[Lara Croft]

Hi!

On the maps, Makara and Makara Beach look an easy commute from Wellington CBD, but can anyone please tell me which suburb they are classed as? I am doing Real Estate searches, but struggling to find anything there!

Also, is this where the new wind farm is going to be based?

I've looked back through the Welly threads and know that this area hasn't been mentioned much - is it very expensive / rough / quiet?

Thanks,
Jane

[IanW99]

Makara is a very small village with very small roads in and out.

If you really want to be away from it all in the country then its probably quite a good location, you really do get out into the countryside very quickly going in that direction.

Most houses are built along the SH1, so you don't see too many houses out that way.

For me the roads in and out are really quite dangerous, many single lanes, single lane bridges, blind bends etc, so takes a lot longer to get to than you might imagine.

Not sure that it would be considered 'rough' but run down would be a good description. Not sure of the expense but would say that it would be quiet most of the time.

Not sure if the one of the wind farms would be at Makara, but they are certainly going to be in that area.

Ian

[incredible hulse]

Hi Jane - It's quite a bleak area (IMO). I don't think it would get much morning sun either. I've not personally met anyone who lives there but the nearest centre for services would be Karori and Johnsonville (northern end). I think Makara Beach has a cafe

[Smiler]

Hi!

On the maps, Makara and Makara Beach look an easy commute from Wellington CBD, but can anyone please tell me which suburb they are classed as? I am doing Real Estate searches, but struggling to find anything there!

Also, is this where the new wind farm is going to be based?

I've looked back through the Welly threads and know that this area hasn't been mentioned much - is it very expensive / rough / quiet?

Thanks,
Jane

Hi Jane

It looks easy on a map but it's quite a winding road and slow in places. I've only driven it in daylight though and thats scarey enough!

There's a tiny beach community at Makara, it looks fairly run down as most of them are bachs and closed up all winter. There are also some empty houses from when Quartz Hill was a government/radio NZ listening post. These are being taken over by Meridan to house workers on the new wind farm, as is the building at the top of Quartz Hill.

It's expected to take 2 years to build and it's difficult to say what disruption the building of the farm will cause, although it will be mainly contractors vehicles on the roads. All the turbines and equipment will be going in by sea, they are building a wharf and a road up to Quartz Hill from the inlet.

I've never seen anything for sale there though, only houses to rent usually during the winter. We like out of the way places like Makara though and we would have happily lived there if the opportunity arose, had we'd stayed in Wellington.