SCHOOL ZONES:
Mercury Bay Area School, Whenuakite School.
CONTACT:
Sheree Henderson, Bayleys, 027 662 9558.
AUCTION:
January 25, 2pm.
Sue O'Sullivan describes the people of Hahei Beach, on the Coromandel peninsula, as beachy.
"At Whitianga they're boaties, and at Cooks Beach they're players, but here it's all about the beach."
She and her husband, Neville, bought their property, just a few steps from Hahei's white sand beach, more than20 years ago. They had been farming in the Waikato and had moved to Hamilton, when one day they had the idea of finding a holiday place.
"We decided to drive up the Coromandel and look for a good spot," Sue says.
They stumbled on the property, which had been owned by a farmer who raised calves there, and saw its potential.
"It was overgrown so you couldn't see any view, and the house wasn't really completed, but we could see that we could make something of it."
They bought the property and moved in full time for the first six months, taking to the section with slashers, bringing in about 20 truckloads of metal to fill in the back section, and opening up the second access to the property, which at that time only existed on paper.
They also put some effort into clearing the direct access to the beach and, as they had a boat, a fish cleaning facility was a priority, so they built a covered pergola in the garden with its own sink and bench. That done, they started work on the house.
"When we brought our daughter to look at it she thought we were crazy," Sue says.
At the time it was built it was one of the larger houses at Hahei Beach but Sue and Neville had their own plans for it.
8 Hahei Beach Road, Hahei Beach.
They opened up the living spaces to create more light, added another bedroom and bathroom, and more decks. The two-level home now easily accommodates extended family and friends with four bedrooms -- two on each level, two bathrooms and open-plan living spaces on both levels.
"And because this is such a lovely, friendly valley, we've all used each other's houses for extra space when needed," Sue says.
There are ranch sliders from most of the living spaces and bedrooms, and most activities in summer take place on the decks, where there's plenty of room for outdoor dining or sitting looking at the view. A deck space directly outside the kitchen has another sink and bench for fish filleting, and direct access to the inside through sliding windows.
Timber sarking and carpet in the living areas, as well as an efficient log burner, make the house a cosy holiday retreat, even in winter.
Over time the O'Sullivans also worked on
the section, keeping the impressive pohutukawa and planting many ferns, which, Sue says, are
what make the setting magical.
The house is well away from the road and, at over 1100sq m, the well-planted garden gives it seclusion without obstructing the view. A stream runs through the section down to the beach.
There's been more work on the building in recent times with a new roof and a repaint, changing it from its original "funny yellow colour" to smart black, which has given it a contemporary twist.
Sue and Neville have now spent their last family Christmas at the beach house and their next move, they say, will bring them somewhere that's a bit more central to family.
