Enjoy a life less ordinary in Warkworth

526 Sandspit Rd, Warkworth. Photo / Supplied

526 SANDSPIT RD WARKWORTH

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SIZE: Land 14.495ha, house 88sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $965,000.

INSPECT: By appointment.

ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/184036

SCHOOL ZONES: Warkworth School, Mahurangi College.

CONTACT: John Barnett, Bayleys, ph (09) 425 7640 or 021 790 393.

FEATURES: Lifestyle property on the outskirts of Warkworth with 13 paddocks of undulating farmland, approximately 2ha of covenanted native bush, and river access. Buildings include a 1980s three-bedroom Keith Hay home with 360-degree views, a concrete-floored 170sq m implement shed and a 99sq m hay shed.

Rachel Fletcher is unashamedly a country girl. She grew up in Puhoi and, like most young people, decided to head for the bright lights of the city. But it wasn't really her.

So it's hardly surprising she married a local country boy, her late husband Bruce, and was pretty happy, when, 15 years ago, he took her to their new home just two minutes' drive from Warkworth.

The house was basic - a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Keith Hay home, which was functional rather than luxurious. And there was also the original three-bedroom cottage - which had never had electricity and was in a pretty poor state, but with a new roof so it could be used for storage

However, they were about the only ordinary things about the property, which runs between Mahurangi River and Sandspit Rd.

When Bruce bought the land off his mother's estate, it had already been in the family for three generations. His great-grandfather bought it as part of a larger block, which has since been subdivided, and used to row down the river to the Warkworth Cement Works to a fulltime job every day, on top of running the farm.

Bruce also had a fulltime job and decided to turn the land into his "hobby", making all the improvements after work, during the weekends and while on holiday.

The almost 14.5ha had very little in the way of working-farm infrastructure - it was just a large section with a lot of native bush.

He fenced it into 13 paddocks and built a 170sq m implement shed and a 99sq m hay shed. He put in an 800m driveway. The land acquired cattle yards and covered yards.

Rachel says the first thing Bruce did when she moved into the property was take her for a walk down to the river - about 15 minutes from the house - to show her the environment down there. It's a favourite spot for fishing, swimming and kayaking, and nowadays you can watch the restored scow, Jane Gifford, sailing past.

Jane soon came to realise that although the house may have been basic, the views out the windows or off the spacious decks were anything but.

"It's actually called Compassview because the views up here are amazing," she says. "On a clear day from one side you can see the Barrier. Out my lounge window I can see the top of Rangitoto."

Rachel brought some of her beloved horses in - at the moment she has five - and set up jumps in the flat front paddock in front of the house, where she could watch her children Ben, 13, and Meg, 11, practise from the comfort of indoors.

Rachel loves the property and reckons it has the best of both worlds. "It's like you are in your own little wonder world, but you are so close to town ... if you run out of milk it's not even five minutes down the road."

There's a school bus at the bottom of the driveway, Warkworth's just a few minutes away - and yet there is all the space, an abundance of native birdlife, and even a glow-worm grotto.

But six years ago, Bruce died suddenly. Since then Rachel has been raising Ben and Meg and working part-time. She has reluctantly come to the conclusion that, as much as she loves it, the property is simply too much work.

"My kids love it here, and they are going to be very sad to leave. They will have some fantastic memories."

Practicality is winning out over sentiment, however, and Rachel wants to find a more manageable property somewhere nearby.