Tim Vince may be guilty of a tiny bit of exaggeration when he says he looked at a million places nearly 20 years ago in his hunt for the perfect pad around Whitford.
"The moment we drove in, we knew it was pretty special," he says. "Not many places have direct access to the water. You know the moment you walk in, that feeling that 'This is us'? You can watch the golfing at Formosa, out to Rangitoto, the beach was there every day for walks.
Tim swears he's no softie, but there's something charming about a man who promises his old dog he won't move him out of the country spread. So until Harry the beagle died last year Tim did the lengthy commute to his horse training business in Kumeu, giving Harry the run of the property -- and the neighbourhood. Only now can Tim bring himself to sell (the house is tenanted until August) and make his move to town permanent, acknowledging that the place is too big for just one person.
"Living here was the stress-free life," he says. "I crossed the bottom paddock to the beach and used to windsurf all the time. Next door was home to a world jet-ski champ, there were always kids kite-sailing, or you could take the kayak out".
