Helen and Rodney Hurley returned to live in Wanganui five years ago.
It was their long affiliation with the sea, and Mr Hurley's previous years as a crayfishing boat deckhand, that saw them choose to live in Castlecliff.
On a clear day, from their Matai St home, the Hurleys can see Stephens Island at the entrance to the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the Kapiti Heads.
Sometimes they catch the tops of the Southern Alps.
From their deck and at night they can see the twinkling lights of Waiinu Beach at Waverley up the coast.
Unless there's a howling westerly, the French doors are always open to the fresh sea air, and the "fabulous sunsets".
There was a curious phenomenon last week when the sun was rising in the east, and out on the sea was a big orange ball.
The Hurleys said they they could not explain what they saw.
They watch the former fishing vessel, the 28-m coastal bulk freighter Anatoki, going back and forth, and depending on which angle it is coming into port, they know where it has come from.
Their garden is abundant with strawberries and there's a plum tree, an apple tree and plenty of vegetables in the deck gardens. Mrs Hurley grew up at 299 Victoria Ave, on the Dublin St corner, and Mr Hurley hails from Waiinu.
"We had been living in Whitianga, but it was time to come home and make sandcastles with the grandchildren," Mrs Hurley said.