Family squabbles, love affairs and bitter accusations – sounds like the plot of a soap opera.

Matakana is an easy escape from Auckland city – a short run up the motorway, through the tunnel, east at Warkworth.

The rain had settled in. Mist crept over the brows of hills, brooding and moody.

A faded brown road sign stands just along from Queenstown’s Remarkables ski fields.

Low-slung clouds obscure the landscape and as we drive closer, it turns to rain, veiling the steeply rising hills.