It's a privilege to have a connection to a piece of land spanning six decades, especially when that coastal land is part of Piha's distinctive black sand environment.
John Cotton first came to Piha as a 5-year-old in the 1940s, camping with his parents and brother. In 1959 his father bought this 860sq m section and built a bach.
"It was nothing fancy," John says. "There was no need to wash the sand off their beach feet and the dog would sleep on the couch. It had a nice romantic feel."
As a teenager, John was a member of the surf club before joining the Air Force in 1963. After training in Christchurch he was posted to Singapore where he met his English wife Gillian.
"I dragged her back to New Zealand and we have been together ever since."
Gillian came from the coast of East Anglia. "That is a completely different type of beach to Piha, it's more shells and pebbles," says John. "I think the black sand gets people's attention who don't know anything about it, the iron sands.
"I have always liked Piha and I know it takes a while for a lot of people to get used to it because it is a bit wild and broody at times, especially in the winter.
"But I like the fewer people, and the wilder it is, the nicer it is, I think. Along the beach at low tide in the middle of winter, all dressed up, it's really beautiful."
When his father died 30 years ago, John bought the bach from his mother and several years later he and Gillian reclad and extended the building.
An airline posting took the couple overseas again to Brussels and then about 10 years ago they decided to live at Piha permanently, knocking the bach down to build a house "because I thought at that stage that I had retired from the airline. I never did retire, but that's another story and we have been in it ever since," he says.
They enlisted the skills of architectural designer Rex Little, a fellow bach owner at Piha.
"We just wanted a nice house to retire to, basically," says John.
"These things always wind up growing to a greater extent than you first imagine. We first started redesigning it to take advantage of its position in the sun.
"Rex was very good. He had been a neighbour with a similar bach and I had got him to do the design of the old bach when we redid that, reclad and extended the lounge.
"When we decided to do the house, Rex had sold his bach but we'd stayed in touch. I said, 'Hey I'm going to knock the bach down and build a house, would you be interested in doing the design?'
"It made sense for him to do it because he knew the place well and the advantages and disadvantages of the site."
The home is now an impressive three-level shiplap cedar-clad dwelling with Colorsteel roofing, formal garden and views of the beach in front and native bush behind.
On the level where the driveway leads into the garage are the entrance, office and laundry.
Image 1 of 4: Commute, enjoy a blissful retirement, or escape town for wild winters and fun-filled summers
Stairs lead to the main part of the house, with the kitchen on one side and, at the western end facing the beach, a living area opening to the deck. A formal lounge has access to front and rear decks, and also on this level are two double bedrooms.
The upper level has master bedroom, en suite, walk-in wardrobe and deck overlooking the sea.
A mix of large windows, skylight, shutters and glass doors -- including two distinctive round windows -- bring in natural light and allow full appreciation of the views. These include Piha landmark Lion Rock and a nearby monolith known as Cub or Monkey Rock. "The beach is 2km long and we are about halfway along, I guess."
But the couple have decided to sell. "Gillian misses the activity in town and we have a lot of boxes we want to tick before we finally go to a retirement village. The only way we will achieve all of that is to sell the house and go do what we want to do."
