at times.”

Competitive Scrabble is predominately the preserve of those with more than a few decades under their belts, with a few notable exceptions.

“We had a prodigious 11-year-old in New Zealand who represented the country overseas a few years ago,” says Lister. “The problem is as kids get older, they start being taunted for playing Scrabble by classmates at school.

This can put them off.”

But, as the research shows, the numbers of older people involved with this word game could be a good thing.

Lister says his local Scrabble Club boasts around 40 members – and believes there are hundreds of “unofficial” clubs around New Zealand who meet on a regular basis: “Many people meet to play Scrabble, which is great. But they aren’t following the official rules, which state that Scrabble should be played between two people. So the results aren’t counted.”

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

Retirement Living in Nelson

Coastal View Lifestyle village is located in the Tāhunanui Hills between the city and the beach - with excellent views over Tasman Bay, out to Māpua, Rabbit Island and Kaiteriteri. The first stage of homes offer a variety of light, spacious and stand-alone designs, all with private outdoor living.

A fully integrated village that includes a premium resthome/hospital care facility and cost effective, award winning Spritely digital technology for independent living.

For more information contact Pen 027 257 9324 (pen.w@coastalview.co.nz) or Lynn 027 430 4622 (lynn.h@coastalview.co.nz)

50 Clarence Drive, Tāhunanui Hills, Nelson | www.coastalview.co.nz A subsidiary of

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

WAVE OF OLDER KIWIS UNABLE TO AFFORD THEIR OWN HOMES Experts tell Ross Barrett they fear the number of pensioners having to rent homes set to soar in coming decades.

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any older New Zealanders who don’t own homes face a precarious housing future, according to a leading researcher on the issue.

Dr Kay Saville-Smith says homeownership levels are falling while the number of older people being forced into rental housing is rising – a scenario she says can leave them feeling panicked.

Saville-Smith is the director of the Centre for Research Evaluation and Social Assessment (Cesra) and her comments come at a time when more Kiwis approaching retirement age are falling out of home ownership, many for financial reasons or because of relationship breakdowns.

Saville-Smith believes this has implications for the future. In some areas of the country almost 30 per cent of Kiwis aged 65 and over are already renting and she fears this could climb as high as 50 per cent in the next 20 to 30 years.

“I don’t think people have really grasped the probability that, 30 years from now, half of older households could be living in rentals,” she says. “Many, many older people are not wealthy and most cannot afford to go to retirement villages because they are just too expensive.”

This trend is taking place against a backdrop of a fall in overall home ownership levels. According to Stats NZ, the number of Kiwis who own the home they are living in has fallen from 74 per cent in the 1990s to 65 per cent of households in 2018.

The problem appears more serious in the regions. A 2021 New Zealand Population Review (Saville-Smith was one of several editors who oversaw the review) shows Ruapehu in the central North Island has - at 29 per cent - the highest percentage of people aged over 75 who are renting.

The district also has almost a quarter (24 per cent) of those aged 65-74 living in rental accommodation. Other regions with similar levels in this age-group are Wairoa (26 per cent), Opotiki (25 per cent) and Gisborne (24 per cent).

The review - which drew on research among older Kiwis formerly owned their own homes - shows many older renters battle discrimination in the rental market, live in homes ill-suited to their special needs and are susceptible to stress which can hasten a decline into illness.

“People who fall out of home ownership in their senior years are likely the ones to end up being technically homeless at some stage,” Saville-Smith says. “When people become homeless, or when their housing is very precarious, they often become quite unwell.

“That is true for everyone but for seniors it can be a real shock to their physical and mental health. Some of them will end up so unwell that they will end up in residential care early.

“They may have rented when they were younger, but things have changed. Gone are the days of word-of-mouth; now they have to search (for a rental) online, apply online,” she says.

“Some won’t have access to the internet or won’t have

social networks, attachment to a community and access to services.

“For 19 participants, tenure insecurity resulted in them becoming homeless at some point (in the five years before their interview),” the paper says. “These situations included living in a vehicle, a garage, shed or farm building, couch surfing, emergency or temporary accommodation or in an uninhabitable building.

The time spent homeless ranged from a few weeks to years.”

