SCHOOL ZONES:
Hobsonville Point and Massey high schools, Whenuapai Primary.
CONTACT:
Richard Milne, 021 770 611, Premium.
When Kay and Brian Weatherly wanted space, tranquillity and privacy they found all that and more at the very tip of Herald Island.
Their house is at the end of a peninsula on the island -- it's like living in the middle of a stately park surrounded by the sea, Kay says.
There's a private beach and a deep blue pool, there's a new jetty near completion and every room in the house ("including the dunny") has a sea view.
Kay, a GP, loves coming home across the causeway that connects Herald Island to the mainland, driving the short distance to the end of the island then sweeping up her long driveway.
You leave all the hustle behind when you get to Herald Island, then you leave Herald Island itself behind when you get to the driveway, she says.
Though private and peaceful here, it's still just 20 minutes to the CBD in off-peak traffic and Kay is heartbroken to be leaving so soon.
She, Brian and daughters Rebecca and Frances have only been here a year since returning from England and were just getting settled in, she says, but Brian's work means they must move on.
Brian, who manages a software company, first spotted the property, she says.
He was looking on Google maps and said "wow, look at all that land and all that sea view and the location".
As chance would have it, a month later the house was on the market, and they bought it.
Kay says they loved the location so much they didn't care much what the house was like, but the house turned out to be lovely as well.
The original house was added to by a house relocated from Mt Roskill and the parts joined together by the impressive entry way, she says, and another renovation added the top layers.
On the ground floor is the big kitchen with walk-in pantry, formal and informal lounges and a formal dining area with a table that seats 12.
Image 1 of 8: Cross the causeway and arrive in your own world. Photos / Michelle Hyslop
There is a guest wing with en suite and another guest room above the kitchen with an en suite, all with sea views, of course.
"The second upstairs" has the family bedrooms, where both daughters have rooms with sea views, and the master bedroom has a balcony with a view of the pool below and the sea.
This room has a walk-in wardrobe and big en suite and Kay points across to Lucas Creek and Albany one way and then towards Whenuapai and The Riverhead Pub another way.
"We were hoping to get a little outboard boat and zip up for lunch then zip back again but we haven't managed that."
The house provides an enormous capacity to have friends and family around, she says.
You can't get on top of each other -- it absorbs people.
Outside is low maintenance, which sounds crazy with such a large amount of land, she says, but once the lawns are mown there is not much else to do. A new jetty is almost complete and will mean a boat can be tied up or a kayak launched independently of the tides.
The bird life is abundant, too, with herons, kingfishers, kereru and tui.
The location is great for access to cafes and shops and all the new amenities at Hobsonville, she says.
She will miss the property: "The whole privacy, isolation, the magic of having the water around you is just so tranquil. You come home and it doesn't matter what your day's like, it's just like 'ahh'."
