Right where you belong.

Bob is one of Pakuranga Park's most involved residents since he moved to the village in 2011. “I had seen some retirement villages before, and they all looked the same to me. When I first visited Pakuranga Park, I immediately realized this village was different; it was so spacious, reminding me of a little English village.”

When Cornelia moved in with Bob in 2020, she adapted very quickly to life at the village: “They keep you so busy! My family is always amazed at how active I am now that I’m retired. But there’s always something going on here, and we really enjoy that!”

Bob and Cornelia married in 2022, and they're so happy at Pakuranga Park that they celebrated their wedding reception at the village’s community center, surrounded by their family and friends – many of whom are also residents of the village!

Kirsten started working at Real Living in August 2021 in the role of Activity Coordinator. She organizes all the events at Pakuranga Park, including themed parties, Happy Hours, special celebrations, and trips to the countryside. After working as a teacher for 22 years, Kirsten is very happy with her new job: “Our job is to make the residents happy, but this role makes me happy too! There’s never a dull moment at Pakuranga Park. It’s such a diverse role, fulfilling more than I ever imagined.”

Kirsten is not the only one satisfied with her role at Pakuranga Park; the residents love her too. The relationship between staff and residents at the village is so good that the residents organize regular bowling competitions – Kirsten loves participating even if it means being beaten by the residents’ team most of the time!

Margaret Maggs moved to Pakuranga Park over 18 years ago after visiting quite a few villages around Auckland: “We decided to move here because we loved the houses, made out of brick, so lovely and warm, and because we could have a bit of ground”. Margaret worked in the catering industry all her life and was a member of the New Zealand Cake Decorators with her late husband Des. Retiring didn’t stop her from sharing her talent: Margaret is always cooking and baking cakes for her friends at the village or for charity, including a yearly cake for Daddofil Day with the Cancer Society.

Margaret’s talent with the icing is outstanding and she can sculpt whatever she can imagine: “I love doing it. I can sit for hours painting and doing those flowers that I do with my hands.”

Margaret’s talent and experience is of course appreciated by her own family. Her nephew Daryl Eason is an internationally recognised champion of the endangered kākāpō. He is well know for raising Sirocco, a very friendly kākāpō who has become New Zealand’s "Official Spokesbird for Conservation".

Daryl took his auntie to Codfish Island once to be part of his conservationist team. This Fiorland island holds the majority of the breeding population of this critically endangered bird. Margaret spent two weeks being the lead cook for Daryl’s team in what she remembers as one of the most exciting experiences in her life. They had to celebrate a couple of birthdays during her stay, and of course Margaret was the designated cake baker!

When Laurie Mills moved to Pakuranga Park around 12 years ago, he became one of the youngest people in the village. “Real Living has an entrance age of 55, and I was only 61 years old. I must have been very happy since I can’t believe I have been here 12 years!” Laurie always knew that retirement village life would be great for him, and he already had friends at Pakuranga Park. “It was never a question of NOT coming here, I didn’t look at any others!”. On top of everything, the village is really close to all the things he loves around the area, including Howick Little Theatre.

Laurie has been involved with this community theatre since he started acting and directing in the late 70s. He had a “day” job in the Reservations/Ticketing sector of the airline industry, but he devoted all his free time to his passion, the theatre world. “One of the things I love about theatre is that, unlike other hobbies, it’s gender free and intergenerational, so you’re always meeting such a variety of different people and age groups”.

Janet has been working as an embroidery designer for more than 60 years, and although she's officially retired, she still does some freelance work. When Janet and her husband Tony decided to move to a retirement village seven years ago, it was very important for them to be able to bring their work machinery along. “We had visited every village in Auckland. A friend of mine invited us for coffee at Pakuranga Park, and we had a look at this villa. We realised that it was big enough to include a business, so we signed the following day.”

Janet is a very social person who thrives in a retirement village like Pakuranga Park, with plenty of activities and social gatherings to choose from. “My son says that I need to live up to 200 years, otherwise I won’t fit everything in.”

Janet is currently sketching the drawings for a children’s book inspired by one of her grandchildren. Illustration is the latest interest of a gifted career that started more than 60 years ago, when Janet finished her studies at the Foley College of Fine Arts and Design in London. Janet ran the design studio for Lawrie Embroidery for 12 years. After that, she and Tony decided to open their own business, creating both corporate and fashion and bridal designs. Janet is very passionate about her side of the business, specially the wedding designs. She's worked with some of the most famous fashion designers in New Zealand.

Ray’s passion for model railroads started around 30 years ago when he lived in Howick. He had a dedicated room in his house where he spent hours assembling train tracks and decorating landscapes. Moving to a retirement village was not going to put a stop to his devotion. Ray installed a folding table in the garage of his villa at Pakuranga Park, where he built a new railroad from scratch. 

“The railroad doesn’t get a lot of running nowadays. The bit I enjoy the most is the making of things. I like pottering around and building things, also repairing them.” Ray is always ready to help his neighbours at the village if they need assistance fixing small appliances or if their car battery suddenly dies. Him and his wife moved to Pakuranga Park three years ago and they couldn’t be happier with their decision. “This is the only village that has streets that you can find in a New Zealand road map!”, he says excitedly. He enjoys the social side of a retirement village and one of his favourite activities is croquet. “Your neighbours are there if you need them, but they’re not in your pocket.”

Ray and his wife are the best example that retirement doesn’t have to be boring. They have a batch and a campervan, and before Covid they used to travel to Scotland every year to spend a few weeks with their son and his family. 

Carolyn and her husband always enjoyed an outdoorsy lifestyle, so when they visited Pakuranga Park five years ago they knew it was the place for them: “One of my friends lived here and she loved it because the village has normal streets. Behind my villa there’s a school and I love hearing the children play. I definitively wanted a garden so my husband could have a big vegetable garden. I only have two neighbours so I think, with my villa, I got the pick of the bunch.”

Carolyn loves the independence she can have in a village like Pakuranga Park, with the option, always available, of socializing and having someone to talk to. She has always had a busy life being part of a very close-knit family, with four children and eight grandchildren.

Carolyn had a variety of jobs during her life but at the age of 57 she decided to follow her lifelong dream of becoming an artist. She did a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Manukau and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture at RMIT in Melbourne. She’s been sculpting contemporary pieces since then and her current obsession is “dwelling”: “Dwelling and baches. You see, people like living in a simple house when they’re on holidays but then they go back home and they have this big house, and they spend all their life looking after it. I love baches because they represent a simple lifestyle.”

With her family all in Scotland, Joan Gilchrist knew that she had to make plans for the future. Pakuranga Park was ideal, close to everything familiar, and it offered independent villas.

“Apartment living would have driven me insane – I need the spaciousness the village offers.”

Joan’s had a busy career mostly in journalism, which was also combined with time in sponsorship, event management, PR, managing a shopping centre – which took her all over the country and overseas. This included covering equestrian events at five Olympics and writing two books with TV cook and author Allyson Gofton. “It was only after I retired properly in my mid-70s, that I realised how isolated I was in a back-section, with all the neighbours at work and my friends scattered around the country and overseas.

“Village life has brought a much-expanded social circle, new friends and lots of activities. Plus there’s the security of the community – and I was able to bring my dog.”