Cooks Beach: Beach babe

This is what Cooks Beach is all about - sunshine, sandy bays and room to kick-back. By VICKI HOLDER.

Rod McCallum has owned several homes in various parts of the Coromandel before, but he reckons Cooks Beach is the pick of all the beaches in the area.

It's so amazing, he says, it's got to be seen to be believed. "It's a lovely, sheltered and safe family beach with no undertow. It also has great boating facilities in a sandy estuary."

He and his wife Delwyn moved to the beach permanently four years ago after having owned a holiday home here for 15 years. "We managed to buy this piece of land on the beach, in the best position on the beach front. It's twice the width of the other sections with a panoramic view," says Rod.

On Captain Cook Rd, it's an address of great historic significance. A monument 3m from the gate marks the site where Captain Cook landed and observed the transit of the planet Mercury across the sky, which happens only once every few years. Rod explains when Cook saw this happening, he could calculate the longitude of New Zealand and establish where the country was in relation to the rest of the world.

Originally, the property housed just a double garage with a flat attached. But the McCallums felt such a special piece of land deserved something far better. Property values for waterfront land had yet to skyrocket, so they could afford to sell up in Auckland and build a five-bedroom home equipped with every luxury that let them appreciate the beauty of the beach every day.

Because of the harsh, salty sea air, the McCallums chose the highest quality materials to build their home. Long-life cladding is guaranteed and the roof is a VIP Colorsteel that will never deteriorate. Smartwood window joinery features aluminium that protects from weather damage on the exterior and timber inside that gives the interiors a richness.

In the main living area, the ceilings are sarked tawa. The benchtops in the kitchen are granite. Windows are tinted and double glazed to moderate the temperature inside and keep the noise out. A reverse-cycle heat pump keeps the house warm in winter and cool in summer. Underfloor heating in the tiled areas, the two bathrooms and kitchen keeps it cosy underfoot.

A good security system includes smoke alarms, an electronic entrance beam, a video doorbell intercom system, two video cameras and five security lights. The garage doors are opened by remote.

In case they ever had health problems, the McCallums installed an internal lift big enough for a wheelchair that rises from the large, carpeted basement garage through to the living areas on the ground floor above. "We thought of everything," says Rod. They even made the openings to the bathrooms extra-wide for wheelchair access.

There are two bedrooms that open to the deck through bifolds. The master has an en suite and a family bathroom upstairs services the other two bedrooms. Another bedroom downstairs has its own en suite. A single bedroom upstairs is wired for office facilities should somebody wish to work from home.

Elevated, with sand dunes in front and a reserve to the side that follows all the way to the boat ramp, there are no close neighbours to interrupt the McCallums' peaceful privacy. The only people they can see are those walking along the beach. They can sit and relax on the huge, wide deck and watch the boats come in and out of the bay.

Friends and family can enjoy their privacy too in the comfortable separate beachfront cabin with its own facilities.

The McCallums have enjoyed their stylish home in its awesome setting, but now family beckons. As they are relocating to grow avocados in the Bay of Plenty, somebody else can call this home or use it as a magical holiday haven.

Vital Statistics
ADDRESS: 165 Captain Cook Rd, Cooks Beach.

FEATURES: Quality, modern, four-year-old beachfront home on double section; four bedrooms; two en suites; air conditioning; underfloor heating in tiled areas; quality fans and furnishings; internal lift plus external stairs; bifolds to deck; covered parking for five-six cars and boat; remote entry to garage; good security; Sky dish and connections; two outdoor showers; bore and two tankwater systems.

SIZE: Land area 835sq m.

AUCTION: Midday, October 30, on site.

AGENT: John Hunt, Ray White Cooks Beach, Whitianga. Ph 0800 445 590 bus; 0272 404 054 mob.