The houses were being moved from Bucklands Beach in East Auckland to Paewhenua Island by towboat company Thomson Towboats. Photo / Sasja Stigter
Two houses seen floating across the Hauraki Gulf on Friday, shocking Auckland motorists, arrived in Northland today, after a 48-hour journey.
The houses - which gave a new meaning to the term "floating mortgage rates" - were transported on a barge from a site at Bucklands Beach in East Auckland by Thomson Towboats.
They floated past the city about 4pm on Friday, providing photo opportunities for people with sea views.
Today about 4pm, they arrived at Paewhenua Island, which is connected by a bridge to the mainland near Mangonui. They were about 318km from their initial site.
Lynn Alsop and her husband were driving along the highway on their way home to Kerikeri when they saw people gathered on the side of the road.
"We'd seen the houses out to sea earlier but when we were driving past, we saw people had stopped, so we got out to see what it was," Mrs Alsop said.
"They came so close to the shore. There were guys on the land with chainsaws cutting trees in the way, so they could let the houses in.
"It was quite funny, actually, cars were slowing right down. And the comments were funny; people were like, 'Look, it's a house on a boat'."
"They've been lucky. It's been absolutely beautiful. It was lovely to see them coming up the millpond."
On Friday, Orakei resident Stephen Coulthard said he was driving home along Auckland's Tamaki Drive when his 10-year-old daughter, Louise, asked him, "Dad, why is there a house on a boat?"