SCHOOL ZONES:
Gulf Harbour Primary, Whangaparaoa College.
CONTACT:
Karen Franklin, Harcourts, 021 779838.
If you go to Hayley Flint's house you are likely to be greeted by three enthusiastic and super-sized hounds.
There's Phoebe the Great Dane, Luther the already huge Newfoundland puppy, and 11-year-old Marty, the labradoodle.
The dogs, along with toddler Roman and partner Justin Thompson (a Toastmasters champ), are Hayley's world and are the reason this young family of animal lovers, who also live with two cats, are leaving the modern home they adore.
Well, Marty in particular. Hayley got him when he was a pup and found out recently he has cancer.
"He was diagnosed with cancer in January. He is a big part of the reason that we want to go to the country, so he can have a year or two living the life, hey Marty?
"He's the most loyal dog. He would honestly give his life, he's just so devoted."
The family has their eye on a 1.6ha property a little bit north but are sad to be leaving the home they fell in love with at the Shakespear Park end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula a couple of years ago.
They have views of green rolling hills and the water of Okoromai Bay.
They also love feeding the stingrays at the Gulf Harbour marina: "They come up and you just put the food straight in their mouth. That's a fun thing to be able to do," says Hayley.
The ferry leaves for the city at the marina so it's an easy commute into town.
And the family often go down to dog-friendly Okoromai Bay that is just a four-minute walk from the house Hayley describes as a "giant beach house".
People gather pipis for dinner when the tide is out and the neighbourhood footpaths are wide so youngsters can ride their bicycles in safety, or walk to one of the nearby schools.
Hayley, a Les Mills trainer, grew up at this end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula but says she and Justin were searching out in Muriwai for a house.
An ad for this place caught her eye, however, and they came and had a look. That was all it took.
"We fell in love with the house as soon as we saw it."
It features a double ceiling lounge and is stylish and modern but also comfortable and relaxed, she says.
A big bonus has been the two-bedroom unit with "the best tenants in the world". This has its own parking area.
You could keep it tenanted or it would be perfect to run a business from, Hayley says.
"It's fantastic and once you have that [rental income], it's very hard not to have that. It's insane. It's like a gift turns up in your bank account every week."
The family's favourite place is the living area, to which they added a large deck with corrugated iron surrounds that tie in with the exterior of the house.
They added non-scratch imitation wood floors, and also shutters, but otherwise the house, built in the early 2000s, was perfect as it was.
It has a grassed area where Roman plays on his trampoline, plus another deck, and the unit has its own courtyard area.
Hayley loves the master bedroom of the main house, which features an en suite, a walk-in wardrobe - and a full dressing room with views of the water and hills.
She says as you drive home down this end of the peninsula, you lose all the traffic, "and it's such a nice drive because you see all these different beaches and bays ".
