Bugman's natural habitat

190 Gowing Dr, Meadowbank. Photo / Geoff Dale

190 GOWING DR MEADOWBANK

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SIZE: Land 2680sq m, house 240sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $1.08 million. Auction on site November 20 at 1pm.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1pm-1.45pm.

ON THE WEB: harcourts.co.nz # SH2773

SCHOOL ZONES: St Thomas' Primary, Selwyn College.

CONTACT: David Nightingale, Harcourts, ph 027 227 2949 or 09 575 2535.

FEATURES: Solid, spacious 1970s house in private grounds and gardens in easy reach of arterial routes, Remuera, CBD fringe and eastern bays. Fabulous indoor/outdoor flow to swimming pool and covered outdoor entertaining area, separate covered outdoor courtyard for dining, loads of firewood in store for three woodfires. Off-street parking for two more cars.

It's just as well Julie Kleinpaste is on the premises. Her Bugman husband, Ruud, is keener to point out the domiciles of tui, the infinitesimal scrapings wasps have stolen from the pool shed and the general history of the extensive Kleinpaste habitat - Bishop Selwyn would have crossed it to get to Orakei Basin - than he is in promoting the home that he and Julie have loved for 11 years.

Two years ago they bought on the outskirts of Christchurch, planning to head south in three to five years. The birth of a Garden City grandchild has accelerated the move - "We thought, why wait?" says Julie.

As the property occupies more than half an acre of Meadowbank, it may take Ruud some time to make the rounds of goodbyes. "We have tui, wood pigeons and moreporks!" he enthuses. "In the stream over there there are whitebait, freshwater crays, eels, and glow-worms on the banks. It's brilliant!"

And how many bedrooms are there? "I could take you into those trees and you'd think you were on Mt Taranaki!" (Julie, help!)

Solid, flat-roofed, sunny and generously proportioned, the 240sq m architecturally designed house has four bedrooms and an office, a defined dining area, a spacious formal sitting room opening to a covered outdoor entertaining courtyard, two fully tiled bathrooms (one accessible from both master bedroom and laundry) and, opening to the pool area through big glass sliders, a family room and the enormous kitchen designed by their daughter, Nikki Thebault.
Benchtops are granite, much of the cabinetry is kauri.

Entrance, kitchen and family room have original ceramic tile floors, but the Kleinpastes revamped the rest of the 1970s decor and refurbished the swimming pool area in Mediterranean style.

Partly covered by a clear roof supported by macrocarpa posts, the latter features a built-in barbecue converted to storage for firewood. Ruud did much of the interior and exterior work himself: of special note, the pool shed and a second shelter for logs (and a host of fascinating crawling things, no doubt), both trimmed with copper spouting.

And everywhere there are plantings. Ruud presented numberless stories from the garden during his years on Maggie's Garden Show but, he says, "people don't realise that Julie's the gardener and I'm the labourer".

The absence of fences between the Kleinpastes' trees, lawns and vegetable beds and those of their invisible neighbours make the grounds appear even bigger. There's a woodland stuffed with freesias, bluebells, daffodils and rhododendrons at the bottom of the section; a forest of bamboo and mature trees draped in native clematis on one side; and an extensive grassed area above and behind the pool, sheltered from wind by tall trees and rising gently to a
view into a bushy gully.

Gardenias and jasmine scent the entrance, and to the side of the double carport a pergola supports a wisteria with a trunk as thick and elaborate as the Faraway Tree's. And tranquil and private as it is, the property's just minutes from Remuera and the waterfront.

Ideal buyer? "Someone who will love it as much as we have, I hope," says Julie. "It's an escape. As soon as you turn into the driveway through that avenue of liquidambars, you're somewhere else."