CONTACT:
Jeneen Binsted, 09 425 7889 or 0275 367 107; Margaret Olsen, 0274 787 132, Harcourts
Most kiwi kids wanting an ice cream either stroll or bike to the nearest dairy. For the Rothwell children of Matakana, trips for an ice cream involved swimming across the harbour to Sandspit.
It was the promise of just such a wholesome outdoor lifestyle that attracted the seafaring English family to New Zealand 15 years ago. They'd lived in many coastal areas in the UK and Europe, following dad Mark around on his naval career, but when they resolved to put down roots they looked to more distant shores.
"We decided we wanted a complete change," says Mark's wife, Elizabeth. "And New Zealand came top of the list."
Elizabeth reckons they didn't find the Matakana region -- it found them. Before they relocated, Mark secured a job in Warkworth over the phone. They found a home to rent and vowed to try out the area for six months before making long-term plans.
With the children aged seven and eight, Mark and Elizabeth wanted a home that would give them a sense of freedom to grow and explore, while allowing the family to indulge their passion for boating and sailing.
They were exploring Sandspit one spring day when Elizabeth spotted a quiet settlement across the Matakana River mouth. It was surrounded by water on three sides, set among plenty of trees, and she figured it would have views of both the river and the ocean.
A short drive later, they found a house for sale -- or, as Elizabeth says, it found them. The for sale sign had just gone out in front of an elevated six-year-old cedar home neatly built down a sloping third of an acre, just 120 paces from the nearest boat ramp.
Image 1 of 9: An English couple found a special family home in an incredible location. Photos / Fiona Goodall, Getty Images
The views were as jaw-dropping as Elizabeth had predicted, with nearly every room in the house -- including the master bathroom -- looking out over the yacht-dotted river mouth and harbour to Kawau Bay and Kawau Island.
Elizabeth was determined not to be seduced. She turned her back on the windows and forced herself to focus on the house. It was built across three levels, with the living areas at the top, surrounded by decks, three bedrooms including the master in the middle also opening to decks, and a lower floor that could be developed into a guest room or rumpus.
They all but signed up on the spot -- and Elizabeth says the home has proved to be everything they'd hoped for, and more. They developed the downstairs area into a guest suite that doubles as extra living, office or entertaining space, with decks that step out to a heated lap pool.
By day they can kayak, sail, swim or paddleboard, or just sit and drink tea on their decks and spot the ripples from stingrays hunting flounder in the shallows, and by night they can soak in their spa pool, marvelling at the star-filled sky and chatting to the moreporks in the puriri trees.
"We wanted to live somewhere the children could fall out of bed, roll down the hill and go out in a kayak or learn to sail," Elizabeth says. "That's exactly what happened. They had a marvellous free-ranging childhood."
With the kids in their early twenties, Elizabeth and Mark have decided to downsize to a smaller home in the same community, and explore other parts of the country.
"We've been privileged to live here, and there's no way we were going to leave the area, but it's time for another family to enjoy this house," Elizabeth says. "It's a very, very special place."
