SCHOOL ZONES:
Whenuakite School, Mercury Bay Area School.
CONTACT:
Sheree Henderson, Bayleys, 027 662 9558.
AUCTION:
Nov 2, 2pm at Viaduct Harbour, Auckland.
Five generations of Eric and Shirley Wolfenden's family have enjoyed holidaying at their Hahei bach since the couple bought the property more than half a century ago.
When their children were still pre-schoolers, Eric and Shirley's go-to spot for summer camping was Martin's Bay on the Matakana coast.
That was until 1963, when a friend told them to check out Hahei because he knew that the Harsant family, who had owned the Hahei valley since 1915, was subdividing and selling off some farmland near the beach.
So Eric and Shirley bundled Gayle, then 6, Garry, 3, and Janet, 2, into their Vanguard and drove down to look at Hahei beach, which is in Mercury Bay, on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula, between Cooks Beach and Hot Water Beach.
The sheltered, golden sand beach has gentle surf and is regarded as one of the Coromandel's best beaches, where most properties are tightly held.
"It was very wet the day we went down, so there was no one in the campground. We walked along the beach and fell in love with the view," says Shirley.
"By the time we went back to look at the first section we'd looked at and had wanted to buy, it had already been sold. Then we saw Fred Harsant sitting on a horse down the road on another section we liked the look of. We asked him if it was for sale and bought it right there and then."
House for sale at 1 Christine Tce, Hahei Beach
The flat, 809 sq m corner section, at what is now 1 Christine Tce, has views straight across the water and to Mahurangi Island, looks down to Wigmore Stream and is at the east end of the beach, where tractor access for launching boats is easy.
The Wolfendens put a garage on the back of the section and holidayed there and in the campground for several years until they could afford to put in a water tank and build a family bach on their section in 1977.
The 71 sq m bach was constructed of concrete block, has aluminum joinery and a long run, flat roof, which Shirley says was designed so a second storey can be added to it.
The bach's simple layout includes an open-plan lounge and kitchen with two bedrooms and a bathroom off the main living space.
The separate, lock-up garage has plenty of room for a boat, camping gear and for extra people to stay.
The bach has been well maintained over the years and is now for sale fully furnished.
"We virtually haven't had to change a thing since we moved in, apart from appliances."
House for sale at 1 Christine Tce, Hahei Beach
Shirley says she and the children would stay at Hahei for most of the summer holidays and Eric would bring down supplies from Auckland and stay in between keeping up his bread run and a rural mail run.
"There was no shop for a long time, and very few other families with children at first. But the kids were never bored because there was so much to do and we made some really great friends over the years."
As well as swimming, boating, fishing, and digging for tuatua, there were trips to Cathedral Cove, which is half an hour's walk away, and to Pah Hill just down the road. Friends would come to the bach to play darts, billiards and for shared barbecues.
They are memories that five generations of the Wolfenden family -- including Eric's mother, the couple's three children, their eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren -- have all helped to make.
