Ōpōtiki sits where the road east starts to feel like it’s running out of country. This is the quiet end of the Bay of Plenty, all river mouths, surf beaches and farmland, with the East Cape stretching off beyond it for anyone keen enough to keep driving.

For years it was a town people passed through. Lately the harbour’s been dug out for a serious mussel farming operation, and there’s a bit of life coming back with it. The pace is still slow in the good way, the beaches are still empty in the better way, and you can buy a house here for money that wouldn’t get you a deposit further north.

There are a couple of dozen suburbs and settlements under Ōpōtiki, from the township itself to the coastal spots and rural pockets around it. This page lays them out together so you can compare properly: who lives where, what it costs, the school situation, and how far the nearest decent supermarket really is.

If you fancy room to breathe and don’t mind being a fair way from the lights, start poking around here.