SCHOOL ZONES:
Dairy Flat School, Albany junior and senior high schools.
CONTACT:
Jackie Smith, Bayleys, 021 505 520.
Fiona Fenwick is a reputation consultant and public speaker, but deep down she wants to be Felicity Kendal, or, rather, Kendal's character Barbara Good in the TV show The Good Life.
Fiona has made quite a bit of that good life come true on her Dairy Flat property just minutes from Albany, which she says on a good day is a mere 15 minutes from Auckland city.
There are grape vines and olive trees, an orchard with everything from plums to cherries and almonds, and for Christmas two years ago husband Martin built an avocado orchard to surprise her.
In return, she gave Martin, a leadership coach, a beehive for his birthday. They make their own honey and have printed their own label, "Moorevin, made by happy bees", named after the two places -- yes, two -- where they got married, the then Hotel du Vin near Pokeno and on the beach at Moorea, Tahiti.
They had the house built 10 years ago to their own specifications on the Goodland Country Estate, a managed estate off Dairy Flat Highway that has a clubhouse, tennis courts and other shared areas.
The house is a short drive up the hill past paddocks with sheep, and Fiona and Martin were delighted when their home won gold in a House of the Year competition.
"We set out to build the house to be exactly how we wanted to live in it, our forever home, and so we wanted it to be resort-like and sanctuary-like. If I could sum it up in two words, it would be resort and sanctuary."
Perhaps the most unusual room is the cinema. Movie buff Fiona says people at the time were talking about movie rooms "but we thought, 'no, we want to build a cinema', so we did".
Everyone thought they were crazy and people questioned the purple colour "but to a person, when it was finished everyone wanted to come back and see it, they all wanted to sit in it. We've used it every day in the 10 years we've been here."
Because it's sound-proof, no one can hear when Martin plays his electric guitar. The cinema also has a bar, so watching a movie or test match with a margarita is a regular occurrence.
Off the cinema aisle-like hallway is another door that leads to the children's wing of the house.
"We thought teenage years are looming and we just thought let's future-proof it for their friends, and for visitors from overseas."
Along with bedrooms in the wing, there's a lounge, a guest room, another bathroom and a laundry/kitchenette.
Image 1 of 7: Film buff Fiona and partner Martin wanted to build a house that had a resort-like feel
Fiona says they became the headquarters for every sports team in the area and hosted sleepovers of sometimes 20 teenagers -- she used to run a party company on the side and says they were pretty popular parents.
Most of the doors open on to the patio area, as does the entertainer's kitchen, and there is a private master suite, other living areas, a pool, a spa pool, and an outdoor seating area.
Fiona wanted the pool to swim lengths in, so it's longer than usual and 2m deep.
There's even a bush walk created by native trees they planted, and two separate offices.
From Scotland, "we came to New Zealand for New Zealand", Fiona says, and though still in love with their now almost-forever home they have decided to move to somewhere even more sustainable, perhaps this time with a couple of cows (Martin makes cheese) and a kunekune pig -- and another cinema, of course.
