That was 20 years ago.
ANDY JACKSON/Stuff
Opunake High School acting principal Andrea Hooper arrived in Opunake 20 years ago. “Out of all the places we have visited, Opunake, Taranaki, is just paradise – where the community really does raise a child. The black sand, seaside town is on the southwest coast of Taranaki, 61 kilometres from New Plymouth and an hour-and-a-half drive from Whanganui. And if a base salary ranging from $95,175 to $166,272 isn t enough to make you move to this secluded town, maybe the community will. The town has connections to some of New Zealand s most well-known achievers including Olympic gold medallist Sir Peter Snell, former prime minister Jim Bolger, and All Blacks Graham Mourie, Mark Robinson, Don Clarke and the Barrett brothers.