When you think of the quintessential Kiwi bach it's easy to imagine a rugged, remote location, far from decent coffee or even a place to get an icecream.
These idyllic holiday homes confound that notion. Right on the sandy estuary at Mangawhai Heads, they feel just like the best sort of traditional Kiwi getaway, despite being only 90 minutes from Auckland.
The Hinton family has been coming to Mangawhai Heads for decades.
Auckland-based Bineta and her husband Ross were looking to buy a holiday home 30 years ago and searched a few locations, before Bineta visited here with friends and spied a house nearby.
On the spur of the moment, Bineta signed up on behalf of Ross and herself to buy the house with their friends.
Luckily Ross liked it when he saw it.
Then, as they became a family of four with the arrival of children David and Anna, they decided it was time to buy a holiday home for themselves. They had coveted 13 Cheviot St, a quirky bach at the end of a private driveway accessed from the waterfront reserve on Lincoln St.
"Ross left a note with the owner asking him to contact us if they ever decided to sell and he held on to our phone number," Bineta recalls.
That was 20 years ago, and then, a couple of years later, they bought the neighbouring property at number 15.
Over the years there have been magical weekends, school holidays and summers, with tents set up all over the lawn.
Some New Year celebrations have been so busy the Hintons have reinstated number 13's long-drop toilet. (At other times it's decommissioned and used to store equipment for the boat.)
Bineta and Ross have altered number 13 only slightly over the past two decades.
Image 1 of 6: Traditional and idyllic beachside properties are only 90 minutes from downtown Auckland. Photos / supplied
Originally, when the children were small, they slept in their own small bedrooms inside the bach, but as they got older they moved to a sleepout that was originally a forestry shed.
The Hintons removed walls to increase the size of the bach's living area, which opens up to decking on both sides.
Number 15, known as "the pink house" provides overflow accommodation for friends and family in the summer, but it's let as a long-term rental in winter.
"This is a different part of Mangawhai Heads," says Bineta.
"It's secluded and right on the water, but all the infrastructure that Mangawhai and Mangawhai Heads have to offer is nearby."
Great spots to eat and drink include Harvest Blue and the Wood Street Freehouse craft beer bar and bistro.
