"We put the message out there and it just happened, through a friend."
On an estuary, the 1.4ha section had views and bush and "we thought 'Ha ha, this is it'."
The Cairns employed Dave Strachan, of Strachan Group Architects, and gave him a specific brief for their new home.
"It had to be flat, he had to design a full-size tennis court, a swimming pool, all rooms opening on to the deck. All our rooms, bedrooms, study, living room, dining room, kitchen open on to this amazing deck.
"It was a huge ask but that's what we wanted and we achieved it. When Dave and his team came up with this design, well, he's just done an amazing job."
The house was runner-up in House of the Year when they moved in, Christina says.
The heart and spine of the house are Australian hardwood wharf beams, which are three deep in some places, including some outdoors, giving it a special character.
Image 1 of 6: Providing all the peace and tranquillity you could wish for, this home also offers a pool and tennis court.
"I think the main feature is the entertainment area.
"We can play tennis and we can swim, and we can entertain -- it's almost the ultimate in entertaining."
The house is nestled into the bank so is sheltered from wind and is on Glen Eden estuary.
To the east are views to the sandspit, Matakana River and the harbour and in front is Rainbows End peninsula and Mt Tamahanga, and to the left farmland.
Magnolia trees hug the driveway, and custom-designed front doors, which are at least three metres high, lead into a large foyer.
"From there you walk into the kitchen and then you go 'wow' and look out through the living room/dining room, past the internal fireplace and come outside to this view."
The house is a long structure with a single span roof and the minute you walk in, you think "sanctuary".
"The only noise we hear is the occasional runabout that goes up the estuary in the weekends or the tuis fluttering past, and we have quite a lot of tuis because we have bush either side, or the kereru flapping past."
There are also kookaburra and morepork in the two acres on either side of the house.
"There's a little orchard on the left hand side, and then we can walk down to the actual estuary and we've even put the flounder net out."
There is also a vegetable garden and a landscaped garden that merges with the bush.
On the doorstep is the new marina at Sandspit and a cafe and they are only 10 minutes to Warkworth or Matakana, which have picture theatres and markets.
The couple left Auckland to slow down and while they have loved every minute here, they need something smaller. They plan to stay in the area, though: "It's possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world."
