With the country lifestyle and its advantages becoming increasingly popular, Dennis and Rosalie Dominikovich consider themselves lucky to have been part of the community at Awhitu, about an hour's drive southwest of Auckland.
They found the people of the area a big drawcard and will miss them when they move from the 9.5ha estate they bought 12 years ago.
Rosalie and Dennis moved into the small Lockwood house that was on the land and began to plan a lifestyle that would acknowledge their Croatian heritage.
After a couple of years they had sorted out their thoughts on a new home and built another Lockwood -- this time a 250sq m country house. The wish list was for a design that was spacious but homely, that would handle the influx of children and grandchildren coming to stay and provide indoor and outdoor space for entertaining.
"They both liked to be sociable, especially Dad," says son Chris.
The house has four bedrooms including a master with en suite, another bathroom and a well-designed open-plan living area with a big, modern kitchen as its hub. The timber interior adds a sense of warmth and contributes to the house's country feel, while plenty of windows -- some floor to ceiling, fill the rooms with light.
The living area and the master bedroom have French doors opening to broad timber decks, which then step down to a spacious paved terrace set up with a big pizza oven to feed guests.
"Dad loved having people around and he had the pizza oven built about a year ago. He loved experimenting with his pizzas and put a lot of effort into perfecting the art."
Image 1 of 6: Young olive grove holds promise for future on a property that offers beautiful lifestyle today
Making pizzas wasn't Dennis' only skill. The land is planted with about 50 fruit trees and he enjoyed cooking from those.
A year ago, he planted 1800 olive trees with the idea of eventually getting a press going. These trees are still young, but there are other, mature olives planted around the house. "Dad was always doing something; he always had a project on," Chris says.
Dennis' enthusiasm for enhancing the land drove the massive landscaping project which gave the property eight ponds -- designed for both aesthetic and practical purposes -- and the elevated house site, which gave the home extensive sea views.
Dennis and Rosalie worked on the gardens surrounding the house and there's a lovely mix of casual and formal planting, native and exotic shrubs and trees. Birdlife is encouraged here, with ducks and pukeko enjoying the ponds, native birds in the trees and quail socialising on the decks.
The property is within 3km of three of Awhitu's best beaches and the area also boasts the bustling Awhitu Country Markets, held on the last Sunday of each month. There's a boutique clifftop vineyard, a regional park and the historic Manukau Heads Lighthouse -- one of only a few in New Zealand open to the public.
Despite the attractions and its spectacular coastal aspect, Awhitu is a secluded spot, and it's the peace and privacy here that Rosalie will miss the most.
