Taupo: Part of the scenery

Mt Ruapehu beckons through the windows - the ski slopes are only 45 minutes away.

Owners of a new home on Lake Taupo wanted it to look like it had been there for decades, writes Donna Fleming

24 Scenic Heights, Acacia Bay, Taupo

After two years hunting for a site on the shores of Lake Taupo to build their dream home, Gavin and Maureen McDonald were delighted when they finally found the perfect place in Acacia Bay

The trouble was, they weren't the only ones who thought it was ideal, and when it went to tender another buyer beat them to it by just a few thousand dollars. Undaunted, a persistent Gavin pestered the new owner, a developer who was planning to build three townhouses, until he agreed to sell it.

"It took a fair amount of effort but it was worth it," says Gavin. At the time (around 1998) the couple was busy building a five-star motel in Taupo so they rented out the 1960s brick house on the property until they could focus on what they wanted to do with the site.

After two years of work the house was finished in December 2003 and Gavin says it exceeded his expectations. "We were thrilled."

Gavin and Maureen's brief to architect Gary Dennison was simple: "We wanted something that was very Taupo, that fitted in with the other upmarket houses in the neighbourhood and suited the location on the promontory," says Gavin. "We didn't want anything modern with glass and chrome - we wanted a home that looked like it had been there for 40 years."

The result is a sprawling home made from ebony weatherboards, cedar shingles, a slate roof and stone retaining walls. It's warm and welcoming, and manages to be both luxurious and extremely liveable.

"It's a very comfortable home," says Gavin. "It's got all the mod cons and things an older house wouldn't have, like fantastic indoor/outdoor flow, but it looks like it's been here for a lot longer than two years."

Builder Ray Gee recycled heart matai floorboards from the original house after it was pulled down and used them in the foyer, hall and kitchen. The rest of the interior wood is American oak as Gavin and Maureen were keen to use plantation timber rather than using up supplies of native wood like rimu. The bathrooms feature Carrera marble and the terraces are surfaced in granite.

Gavin's favourite room is the den, which is used as both a home theatre (it has a 127cm plasma screen) and a library. There are two dining rooms, a kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances such as an Ilve semi-commercial stove and GEC side-by-side fridge-freezer, and studio accommodation over a garage, which is big enough to take a boat and a car. There's also basement garaging under the house, with a lift to the floors above.

The house has spectacular views of the lake, which can be accessed from a boat ramp just down the road, and it's only 45 minutes' drive to the nearest ski slope.

"We now want to do more travelling and we're also planning to spend winters in Noosa, where we've got a development underway," says Gavin. "We're going to be away a lot so a smaller house makes sense."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 1811sq m, house 670sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $4.1 million.

INSPECT: By appointment.

CONTACT: Phil Turner, Harveys, 021 325 010 mob, 07 377 2262 home.

FEATURES: Three lounges; heated swimming pool with swim jets; studio apartment for guests or staff; lift; diesel-fired central heating; open fire; Smartwood windows with oak inside and powder coated aluminium outside; Cat5 communication cabling throughout; extensive terraces and decks.