Lotto fever hits Greytown and Warkworth after $38m jackpot struck

Two small North Island communities are abuzz this morning as people start checking if they struck it rich in one of the country's largest lottery prizes.

The Lotto Powerball prize was split in half last night with the monster $38m prize shared between tickets sold in Greytown and Warkworth.

It hasn't taken long for locals to get down to the shops, with a steady stream of hopefuls, ticket in hand, turning up at Greytown's Fresh Choice supermarket soon after it opened at 7am hoping they were about to become the small Wairarapa township's latest multi-millionaire.

The Greytown supermarket's customer service manager Diane Lucas said it was an exciting day for the community with just one topic of conversation - who held the winning ticket.

"I have a funny feeling it is a local person," said Lucas.

"I hope it is someone local - that would be absolutely amazing."

She said the shop opened at 7am with people making a special trip to the store to check their numbers.

South Wairarapa Mayor Viv Napier said the place was buzzing.

"It doesn't happen very often that a small town like Greytown gets to have a big amount of money like that plopped into it, so it's pretty exciting.

"I was actually at a community board meeting last night and when I got home I heard it.

"Everybody from the community board was texting, so if I'm texting people, then I would say the whole of Greytown is. And on social media I'm sure it's going ballistic.

"A huge buzz for Greytown, a huge buzz for South Wairarapa, and it must be so exciting for the person or people who have won it.

"I couldn't comprehend how exciting that must be, and it will be life-changing for them."

Napier said the win would present amazing opportunities, but she also expected it to be hard for the winners for a while.

"I think there's good things that come from it, but you can see examples from countries around the world where it's also been pretty hard for some people to be able to cope with something like that.

"The last big winners in the Wairarapa were a Masterton family and they did some amazing things for the community.

"I'm not saying who ever's won now should do that, but they bought new ambulances and things like that, so the opportunities are endless for them."

Napier said she also hoped people don't get carried away if the identity of the winners are revealed.

"They should be left to be able to work out what they're going to do and how they're going to spend their own money."

Warkworth New World owner Anna Carmichael said while the people weren't lining up there was a bit of a buzz around the store this morning.

"I'm thrilled for one of our customers to have won," said Carmichael.

"It's a fantastic amount of money for anyone to win."

She said many people passed through Warkworth so it could have been sold to anyone in recent days and not necessarily a local.

Is it time for that dream home?

If last night's lucky winners were in a hurry to spend there are a few options to make a small dent in the massive windfall.

Listed on Trade Me for just under $2m you could move into a spacious country home on the outskirts of Greytown, in an idyllic setting boasting spectacular views overlooking the Tararua Ranges.

Meadowview is on the market for $1,980,000 and offers commanding views and spacious country living. Photo / Trade Me

Meadowview is described as the best of both worlds combining traditional colonial classic charm with modern construction and even comes with its own sentinel lion statues in its quiet rural setting.

For those who want to splash out up north there's land flanking pristine coastal Northland waters at Bream Bay.

The winner of last night's big Lotto prize could even buy their own peninsula. Photo / Trade Me

Or if the winners didn't want to build, an award winning home commanding spectacular views overlooking the Kaipara Harbour is also up for grabs.

The award-winning home at South Head sits in a private park setting where wild fallow deer can be seen in the back paddock. Photo / Trade Me

The stunning five bedroom, three bathroom South Head rural property boasts plenty of room for family and guests as well as large gardens, grazing paddocks and bush.

And as summer draws near there is a newly-laid tennis court and swimming pool to enjoy the coming months.