Not many people build a five bedroom, five bathroom, three living room house and then a matching two bedroom cottage unless they plan to run a B and B, but Don and Deb Bloodworth had only their own family in mind when they embarked on this project.
They had a unique 3.5 hectare piece of waterfront land at Okura - Deb’s family had had a dairy farm here originally - and Don felt that such an amazing site required an extraordinary house.
The house at 107 Warman Road, Okura, Auckland, is just 50 metres from the Okura River, across a broad, manicured lawn bordered by native planting. Don and Deb have planted thousands of flaxes here - although not all at once, Don emphasises. “It’s been a gradual thing. When you have a property like this you’re building the picture all the time.”
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This low landscaping ensures the views are not obscured. The exceptionally wide water frontage looks right down the Okura River, across to the reserve and west as far as the eye can see. Don, Deb and the hundreds of tui, herons, pukeko and rosellas revel in their proximity to the water. The land here is flat so the house feels as if it’s just above the river.
“It makes for very easy living,” Don says. “You can walk right out into the garden without any change of level. We’ve lived on steep properties before, and it makes everything hard work.”
Here the garden has been kept deliberately easy-care with a pohutukawa-lined driveway, planting around the perimeter of the property, and the big, flat lawn which is handled easily by the ride-on.
For sale by negotiation, the property has been the venue for serval weddings and garden parties and the big house has accommodated large numbers with ease.
Constructed of concrete block with a barrel-tiled roof, the gabled house has been built in classic country style. Arched windows add character while expanding the views from inside, and sliding and stacker doors give access to paved terraces from the living and dining areas and the bedrooms.
The main house has five very large bedrooms with equally spacious, full bathrooms. Three living areas offer a choice of spaces for relaxing or entertaining. The smaller dwelling, built in 2000 of insulclad plaster with cavity, has two spacious bedrooms and living spaces with views to the water.
Despite the original purpose of the property as a family home, Don and Deb did eventually open it as a B and B. They’re justifiably proud of the fact that after four years on Booking.com, they achieved a tourist rating of 99 percent. Among the drawcards to the property were the 240 degree views of landscape, river, sea, and conservation native bush, and the proximity to the Okura River Marine Reserve. Guests were able to horse ride across the river, or kayak from the bottom of the garden.
But as soon as they thought of selling to downsize, they had to close the B and B. “We had bookings a year ahead so we had to take that into account,” Don says.
They’ve really enjoyed living in such peace and privacy. “After this, we’re going to struggle to find something we really like,” Don says. “ One of the greatest pleasures is waking in the morning, opening the drapes and looking over the estuary. Sometimes the mist from the valley wisps down the surface of the river and then disappears into the sunrise over Shakespeare Bay on the Whangaparoa Peninsula.”
Find out more about 107 Warman Road, Okura
