Whitford: Something special

It's big, it's beautiful and it offers a wonderful lifestyle for the modern family, writes VICKI HOLDER.

Plump young quails guard the entry to Quails Croft - a magnificent country estate on the waterfront in Whitford.

Fashioned from bronze, the sculptures are a feature of the automatic wrought-iron gates, along with the thorny, clambering man-made branches bursting with fat, bronze rosebuds. A labour of love, these handsome gates, which are supported by sandstone pillars, took 750 hours to make.

The expansive beauty of the park-like grounds beyond demanded something special to protect the property and make an eloquent statement as they welcomed visitors inside. The gates were the finishing touch to the house and gardens, which took owners Susanna and David Lee 22 years to develop.

The Lees came from a farm and were familiar with the planning and hard work involved in developing such a big property. The first stage was to build the large brick family home, featuring a steep gambrel roof.

Straddling the family area and kitchen, the two separate bedroom wings treat the parents and children to their own spaces. Susanne and David have a large bedroom suite and the children's wing comprises four bedrooms and an office off the entry foyer. It leads to the three-car garaging, which has a huge carpeted and air-conditioned games room above it.

Designed more like a farmhouse than a city home, the house has considerable storage. Numerous rooms are dedicated to specific functions and tasks. The family area has a freezer room, a good-sized laundry and a room with a sink and benchtop for potting plants.

The kitchen is equipped with a step-in larder and a small bar nook with a hatch for serving drinks to people in the formal room. The pull-out storage is plentiful around a massive Corian island bench with corner sinks. Two Gaggenau wall ovens complement the sturdy gas hobs and barbecue grill.

Great for entertaining, the enormous, beautifully proportioned formal lounge and dining room easily accommodates large parties. A tall, coved ceiling reflects the line of the roof exterior. The panels within the pretty floral wallpaper beneath the dado line create blank areas for displaying artwork. A gas fire framed in black marble warms the room at one end. Windows on both sides of the room provide views of the garden and beyond towards Turanga Estuary, the Whitford Inlet, Howick and Rangitoto Island.

A large conservatory was added to the formal lounge and kitchen-family area several years ago to extend the entertaining areas. The doors can be left open in summer to allow gentle breezes to cool the whole house.

Sandstone pavers extend from the parking area to the front door and to an outdoor living area that continues from the conservatory. Relaxed outdoor entertaining can be enjoyed on the built-in seating beneath a huge, fixed sun umbrella.

Banks of plants within the substantial sandstone retaining walls embrace the sprawling terraced lawns, which gradually step down towards the trees that give shelter from the wind. Susanne enjoys witnessing the changing seasons as the deciduous trees offer surprises all year round. She has over 100 maples, many rhododendrons, magnolias and other shrubs and specimen trees. Roses climb over various structures that have been built to appreciate the gardens, including pergolas and a gazebo. Bog plants and succulents climb through rocks that surround a large fishpond at the entry. The generous potager garden yields an abundance of fresh vegetables.

The walk back to the house takes in the impressive Hinuera stone pool pavilion. Another dazzling entertainment venue, the pavilion - complete with a 15m heated pool - is filled with light that pours in through the glazed roof. Seven sets of arched french doors can be opened to enjoy the fabulous garden views.

At the other end of the pavilion, a rose-draped pergola leads back to an area of the house that has the best aspect of the rolling pasture through a break in the shelter hedge.

And there's even more to this lifestyle property. Across the road, a pretty three-bedroom cottage - set in a cottage garden - is the perfect place to accommodate any staff who may be required to assist with the upkeep of a property like this.


Vital Statistics


ADDRESS: 397 Clifton Rd, Whitford.

FEATURES: Large brick home on clifftop in park-like grounds; tiled roof; automatic gates; harbour views; five bedrooms - master with en suite; two bathrooms plus powder room and several toilets; office; carpeted air-conditioned rumpus room above three-car garage; large formal room with gas fire; family dining and sitting room with fireplace; substantial conservatory; good storage areas; heated swimming pool in pavilion; vegetable garden; three-bedroom gardener's cottage on separate block of land.

SIZE: Main house and cottage on 3.25ha; adjacent bare land on 1.529ha.

AUCTION: 7pm, November 18, at Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, Half Moon Bay.

AGENT: Christine Fowler, Ray White Mountfort Estate Agents. Ph 535 8128 bus; 021 930 529 mob.