Bejon Haswell/Stuff
Dave Honeyfield lost his house in the Lake Ōhau village fire, and within 11 weeks had a new one.
The meandering drive to Lake Ōhau village reveals the havoc wrought by a devastating blaze, but from the blackened ground springs vibrant regrowth as people continue enjoying all the remote hideaway has to offer.
In the early hours of October 4, a fire razed nearly 50 homes and burnt through 5360 hectares to change the face of the idyllic village.
However, residents and holidaymakers have not been deterred from spending another summer in the area, one couple having already placed a newly-built home on their charred property.