For Jason Devliotis, it was checking out the old bach here and its sea view by peering over the back fence of the Herald Island Domain, then buying it without having seen inside.
For Cathy, who had recently moved to Auckland from Queenstown, it was discovering only then where Herald Island lay on the map.
It was the fun they had living in the bach they bought in 2003, with views out through the second-hand front window which Jason installed in a hole he cut out of the wall with a chainsaw.
Two years and a new baby later, they were ready to build the new home they badly needed - inspired by the bigger views from Riverhead to Albany they could see from the roof of the bach.
Jason gave that bach away, refusing to take even a bottle of whisky as payment because he didn't want the new owner coming back for his bottle if the bach turned out to be a dud.
Cathy and Jason engaged architectural designer Brent Olsen to roll out basement garaging and mid-level living and bedrooms and upstairs bedrooms.
The leafy water backdrop reminded them of Kerikeri and the Bay of Islands.
Their vision for this solid masonry, three-storey home was reminiscent of Jason's grandfather's house in Thessaloniki in Greece.
"They built houses there that are hundreds of years old and we wanted to build a home that could still be here in two or three hundred years' time.
"We could have built it more cheaply, but if you're going to go to all that trouble then you might as well build it solidly."
The entire mid-level family living area opens out beyond the sheltered veranda and large deck.
51 The Terrace, Herald Island, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
"It's incredibly simple. We just wanted to build as big an area as we could for living in," says Cathy.
On the same level two bedrooms and an adjacent lounge open to the rear garden.
Upstairs the front master bedroom and the two rear bedrooms unfold around a central light-filled atrium that brings the magic of sunsets and a full moon into the heart of the house.
Integrity extends beyond the concrete structure, too.
Matching interior and exterior balustrades are solid steel.
The chimney was built for log-burning fireplaces even though the dual indoor/outdoor gas fireplaces in the living area and a single fireplace in the master bedroom are gas-fuelled.
In the kitchen, all storage was deliberately set under the benches to keep the space uncluttered. Generous above and below-bench pantry storage is in the scullery.
Behind that, the separate laundry opens off the hallway.
The designer's choice of the deep warm tones of the unifying floor tiles was inspired by the foliage of the tea tree in the original garden.
In the bathrooms, those same tiles are on the walls for a sleek, sophisticated complementary look.
Jason and Cathy began this house design with four bedrooms in mind, but prior to building, they added the rear fifth bedroom, bathroom and living area for Jason's father Timos.
He lived with them for seven years before going into care, passing away at the end of March.
With the memory of his entrepreneurial spirit in mind, Jason, Cathy and daughter Cleo (11) are returning to Cathy's roots in Otago as the new owners of the Arrowtown House Boutique Hotel.
"You can't just sit in the most beautiful spot on earth and do nothing," says Jason. "You have to get out and do things, have adventures and we feel we can do that now."
