"They stopped and looked at me and then carried on. And we get the tui in the flax, and wood pigeons."
Originally when the couple starting looking for a holiday property they were thinking along the lines more of a small bach than the larger holiday home they have enjoyed for 16 years.
"We went to look at the Matakana area as my brother had a place there at the time and he said you have to come north.
"We were looking for a bach to spend weekends and perhaps the odd holiday and we found this section in 1999 which we fell in love with. Of course, we started designing things. And what was to be a little bach became more than a little bach."
On the recommendation of their builder, Mark Wilson, the couple asked David Adams to design the home.
29 Beach Street, Sandspit. Photo / Supplied
"David had just built a house himself and he showed us around," says Richard. "We gave him our thoughts on what we wanted and he did some preliminary drawings. We liked what he was doing.
"The fact that he and Mark could work together worked out very well. It is a very pleasant place to live in."
Their split-level house has monolithic cladding with asphalt tiled roof. Bedrooms and living areas are on the main level. The double garage at the northern end is lower and has a room above that can be used as office, bedroom, second lounge or games room.
There is a lot of glass in the home with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors. All the bedrooms are at the southern end of the home and open to decks, and the lounge opens onto patios at the front and the rear.
Richard says the location has proven to be "absolutely wonderful".
"We face nor-nor-east. We get the sun first thing in the morning and in the afternoon we get it at the back deck.
"We think the views are very good. The harbour at Sandspit is tidal and during the day you see enormous change. You get the sun in the morning. During the late afternoon the sun reflects on the moored boats.
29 Beach Street, Sandspit. Photo / Supplied
"As night falls you get the silver water against the black background of the bush on the coastline. And, with the moon at night, it is wonderful. You can get all of those phases within one day."
Their home is set on a 4691sq m elevated bush section in a protected zone. "All the properties are bush clad around us," says Richard.
The couple have landscaped their section in a way that the barrier between garden and native bush has dissolved.
"It is a bush site and so I have reserved that for the bush and a smaller portion for me. The privacy is excellent," says Richard.
When they first built, Richard and Gillian would stay at Sandpit as much as possible.
29 Beach Street, Sandspit. Photo / Supplied
"I still had obligations in Auckland but we managed to spend at least 50 per cent of our time up there. But that has become less and less as we are able to do less.
"We were very active. We used the regional parks for great adventures. When the grandkids were little, they loved Brick Bay and the playground at Sandspit.
"Today they find the Omaha surf more appealing. I enjoyed the two lovely golf courses at Omaha and Warkworth."
Now Richard and Gillian have made the tough decision to sell.
"We are not getting any younger and we are finding we are not getting as much use of this place," says Richard.
He thinks the property will appeal to people who want somewhere that is reasonably easy to maintain.
"It is on the flat so if you are not as mobile as you used to be, there are no real stairs to challenge you. You are living in the environment as much as you are in the house.
"If you want a nice, relaxing place to chill out in or retire to, it would be spot-on."
