The Last Resort
The Last Resort
Follow the wild, inspiring, and sometimes chaotic restoration journey of Katrina McLarin and her wife, Brenda Laverick, as they bring Casa Nova House — a magnificent 1861 Oamaru Stone mansion in New Zealand’s South Island — back to life.
What began as a bold decision to buy a historic home soon became something much bigger: a hands-on adventure filled with restoration challenges, unexpected discoveries, big dreams, financial realities, laughter, frustration, and more than a few surprises along the way.
The Last Resort takes you behind the scenes of what it really means to restore and reinvent a heritage property when there’s no instruction manual and no guarantee that everything will go according to plan.
From uncovering the history hidden within the walls to navigating renovations, business ideas, relationships, setbacks and triumphs, Katrina and Brenda share the real story — the good, the bad, and the completely unexpected.
If you love historic homes, renovation adventures, New Zealand heritage, entrepreneurial stories, or tales of people taking a chance on something extraordinary, The Last Resort is for you.
Episodes
8 episodes
Ep 8 - New Home in Italian
Series 1 of The Last Resort Podcast comes to a close with this final, reflective episode of Casa Nova House – The Journey. Over the past five years, Katrina McLarin has shared the highs, lows, and everything in between of rest...
Ep 7 - Lagoon Fish & Flying Sauces
Despite a series of unexpected obstacles, Katrina and Brenda remain determined to turn their dream into reality. From a fallen tree blocking their path to a damaged car, nothing can stop them from working toward opening their business to the pu...
Ep 6 - Expect the Unexpected
Battling a pandemic and tackling extensive renovations is one thing—but facing the possibility that it may all be for nothing? That's where Katrina and Brenda find themselves in this episode. As the Casa Nova House project becomes one of the mo...
Ep 5 - Honouring the Past & Inspiring the Future
163 years of history come to life as Katrina is joined by Sarah Gallagher, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Area Manager for Otago & Southland. Together, they explore the rich past of Casa Nova House, uncovering a tragic love story tied ...
Ep 4 - Just a Little World-Wide Pandemic
With funding finally secured, major renovations at Casa Nova House are ready to begin—until the world comes to a screeching halt. As Covid-19 sweeps across the globe, Katrina and Brenda find themselves in lockdown, juggling halted progress, lim...
Ep 3 - Exploding Radiators
Expect the unexpected—now a daily mantra in the early stages of restoring Casa Nova House. In the dead of winter, with freezing temperatures and no heating, Katrina and Brenda brave the elements to begin breathing life back into this once-grand...
Ep 2 - April Fool's Day
The dream of relocating to New Zealand’s stunning South Island takes an unexpected turn. As Katrina and Brenda enter a tense bidding war for the majestic Casa Nova House, emotions run high—and victory comes at a surprising cost.Though th...
Ep 1 - I'd Move for the Pies
What starts as a simple bicycling holiday turns into a life-changing adventure. Join host Katrina McLarin and her wife Brenda Laverick as a few unexpected twists of fate lead them to stumble upon the charming town of Oamaru—and eventually, a fo...
