True believers

Drive north-east from Palmerston North, swerve around the odd stray sheep and, 50 minutes after leaving the Manawatu’s largest city, you’ll reach Āpiti.

Tucked under the shadow of the Ruahine Range and settled in the 1880s, this small rural community boasts a population of just over 200. There’s a pub, a school and a museum.

At one stage, Apiti was also home to five churches. One of those – a former Presbyterian church and its adjacent Sunday schoolhouse – is now a quirky Airbnb and events