SCHOOL ZONES:
Pakaraka and Oromahoe primaries, Kerikeri High School.
CONTACT:
Carolyn Smith, LJ Hooker, 0274 570 062
Melita and Lindsay Gray have enjoyed living in Pakaraka in the Bay of Islands so much that when it came time to sell their farm seven years ago, they retained their home and the surrounding 11.61ha.
They had been farming beef, adding to the initial parcel of land they had bought 20 years ago until they had built it up to 323ha.
The four-bedroom, three-bathroom weatherboard homestead they built in 1998 has also been extended. Twelve years ago they added the "guest house" wing with three bedrooms, separated from the main part of the home by a three-car garage with loft.
"We built the home in a colonial style because of the historical environment we lived in," says Melita, explaining how Pakaraka was settled in 1835 by Reverend Henry Williams.
The inland settlement is about 20 minutes from Kerikeri or Paihia when anyone feels like heading into town or getting out on the water.
"And of course we are also close to all the beautiful Northland beaches; we are only about 40 minutes up to Matauri Bay," says Melita.
The couple designed the house and it was built by some "old school" builders out of Paihia, who Lindsay had known for a long time. "My husband's background is building and he has always been very particular how things are built."
The main part of the home now has three bedrooms (plus the loft), an open-plan kitchen/dining/ family room, a separate lounge and study. The guest house has three bedrooms, one bathroom, a separate kitchen and a living room.
There is a gas fire in the guest house; a large open fire in the lounge and a Jayline firebox in the family room of the main home, plus underfloor heating in the tiled areas.
The land the Grays have retained is fenced into nine paddocks, grazed now by the new owner of their farm as the couple spend a lot of time travelling. Those paddocks have troughs and 80,000-litre water storage plus there is a large pond and an easement to a natural spring.
Their home's flexible layout means it has hosted family functions and opened its doors to a lot of visitors.
Image 1 of 6: Adding a wing to this homestead has increased the options for its new owners, writes Donna McIntyre
"We have had family staying in the guest house for long periods of time. It is very easy to have a lot of people in that house, because it is two separate residences," says Melita.
"The whole idea was we wanted our guests to walk into the house and feel comfortable, they could put their feet up and not feel that they couldn't touch anything. It was a warm, family type home. But it could be used for B&B farmstays or having mum and dad living there, or a grown up family and their children."
Last year the couple renovated their home inside and out, repainting, re-carpeting, re-draping, updating the bathrooms with new double vanities and replacing bench tops and appliances in the kitchen.
"We wanted to bring in some warmer colours, new fabrics and tones to enhance the home and modernise the colonial look," says Melita.
Their country style garden has stone walls, large lawns and mature specimen trees which have thrived in the rich volcanic soil.
Flanking the driveway are liquidambars.
"And we have rural views that is what we will miss because it is so private with beautiful scenery.
"We have loved Pakaraka and this has been a beautiful home but we are moving to Paihia to build a lock-and-leave townhouse because we are getting a bit older and we spend a lot of time overseas. The children have all grown up and moved out of the area. It is time to scale down, sadly."
Melita thinks the home will appeal to a wide cross section: retired farmers, extended families or someone who wants to run a country B&B. "Because of the privacy between the two homes you can be independent of one another.
"And my husband loves the man shed we built. It has a great man cave, separate from the home."
