On a clear day you can see forever" is not just a line from a song when it comes to Fern Ridge Hideaway, near Kaitaia.
This house is 400m above sea level and the view takes in Ninety Mile Beach, Cape Reinga, and the east and west coasts.
John andErin Collings discovered the 24ha site when John was working on a property down below and was told the land was for sale.
"He came home and said, 'You just have to come and look at this'," Erin says. "I walked up the track, climbed a tree and saw the view, and I knew we had to have it."
John has a family farm in the Far North so they weren't looking at making their own home at Fern Ridge. Instead they decided to build a holiday home there and both knew it had to work with nature.
The site is virtually all native bush -- John loves that there are no lawns to mow -- so a log cabin-style house seemed appropriate. Erin drew up designs and New Zealand Log Chalets finalised the plans and got the project started. The house was built as a kitset and put up on site.
Built of redwood cedar, it has an open plan living, dining and kitchen area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, all of which open to decks that afford panoramic views across the bush to the coasts.
The warm timber finish of the logs inside is leavened by off-white ceilings and tiled floors, and the kitchen is a hand-built masterpiece with angled timber cupboards inset with panels of blonde ply.
Image 1 of 6: The trees are within touching distance and you can lie in the bath listening to the kiwi in the bush
It wasn't a straightforward build. The property is surrounded by DOC land and there were hiccups. But Erin was determined and the project was completed in two years.
As well as having the look of an eco-style log cabin, it walks the talk. It's on hydro-power so it's entirely off the grid, with excellent gravity-fed water supplied by a spring further up the hill. Every appliance has been chosen for its efficiency, and even the septic tank, which works on a tiger worm system, is in harmony with nature.
"It's great to be able to show people just what you can achieve," Erin says. She and John have enjoyed putting the finishing touches on the house and she is especially proud of the outdoor bath on the deck. "You can lie in the bath and hear the kiwi in the bush."
The bath is a beautifully curved model from Bali, and the plumbing (the water is heated by califont) is concealed inside a big old tree stump brought from John's home farm.
Ornamental grass is planted on top.
There are decks around three sides of the house and plenty of places to sit, lie or bathe in complete solitude. The bush is within touching distance right around and a glass balustrade stops you feeling as though you might fall into it.
Despite the extraordinarily remote location, Kaitaia is only 15 minutes away, although Erin concedes the metal drive to the house is steep and a little nerve-racking for the faint-hearted. "But we've put plenty of signs up to direct drivers and there's never been a car that hasn't made it."
When Fern Ridge sells, she and John have another challenging project in mind.
They're planning to build an earthship house for themselves from mud and recycled tyres on John's home farm.