The study found that the biggest problem was rent increases: “Since most of those aged over 65 are primarily reliant on national superannuation, their income is low (and) to meet their rent obligations

Dr Kay Saville-Smith references or will be confused about how to pay a bond.

“The worst thing they can do is just hide away, they need to talk to someone and find out what services are available to help.”

A separate research paper published earlier this year by Dr Bev James resulted in similar findings. James, the director of independent research group Public Policy and Research, surveyed 108 older tenants about ageing while in rentals across five districts – Waiheke Island, Marlborough, western Bay of Plenty, Tauranga and Hawkes Bay. Her research found 61 per cent of those surveyed had owned a home in the past, with over half of those leaving homeownership because of circumstances beyond their control.

“The most common reasons for selling were relationship breakdown or financial crisis,” the report says. “Their stories show the complex and cumulative effects of divorce, job loss, debt and illness.”

Many tenants reported that moving had negative financial, social and psychological impacts. Moving was stressful, disrupted

tenants often reduce spending on transport, food, outings or health care.”

Saville-Smith says more work needs to be done towards providing a supply of rental homes suitable for older Kiwis including things such as access ramps and other safety measures.

“All our systems have been based on the idea seniors will reach retirement mortgage free. But increasing numbers are approaching retirement not even living in owner-occupied homes,“ she says. “Of those who are, many still have mortgages and few will be able to afford to move into retirement villages.”

Among the reasons those surveyed in the Saville-Smith report gave for losing their homes include:

Dougal, 68: “We sold the house to put money into the shop. Then we went bankrupt. The worst thing I ever did was to sell the house.”

Hoani, 56: “My marriage ended. I was unemployed and there was nowhere I could really afford.”

Marigold, 86: She and her husband loaned money to their son which was never repaid. They had to sell their home to manage the debt and moved in with another family member. The stress led to the marriage breaking down.

Rita, 65: She sold her Auckland home to buy in Dunedin but, feeling “very isolated”, she sold up in Dunedin to move closer to family. But, having lost money on the sale, she then lost her job and was never able to get back into home ownership.

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

MEN MORE HESITANT ABOUT A SILENT KILLER

All 60-74-year-old Kiwis will soon be eligible for free screening against bowel cancer, writes Rebecca Barry-Hill.

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s the free bowel screening programme continues its nationwide roll-out, Dr Adele Melton hopes that just as many men take the test as women.

Melton (pictured), the clinical lead for the Counties Manukau Health Bowel Screening Programme, also works as a gastroenterologist at Middlemore Hospital, and says uptake of the free tests is slightly higher among women.

“Often it’s the women prompting their husbands to do it,” says Dr Melton. “I’ve had male patients who do that classic Kiwi bloke thing: they either ignore it or they decide it’s not important. Then their wives, who are perhaps more used to screening of this kind, having been through the breast cancer and cervical screening programmes, will give them a nudge.”

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. It kills as many people as breast cancer and prostate cancer combined – with 3000 diagnosed every year and 1200 deaths.

It is more common in those over 60 and in men more than women.

“The reason we do the test is to pick up people with no symptoms,” explains Dr Melton. “The earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcome.”

Since the programme was rolled out nationally four years ago, 1028 cases of early stage bowel cancer have been detected, allowing for life-saving interventions before the cancer had a chance to grow or spread. Dr Adele Melton

Are you showing your bowels the love?

By the end of the year, all New Zealanders aged 60-74 will be able to join the free national programme – and can take a simple home test, no matter which part of the country they live in.

The programme started at the Waitemata DHB in 2012 with a successful six-year pilot programme. From July 2017, a staged roll-out began across the country, with Taranaki the most recent addition.

Auckland is now up and running, and Northland and Bay of Plenty are due to begin in a few months.

Those who turn 60 will receive a letter inviting them to use a home test kit. Recipients have a six-month window to send them back. The test itself couldn’t be easier – requiring a small swab to be dunked into a piece of stool, then put into the plastic bag provided.

“It’s very easy,” says Dr Melton. “It’s quick, hygienic and you can do it in the privacy of your own home, before it is sent off to be analysed in the lab.”

There’s little time to wait for a result; most come back within a week or two of submitting a sample. Anyone who returns a negative test will be re-invited to do another test in two years. Those who return a positive result will receive a phone call from nurses to arrange further investigation.

