Ian and Barbara bought their 21.5ha countryside hideaway at 208 Sunnyside Road in Coateville, north of Auckland, in 1993.
“It was tranquil, private and had wonderful views,” says Barbara. “It was one of very few large blocks in a sought-after area.”
The property, with barn, cattle yards, and 10 paddocks with troughs, is just a few minutes’ drive to local cafes, while Auckland's harbour bridge is about 20 minutes away, outside of peak traffic.
Parts of the land, with its magnificent trees and a natural pond, have the added bonus of being under QEII covenant. It protects pockets of the native bush and wetland.
Start your property search
The property, which has a 2017 CV of $5.5m, is now on the market for price by negotiation.
Ian and Barbara first built their ‘gardener’s retreat’: a barn-style cottage. They collected recycled timbers such as iron bark and totara for use on the cottage’s exterior, while matai and oregon were earmarked for living spaces.
“Then we had to find a builder with enough gravel in his gizzard to take on the project,” says Barbara.
They figured they would live in the cottage while building a more major home on the site, but the years rolled by and somehow that just didn’t happen.
“We love this little house because it sits so quietly in the rural landscape,” she says. “We decided that we really didn’t need a ‘McMansion’.”
They say the beauty of the cottage lies in its simplicity, with one bedroom, one bathroom and open plan kitchen, dining and living.
“You live in one end and store your lifestyle paraphernalia in the other,” says Barbara.
“There’s an Irish wood-burning stove for those who can manage to wield an axe without taking off a limb, but more conventional means of cooking and heating are here at the flick of a switch.”
Barbara says that after a day spent running after livestock, planting trees, mowing, weeding and snipping, collapsing into the clawfoot cast-iron bath is an absolute luxury.
The property is an magnet to bird life. “We love watching the kereru sitting side by side in a nearby tree and swallows nest every year below the veranda.
“Tui squabble over territory and pheasants often scoot out in front of startled drivers.”
Barbara says she and Ian are “running out of puff” and it’s time to move on. “This wonderful place has suited us and Sunny, our Jack Russell, perfectly,”
Ailsa McArthur from Bayleys, Albany, who is marketing the property, says the passion which Barbara and Ian have shown for the land is awe-inspiring. “They have really loved it and improved it immeasurably.”
She says that there are myriad possibilities for a new owner. “It would be lovely for an extended family, divided into four blocks, for example, or you could keep one block and sell off the others.
“Alternatively, you could put development aside for now and landbank it, but also build the larger home that Barbara and Ian were originally planning.”
Ailsa says that potential buyers really need to see the property in order to get the best sense of what is possible.
Find out more about the listing below:
