Daffodils in the front paddock, a wetland teaming with birdlife on the rear boundary and the seemingly impossible green of the lushest of Karaka's fertile rolling pastures in between, this is a lifestyle property that simply cries out for children on ponies, a family dog and contented parents in the gazebo.
Lois and Robin Gimblett have no ponies or dogs and their children are grown but they simply love the home they have created since buying it off-plan in 1997. "It might seem rather large for just the two of us," admits Lois, "but it is such an easy property to look after, it doesn't seem too big at all. We enjoy our space, and Robin always loved the idea of being a hobby farmer, so this has worked very well for us throughout the time we have been here."
During that time the Gimbletts have turned the brand new house into a comfortable home, along with landscaping the bare paddocks into what is very nearly park-like perfection. Eleven contented yearlings keep the grass under control and birdsong fills the air, even in the depths of winter.
From reading the plans, Robin and Lois could see the house offered everything they wished for in terms of size and layout. With four bedrooms, two bathrooms and an easy connection between the formal living and dining rooms at the front and the more casual family spaces grouped around the kitchen at the rear, no more than a few minor modifications to the plans the builders were working to were required to make it feel truly their own. "I think we might have changed the position of a window but no more than that," remembers Robin, "but it's such a comfortable house we would take it with us on the removal truck if we could. If we were building again we would build exactly the same. Wouldn't change a thing!"
