{"id":212602,"date":"2026-01-02T04:06:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T04:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/212602\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T04:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T04:06:07","slug":"how-te-hapua-thrives-in-isolation-at-the-top-of-aotearoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/212602\/","title":{"rendered":"How Te H\u0101pua thrives in isolation at the top of Aotearoa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TeTe H\u0101pua school overlooks Parengarenga Harbour. Photo \/ Yolisa Tswanya<\/p>\n

Now she is a teacher at the settlement\u2019s only school, with about 20 primary-aged students.<\/p>\n

Lazarus helps in the community, which makes her familiar with the joys and challenges of life in the remote town.<\/p>\n

She said daily life consists of weekly, and for some fortnightly, grocery runs that mean a 90-minute trip south to Kait\u0101ia. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have little dairies and that in between and there is a Four Square in Pukenui,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to get a really good shopping trip most people go to Kait\u0101ia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TeTe H\u0101pua is New Zealand’s northernmost settlement and home to around 300 residents. Photo \/ Yolisa Tswanya<\/p>\n

The long drive means keeping an eye on the fuel gauge and hoping your tyres hold up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get a flat tyre you have to go all the way to Kait\u0101ia, but what good is that if I got a flat tyre here?\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n

The travelling doesn\u2019t come cheap and a trip for groceries can cost $100 just to get to the destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat $100 alone could be kai money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lazarus said while things could be better, the community managed because it was so resilient.<\/p>\n

Though peaceful, the isolation comes with real challenges. <\/p>\n

Jobs are scarce, power cuts are common and emergency services can take hours to arrive.<\/p>\n

Depending on where the ambulance is at the time, it may take them up to three hours to reach Te H\u0101pua.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the ambulance comes all the way from Taipa,\u201d Lazarus said. <\/p>\n

In life-threatening or serious situations, a rescue helicopter is sent. <\/p>\n

Those realities and unique challenges have pushed Te H\u0101pua to become more self-reliant over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are quite a few people here that have had intense first aid training,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had a lot of little projects happening within the community in different areas that are helping the bigger picture of resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe wharf will soon host the annual bombing attraction. Photo \/ Yolisa Tswanya<\/p>\n

Fire and drought remain the community\u2019s biggest worries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are surrounded by bush, and it\u2019s really beautiful but it\u2019s also high and makes it a huge fire risk,\u201d Lazarus said.<\/p>\n

Recently a volunteer team, raised from within the community, has stepped up and is cutting response times, giving locals peace of mind.<\/p>\n

Before the team was assembled, neighbours would rush over to do what they could while waiting for the nearest emergency service, the Houhora Firefighters, to make the long trip from Pukenui.<\/p>\n

\"NineNine locals now train weekly to handle fires, crashes and medical calls in the remote settlement.<\/p>\n

Despite the long drives, patchy services and tough moments, Lazarus said she and many others in the community wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tried to get a tourist attraction going but I don\u2019t think the community would like that. It would change it too much and we are happy as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lazarus said they are looking forward to the festive season, which will see a local parade, community picnic and bombing competition off the wharf. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Te H\u0101pua school overlooks Parengarenga Harbour. Photo \/ Yolisa Tswanya Now she is a teacher at the settlement\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12889,1975,5432,92470,34596,128952,20589,221,128951,78,14607,96263,111,43,139,69,1118,128953,47788,51212,5412,11584,8690,223,684,87909,3010],"class_list":["post-212602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-aotearoa","tag-at","tag-between","tag-buzzing","tag-calm","tag-dunes","tag-harbour","tag-how","tag-hpua","tag-in","tag-isolation","tag-motels","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-parengarenga","tag-rolling","tag-shops","tag-streets","tag-stretch","tag-te","tag-the","tag-there","tag-thrives","tag-top"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}