Laingholm: Riding the ridge

A home with sweeping views of hills and harbour also has its own lovingly nurtured bush garden.

With the kids fleeing the nest and the country's wide-open spaces calling, it's time to sell the family home. That's the situation Harvey Clark and wife Fiona McQueen find themselves in after 10 years in their ridge-top home. Its views reach across the bushclad valley, in which the Nihotupu reservoir nestles, to the Manukau.

The couple has a 1.2ha piece of land they bought about five years ago on a plateau overlooking the Dart and Rees rivers in Central Otago. "We're freeing up money to start building down there," says Harvey. "The house is also starting to get a bit big for us - one of our girls is off at varsity in Dunedin and the other one can't wait to get out into the world."

And Harvey, a semi-retired journalist, wants to pursue his passion for trout fishing in the central North Island by setting up a guiding business, maybe in Ngongotaha. "We're not too sure yet where we're going to live in the meantime - we'll think about that once we get the house sold."

Harvey says because the three-level home was built in the late 60s or early 70s on top of the ridge - a no-no these days - the house enjoys views on all sides.

"It means you can always find a nice spot to pull up a chair and do a bit of reading."

The outside of the cedar home also makes the most of the views with decks front and rear on the upper floor, facing west and east respectively, and a small north-facing deck off a split-level bedroom on the middle level.

"The front deck's a great spot to sit having drinks with friends on a summer night with the moon out," says Harvey. "You get some great starscapes out here, and when there's an electrical storm it lights up the valley."

Wandering in from the large rear deck - which has a hole cut into it to accommodate a pohutukawa - you enter the main living room. This has exposed beams in true Westie fashion, as well as a woodburner. Next door to that is the kitchen with a perfectly framed view of the Nihotupu. Down the hallway is the main bathroom and master bedroom.

Dropping down a level there are two more bedrooms, an office and another bathroom.

The lower level is taken up by the entranceway. Heading out the front door takes you down wooden steps with a ponga frond canopy. Harvey says he has encouraged the bush canopy around the front of the house to provide shelter.

Past the garage is the bushy front yard where Harvey has cut tracks, and pretty much beaten invasive weeds over the years. "When we first moved in all you could see was a few of the bigger trees down there," says Harvey. "All the rest was ginger and pampas and stunted bush growth that was being strangled. I've planted natives and nurtured things along. Now there's a nice ponga grove and the forest giants I planted down there like kahikatea, rimu and kauri are all booming away."

Harvey might be dreaming of landing whopper trout soon, but he hopes the new owners will continue the good work he's done with the native plants on this property.

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 3

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 2+

SIZE: Land 1072sq m, house 190sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $430,000-plus. Auction March 25. INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3-4pm.

CONTACT: Isabel Hollis, Harcourts Henderson, ph 838 0921 bus, 021 685 851 mob, 838 5355 a/h. FEATURES: Multi-level cedar home in bush setting with decks front and rear. Expansive views over bush and up and down the Manukau Harbour.