166 Opanuku Road, Henderson Valley. Photo / Supplied
Terry and Jemma Phillips live on one of the highest points in Auckland at a place called Waiatarua - "it means land with a view of two oceans", Terry says.
Their home is in the middle of the Waitakere Ranges high on a ridge and the view is simply amazing, he says.
"We are on top of the world, actually. We can see the end of the Manukau Harbour and then a really panoramic view right out to Great Barrier, Little Barrier, Whangaparaoa Peninsula and you just keep looking right up north."
The ridge is north facing which means sun, sun, sun.
"As soon as the sun comes up over the Coromandel, Auckland's still dark and we've got the sun. "We're the last to see the sun go down, too, because as it goes over the Waitakere Ranges we're at such a high point.
"It's all-day sun, basically. As soon as the sun comes up until the sun goes down, we just catch the sun beautifully."
The couple, who have four children under nine, have lived in their retreat surrounded by trees and birds for five years.
The house was built in about 2000 and the couple found it accidentally. They weren't really looking to buy at the time but heard about the house so went and took a look.
That was it. Terry was in love.
"We've got no neighbours. We're just surrounded by World Heritage rain forest and it's only 25 or 30 minutes from the CBD."
People pay millions of dollars for a view at Pauanui on the Coromandel or north in Matakana and have to travel all that way - but they have it all in the middle of Auckland, he says.
"Someone could have this as a holiday home without having to leave Auckland. It's like a resort quality with views and peace.
"It's amazing how many wood pigeons and tui and all the other native birds there are, they're just everywhere up here.
"If you're a person who's an artist or who wanted to set up a retreat or something, it would just be awesome, if you just wanted peace and quiet."
The house is easy to live in as well, he says.
It is wooden with tawa floors. There is parquet design through parts of it, exposed beams and sarked ceilings.
The master bedroom has not one but two walk-in wardrobes and an en suite, plus there are multiple living areas and office spaces, a fabulous deck and a walk in pantry.
Terry and Jemma both run businesses from home and there is plenty of space.
They have 37,000-litre water tanks so even in a drought have never had an issue with running out of water, plus the house is set up for solar energy.
There is electricity now and a back-up generator but Terry says the house could easily convert back to solar and new owners could live off the grid.
On top of that, he has planted organic gardens and fruit trees, and the heritage chickens can stay if the new owners want them.
It's the sort of place you wouldn't have to leave for weeks or months if you didn't want to, he says, but amenities are also close at hand with Lincoln Rd and all the shops close by.
The family has reluctantly decided to leave after Terry had health issues.