Buying a bach with friends or relations can be a dodgy business, so when broadcaster Martin Devlin and Andi Brotherston decided to do it with friends Emma and Murray, they came up with a set of rules for choosing the right property.
Each person was allowed one criterion and one right of veto. Martin had to be able to see the water, Andi wanted to be within 90 minutes of Auckland, Emma needed to feel like she was at the beach, and Murray had to be able to get Sky Television. Simple.
They bought what Andi describes as a hideously ugly 1980s "Little House on the Prairie"-style cottage right on the beach at Big Bay in Awhitu.
"But that's the thing with baches," she says. "It doesn't matter what they're like. The house is irrelevant."
What is relevant with this property is that it has the iconic Kiwi bach with a big front lawn, at the end of which there's a simple mown path leading down to a golden sand beach. And from upstairs and down there are broad sea views.
"There's hardly ever anyone on the beach," Andi says, "apart from on New Year's Day when there's an old-fashioned Kiwi beach carnival. There are only three or four families who live here full-time."
Martin and Andi eventually bought out their friends, and in 2008 they embarked on a renovation. The house had four bedrooms and they decided to turn the upstairs bedroom into a bar to provide separate adults' and kids' spaces.
Image 1 of 6: Herald Homes
312 Big Bay Road, Awhitu. Sale by Neg.
Agent: Carmel.McLaughlin@bayleys.co.nz 027 227 6356
Vendor: Martin Devlin (he of the radio). 0272735916. thatmartindevlin@gmail
"It was Martin's idea. He's crazy," Andi says. "He decided it should have a 70s theme and we spent a long time on it. We're retro collectors and we have been for years. We found that mental wallpaper in Germany and imported it, Martin found the 70s couch and chairs and I found the fabric for them at Geoff's Emporium in Auckland."
A sensible dark carpet takes the edge off the yellow, orange and brown colour scheme and it was chosen to cope with kids, spills, sand, salt water and everything else that could be thrown at it. It's 100 per cent wool and a commercial grade, and it's been used throughout the whole house.
The downstairs kitchen, dining and living area is less vibrant than the bar, but Andi has chosen a serene blue/grey (Resene's Powder Blue from the Karen Walker range) as a backdrop to eye-popping pink splashbacks and purple-blue joinery. A few pieces of 70s furniture have found their way into the sitting area but its focal point is a large, wall-mounted flatscreen television which stays with the bach -- Andi says they won't be able to get it down.
It's not the only large thing about the house -- the downstairs shower accommodates seven or eight kids at once, and Andi thinks she could probably fit everyone in Big Bay into the master bedroom.
For Martin, it's the things the property doesn't have that make it so magical. "There's no Kopu Bridge to wait at, no Puhoi Tunnel toll to deal with, and you can't spend your time out there going shopping or seeing a movie," he says. "Its isolation makes you focus on the natural environment -- you take the kids crab hunting, swimming, star gazing at night, and building bonfires, giant sand castles and great memories."
He loves that Big Bay is reminiscent of New Zealand's post-war golden age, dotted with little 50s baches. "No one locks their doors, the neighbours drop in a freshly filleted snapper they've just caught -- it is the quintessential Kiwi holiday spot."
Andi agrees. "It's safe, friendly, and there are no jet skis."