The test is capable of picking up microscopic levels of blood in the stool and, if that’s the case, a colonoscopy is usually the next step. While the cause may not necessarily be cancer, the presence of blood could indicate polyps, which

can then be removed in surgery and investigated. Haemorrhoids, Chrohn’s (inflammatory bowel disease), ulcerative colitis (ulcers and swelling of the colon and rectum) or diverticulitis (inflammation of the large intestine) are other common causes.

Since 2017, 417,800 test kits have been returned and processed throughout New Zealand, with a participation rate of 62 per cent, which is high internationally — at least 60 per cent or higher is needed for the programme to significantly reduce bowel cancer mortality rates.

“Once the programme has been fully rolled out, in the initial years, it is expected to detect 500 to 700 cancers annually,” says Deborah Woodley, Deputy Director General Population Health and Prevention.

If you miss the six-month cut-off to submit a sample, you can still request a test by visiting www.timetoscreen.nz or call 0800 924 432.

Nor do you have to wait the full two years before your next screening opportunity to take action over your bowel health, Dr Melton advises.

Any change in bowel habits, blood in your stool, concerns due to family history of bowel cancer, or simply a feeling something isn’t right are all worthwhile reasons to touch base with your GP, she says.

She also encourages 60-74-year-olds to chat to friends and family about any concerns, and to encourage others in the community to participate in the screening programme.

When an invitation to take the test comes in the mail, “grab the opportunity with both hands,” she says. “Why would you not do it? It’s like giving your body a warrant of fitness.”

Don’t forget about Bowel Screening.

It’s free, it takes five minutes and it may save your life.

The test is simple and clean, and you do it at home.

Screening is now available all across Auckland.

FREE PHONE 0800 924 432 OR TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR The National Bowel Screening Programme is providing FREE screening to people aged 60 to 74 years who are eligible for publicly funded health care.

TO FIND OUT MORE GO TO

www.timetoscreen.nz

Fisherman Lenny Rameka was one whose cancer was successfully detected by screening.

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

“Our lifestyle has never been better!”

“We’re so glad we didn’t wait till we got older to move in and enjoy the Tamahere Country Club lifestyle. It has such a community of vibrant people having fun, socialising and looking out for each other in a beautiful, secure environment. We ride the adjacent bike trails together and enjoy the local cafés. It’s a perfect base for our motorhoming but actually, with our spacious entertainer’s house and top-notch village facilities, every day’s a staycation!”

Colleen & William McGrory Residents since September 2020

For sales enquiries call Sandy Turner on 0800 82 62 43 or visit our website tamaherecountryclub.co.nz

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nzherald.co.nz | The New Zealand Herald | Monday, August 30, 2021

“ Capital gain was

important to our proactive approach to aging...

We wanted to make the move before we had to.

Here everything is really well thought out.

Our home is spacious and easy to look after.

And the capital gain gives us the confidence to do the things we’ve always looked forward to.

MARGARET GARDINER  RETIRED SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISOR & TEACHER

”

“I’m really passionate about what this industry can offer people. When we talk about best interests at heart, the most obvious demonstration of that is the share of capital gain. It’s fair. However, that’s not the only thing we want to be known for.

At Karaka Pines Villages we believe it’s important to listen to the people who live here. For us, taking on board what’s important to the people in each village is what counts and it’s those individual nuances that make each Karaka Pines Village different. It’s theirs and the place they can truly call home.”

ADAM YATES  CEO KARAKA PINES VILLAGES

There are many more reasons why a Karaka Pines Village could be the right choice for you. We’re sorry you can’t drop in and see us at the moment but our website is full of information to help you discover how good your retirement living could be.

VISIT US ONLINE KARAKAPINES.CO.NZ KARAKA LIFESTYLE ESTATE 333 BREMNER ROAD (OFF JESMOND ROAD) DRURY, AUCKLAND CHRISTINA 027 208 9515 CHRISTINA@KARAKAESTATE.CO.NZ

KARAKA PINES ROTOTUNA 75 HARE PUKE DRIVE (OFF BORMAN ROAD) HAMILTON AYREN 021 621 377 SALES@KARAKAPINESROTOTUNA.CO.NZ

Karaka Pines Villages in Auckland |Rototuna |Hamilton | Tauranga |Rotorua |Christchurch

CALL 0800 KARAKA