Kumeu: Your own space

An English couple headed to New Zealand to find themselves room to move, which they discovered north-east of Kumeu. By CEDRIC GRAY.

Soon after Colin and Irene Jones migrated to New Zealand they bought a 1.8182ha property at Waimauku, and made so many visits to the nearby plant nursery that they ended up joining the sales staff. "We went to the nursery every week. Now we can speak about anything to do with plants with some authority," they say with a laugh.

The couple hail from Manchester in England, where Colin was a project manager for British Telecom. "We came to New Zealand looking for a bit of space," he says.

They found just that in a new residential subdivision in Greenhithe. No sooner had they moved into their new home, builders arrived on neighbouring sections. It was like living in a city again, the very lifestyle they wanted to avoid.

The rolling hills of Alf Access Rd, north-east of Kumeu, beckoned and two years ago they started landscaping the elevated section. Today, it is full of colour and variety, with exotic, native and semi-tropical species providing year-round beauty.

The views are superb - to the north across a nearby dairy farm and, almost around the clock, to peeps of the Coromandel, Rangitoto Island and Sky Tower.

They look down on their own grazing land where Colin converted a tiny shelf into a pitch-and-putt golf hole to keep visitors amused. When a neighbour's cattle had grazed the paddock he retrieved a dozen golf balls.

Now they are on the move again, with the property for sale at an asking price of $649,000. "We love every bit of the place," says Colin, "but we haven't had a proper look at New Zealand. We want to find a little place where we really want to settle down."

The stylish brick and tile home was built eight years ago. It is nicely located near the roadside, and is surrounded on three sides by the only paddock on which a handful of cattle graze. The gardens have been terraced to provide shelter from the prevailing south-westerly winds.

The north-facing house is immaculately presented. A sun-filled kitchen has quality Westinghouse appliances, attractive benchtops and a breakfast bar, and beautifully finished cupboards and fittings. It serves an adjacent morning room, or family room, and the nearby formal lounge where the striking rimu ceilings are a feature.

A passageway to the three bedrooms doubles as an art gallery. The master bedroom has a superb en suite, and another bathroom serves two nearby bedrooms. Several rooms have bifold door access to a wide outdoor deck, which is ideal for outdoor entertaining. No matter from which direction the wind blows there is always a sheltered spot.

There is an attached three-car garage with plenty of storage and a 22,500lt water tank.

The property is being marketed by Norwest, Kumeu, where Ron Fowler has more details, ph 412 8876.