Mike Scaddam is a practitioner of positive thinking. When he decided in 2000 to buy this idyllic property, 15km from the centre of Tauranga, he was $5000 off the agreed price.
"I had two other houses but I wanted to keep them as rentals," he says. "Within three days I won $5250 on Bonus Bonds.
"I was a school principal at that stage and I shouted the staff $250 in pizzas and wine. With the other $5000 I gave the guy a cheque."
For Mike and his wife Fiona the main attractions of this property are the privacy and freedom it offers from its elevated position, the dynamic views over the Kaimai Range, the Coromandel Peninsula, Mayor and Aldermen islands and into Tauranga harbour and on to Mount Maunganui apartments.
"The sunset and sunrise are absolutely beautiful," says Mike. "You get this feeling of openness. The closest neighbours are about two kilometres away."
Mike and Fiona extended the house that had been built as accommodation for people attending conferences.
665a Minden Road, Tauranga. Photo / Supplied
Now it has three bedrooms plus an office. They added a new bathroom with floor-to-ceiling windows and a large bath that has views of the Kaimais.
A lounge was made into a dining room; a new lounge was added. The garage attached to the home was converted to another lounge/media room, plus there is a separate conversation area inside the home.
Two outside spaces accommodate a spa and areas for a barbecue and pizza oven.
Also, on the property are a four-car garage, which has the gym, and a 75sq m seminar room with a toilet and shower.
"My wife says it is the best commute in the world to walk from the house down through the bush to the seminar room to meet with a client," says Mike.
"We have had a lot of special events here including 21sts. Fiona and I got married here two-and-a-half years ago.
"The seminar room caters easily for about 50 people. We have often thought that would be an ideal place for weddings or funeral parties. There is a very special feeling.
"We have a pool table and table tennis table in the seminar room. That would be a great space for teenage-plus family to come and have their own space."
As well as extending the home, Mike and Fiona turned their attention to their near 2ha of land.
"It is in an organic property and it was originally part of the farm," says Mike.
"We found that the farm soil was absolutely no good in the summer.
