Our Story

Jaco and Fiona met and married in London where we lived 10 years. Our two children, Anabel and Rueben, were born there and we returned to my home, Canterbury, in 2010. Both looking for work and while waiting for Jaco’s work visa’s to come through, my sister asked Jaco to build a fort for her three boys for Christmas.

Jaco researched designs and built an awesome fort for Aimee and it all went from there.

The first ever fort

Pictured above: the first ever fort

We built another and advertised on Trade Me and sold 5 in our first Christmas. We both love to braai, Jaco’s South African bbq, and being outdoors so Bester’s Outdoor Living was born!

We have Super Forts throughout New Zealand including more than 200 in Canterbury. Our kids have become expert Fort testers and we love creating fantastic, fun outdoor areas for all the family.

We live on 12 acres in Eyrewell Forest, North Canterbury and in our spare time we enjoy our wee farm with chooks, heifers, sheep, pigs and lots of garden!!

Fiona & Jaco


Some of our happy customers…