My Account
What’s special about Puhoi?
Jenny Schollum
“We just celebrated 153 years since Puhoi was settled in 1863. We went all the way through the weekend with a dance on Saturday night, a reunion for former locals, and Bohemian dancing. We finished on Wednesday with a dinner for the direct descendants of the early settlers. History is the backbone of Puhoi, the early settlers had the motto: ‘We keep the faith and we help each other’. Helping each other still exists in Puhoi today, even with people who have no idea about our History.”
Kane Dinneen
“We are a destination; there is no where like Puhoi. We are in the country but not far from the city. We have beautiful scenery, beautiful cheeses, and beautiful food. I am a head chef and I like to be busy, so I love the tourists. We also have a lot of backpackers stay for a while in Puhoi and work locally in places like Matakana. That adds to the community and gives it a sense of diversity. A few of the locals think ‘bloody Aucklanders’, but we need visitors to survive and actually, I thrive on it.”
Bob Turner
“I retired here 16 years ago and built a house on my daughter’s 40 hectare block. I was a dye setter in a rubber factory, moving around 200 kilo moulds. I now like to spend my time talking to visitors in the pub. I have met so many people from all over the world and I am still in contact with many of them. I have been writing to some of them for years and they often come back and visit me. One tour guide introduces all his visitors from Asia to me. I have a chat with them and they take my picture, I even get bought the odd beer or two!”
Sarita Mclaren
“Puhoi is fantastic for its sense of community. We came here 15 years ago with our young children and we were made to feel very welcome. There is a wide range of people here of all ages. In summer we sit by the river, all the kids go swimming and kayaking, and the adults have a good yak! There are a lot more houses and building projects now. When we first moved here there were five houses in our road, now there are almost three times that many. Fortunately, the community tries to regulate development and not spoil our village. I love it here and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
