Karaka: Recreation and relaxation

Designed for big-time entertaining and enjoying life's luxuries, this homestead oozes lavish living at every turn, writes VICKI HOLDER.

For Janine Beyer's 40th birthday, she recreated all the romance of the Venetian waterways around the lake that fronts her home in Papakura.

The guests invited to this glittering operatic occasion left their cars along the cedar-lined avenue that formed the entry to a magnificent setting. After their first cocktail they were in the mood to board the gondola - their transport for the evening.

Stopping at various points along the lake's edge for hors d'oeuvres, they punted along for a leisurely, fun-filled cruise before eventually sitting down for dinner - an eight-course Italian extravaganza - in the grand marquee erected on the sweep of lawn beside the homestead.

Cedar Lake was designed for such evenings, and Janine and her partner, Grant Evans, have enjoyed entertaining there frequently on a lavish scale. The property is also known by some as the Rural Karaka Yacht Club, as Grant hosts small remote boat regattas on the lake. The New Zealand Nationals and World Championships were also held there.

At night, when the flares around the lake are lit and lights beneath the deep eaves come on, it looks bedazzling.

Set on an expanse of undulating, lush, green, fully fenced land, the house has the mellow appearance of a country lodge. Cedar weatherboards capped by hand-cut macrocarpa roof shakes give this long, low design rustic appeal.

Grant assures the materials used in the construction make the home maintenance-free. It's the same inside, for the interior features band-sawn macrocarpa on the walls and pitched ceilings.

The living areas and three bedrooms open to a sun-drenched deck that surrounds the heated swimming pool, spa and sauna. En suite bathrooms for the bedrooms open directly through bifolds to the deck, so you can slip straight from the pool into the shower before changing. Most of the en suites feature separate toilets, while the master bedroom has his-and-hers toilets as well as separate dressing rooms.

An impressive stone fireplace takes centre stage in the open-plan living area, between the lounge and dining area. A television/entertainment room can be totally enclosed by cavity doors, leaving viewers to immerse themselves in the surround sound.

Beyond a large breakfast bar, a big, integrated, band-sawn macrocarpa kitchen with Corian benchtops caters for large-scale dinner parties. It has a generous cooking capacity, with two double St George ovens, gas hobs and a barbecue grille. Beneath bifold windows opening to an outdoor servery, additional cooking elements include a hot plate, deep fryer and wok hob, with an ice-maker below the bench. There's also a kitchen tidy incorporated into the toe-kick, which is connected to the central vacuum system to make clearing up easy.

An office or fourth bedroom is the only room in the main part of the house not to open to the east. Facing west, it looks across a pretty rear garden bedecked with rose-entwined arbours leading to horse paddocks.

Because the house is tucked low into a bowl, you can look out and check the stock grazing near the house. The east-west orientation means the couple and their guests always have somewhere warm and sheltered to escape the prevailing winds.

The four-car garaging with plenty of built-in storage leads to a self-contained apartment. Featuring its own entry, a large lounge opening to a private courtyard, a Corian kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, it's handy for guests or staff.

The gardens around the house have been landscaped for easy care. Well-groomed, irrigated lawns are shaded by specimen trees and low-flowering shrubs. A potager garden keeps the owners supplied with vegetables and grapes, and a citrus area provides fresh fruit for the gin and tonics.

The farm buildings include a two-bay utility barn suitable for a bike, trailer or mower. There are also five paddocks with excellent fencing, cattle yards and a loading race.

But this property is all about recreation and relaxation. A golf hole and polo paddock add to its enjoyment. It's an intoxicating blend of privacy and space.

Vital statistics

ADDRESS: 38 Burberry Rd, Karaka.

FEATURES: Cedar weatherboard home on beautiful pasture; private lake fed by streams; living area and three bedrooms in main house opening to deck and pool, spa and sauna; separate self-contained apartment with kitchen, lounge, two bedrooms and two bathrooms; home theatre; office; utility room with laundry facilities; four-car garaging internally accessed between main house and apartment; two large concrete water tanks under master bedroom fed from rainwater or bore; diesel central heating in main house; multiple phone lines; computerised irrigation system; sealed drive with sensor lighting.

SIZE: Land area 5.9ha; floor area 440sq m.

AUCTION: 11am, December 11, at Barfoot & Thompson's city rooms.

AGENT: Gavin Crookes, Barfoot & Thompson, Papakura. Ph 298 8029 bus; 292 4005 ah; 021 976 659 mob.