A young couple say money worries have forced them out of Queenstown.
Surviving on one wage in the resort has become impossible for Liam and Mikaela (not their real names). So they and their 10-month-old have moved 45 minutes out of town to Garston, 64km south of Queenstown, near Kingston.
Liam is a builder but it was not enough to cover their expenses, including paying more than $700 a week for a four-bedroom house.
Now they are paying $250 a week for the same number of bedrooms - and a great deal more land.
But fuel costs are eating into the savings.
Mikaela: ‘‘I go to Happiness House. They're absolutely amazing. We've been really struggling and they help with a food parcel every Friday.''
For the past month, their baby attends daycare two days a week while Mikaela looks for work.
‘‘Because of the drive in, I can't really start a nine to five [job]. Even if I could put my baby in daycare for that long, I'd have to wake up at, like, 4am - it's insane.''
Some of Mikaela's friends are also struggling.
She said:‘‘They're all looking for random people to live with them - it's tearing them apart.''
The couple are considering moving to Christchurch.
‘‘It's ridiculous to be a local family that are from here - we can't compete with the housing prices so we're kicked out.''
-By Mandy Cooper
