458 McNicol Road, Clevedon. Photo / Supplied
Peter Collinson's partner, Michelle Jarvis, is something of a hoarder, Peter says. The problem is she hoards horses, which is why the family has to move.
"I refuse to answer," Peter says, then confesses that between Michelle and their three daughters there are 10 or 11 horses.
"I refuse to answer," he says again, then confesses there are also five dogs, a couple of cats, 10 sheep, and semi-wild ducks, which they feed.
Plus, they used to have alpacas and chickens. Peter is an animal eye specialist, so dealing with a lot of animals comes naturally, though because the vet specialises in eyes there can still be some hefty horse bills.
Peter and Michelle moved to their 3.79ha (9.3acres) property about 11 years ago. Before that they outgrew two horses and a couple of acres, and now they have outgrown this sizeable lifestyle property.
"We weren't planning on moving but a situation arose where my partner, I think she's a hoarder, she hoards horses. She and my girls, they buy horses and won't sell them again and now we've run out of room so we need a bigger property."
Peter reckons they're looking for up to 16ha now, though he's pretty sad to be leaving the house they rebuilt from top to bottom. If he could, he'd pick it up and take it with them.
They fell in love with Clevedon first - Peter says it's a wonderful, close-knit community - bought their first property, and then this one close to the Wairoa River and the Hunua forest.
You can often find five dogs and some horses swimming in the river, he says.
A couple of years ago they decided to gut and rebuild the house. Michelle, who is not only horse-mad but artistic and a graduate of Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design, took over the interior design, so all the colours from the tiled bathrooms through to the drapes had her expert eye.
The family moved in to the sleep-out, which has a bathroom and lounge, and hired portacabins while the rebuild was taking place.
The floors in the house are now one of the best features, Peter says. A neighbour and friend, who has a flooring company, laid the American Oak which is so hard "you just can't damage it".
It's rough and polished and has a lot of character, Peter says. They also spoilt themselves with the fireplace.
"We got told by the guy doing the kitchen about a whole lot of schist that was going to be buried in a dump and over a weekend Michelle and myself and the girls went and collected about 14 tons of schist, brought it home and talked a stonemason into building us a fireplace."
He also loves the "huge" deck and the central, open plan living.
There is a bedroom wing plus a master bedroom, with en suite and walk in wardrobe, which can be closed off by bifolds.
Bifolds also feature in the kitchen and living areas, there's a boot room with a shower, and the couple put in a lot of lighting indoors and out.
Outside there are stables, a big truck shed, post and railed paddocks which are safe for horses, plus an electronic gate so the horses can't get out of the property.
All this and it's only 30 minutes to Auckland. There is nothing about the property Peter would change, but when asked how many horses they will have when they move to the new place, he refuses to answer.
"That would just give Michelle open slather, really, wouldn't it?"