CONTACT:
Marcus Hill & Ian Buchanan, Ray White, ph 021 430 665 (Marcus) or 021 647 192 (Ian).
*Games room can be third
The property has entertained friends and family with everything from tadpoling to a wedding and parties featuring gumboot throwing and clay bird shooting.
Combine a secluded, wonderfully landscaped country lifestyle with panoramic views and a smattering of zombies and you have Torquil, a property that converted the owners from being lifelong townies.
Okay, zombies are a little jarring around waterfall-fed ponds, a tennis court, verdant orchards and raised vege beds, however they did briefly lurch around here.
Ian and Libby McCorkindale's north-facing home looks out over the front paddock to a view that proffers Rangitoto Island, the city and harbour like a painting.
"You feel connected to the city but you get to enjoy this wonderful peace and privacy," says Libby.
Through an association with Libby's son, the zombie comedy music video for Tim Finn's 1997 song, Death of a Popular Song, was shot in that front paddock. But tranquillity usually reigns here, impressing the McCorkindales nearly 20 years ago when they wanted more land than their Remuera home had.
They named it Torquil after the Danish prince who long ago joined the fight for Scottish independence as McCorkindale is a later iteration of that name.
They had an easy transition to rural life thanks to thoughtfully contoured land, automated water pumps and a solid home designed by the previous owner's brother. The engineer who'd owned this as part of a larger holding eyed its perfect building site to subdivide. He studied its contouring and sited the 1991 brick home for the sun.
"We think the view is magnificent. Sometimes I'll be out in the garden and all of a sudden I'll catch sight of five or six gliders, circling on the same thermal.
"We love the subtle detailing throughout the house, which has a quiet elegance."
The home includes cedar sarked ceilings, built-in book cases and well-positioned french doors opening to where Libby's created enchanting gardens.
The formal dining room steps down to a formal lounge with hearty fire and wide bay window which takes in a tranquil spread of garden, lawn and trees ever-changing with the play of sun and shadows.
Ian admires the far-reaching view from the family room with woodburner, which is beside the spacious kitchen-informal dining area.
From here you can hear the tinkling water running between pools in a large-scale rocky water feature. The home is swathed in outdoor living areas and patios.
Near the entrance foyer, the master suite with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe opens to a pergola interwoven with roses.
Three more bedrooms, including one Ian uses as an office, accompany another bathroom, laundry and a small storage room. Internal access garaging can be double or triple as the games room has a garage door.
Image 1 of 4: This property's outlook takes in Rangitoto, the city and its harbour
Raised vegetable beds embrace a rear utility courtyard. A picturesque shed (with toilet) provides storage for gardens Libby has lavished love upon.
She admits to having employed her "best fishwife" voice when she spotted her husband eyeing a mature stand of poplars as the site for their full-size AstroTurf tennis court. She convinced him it'd be better suited to a spot closer to their citrus orchard and olive grove, complemented by a rustic ponga summer-house offering shade.
The property has entertained friends and family with everything from tadpoling to a family wedding and parties featuring gumboot throwing and clay bird shooting.
Ian's health is prompting them to sell, so they can move nearer a cluster of grandchildren.
