Kerikeri

The pretty town of Kerikeri is noted for its subtropical climate, citrus and kiwifruit orchards, historic buildings, and an art and craft trail.

The Kerikeri Basin is home to Kerikeri Mission Station, one of New Zealand’s earliest settlements. It was the second European mission station to be set up in New Zealand, in 1819, under the protection of Maori chief Hongi Hika.

The town is a nice size with a selection of craft and knick-knack shops, as well as the essential facilities eg post office, library, cinema, supermarket, pharmacy, etc. There is a good selection of organic produce in the town as well as in the supermarket. The town is situated 10 minutes drive from where we are living.

Surrounding the town the area is dominated with orchards, many of which have now been sold off and used for housing plots. The houses are enormous and each have about an acre of land around them. This makes the town and the surrounding area very attractive. The housing plots have retained the high tree windbreakers on their boundaries, and this makes them very sheltered.

Our house is surrounded by high trees. It is a new build and has only been finished about 18 months. The house is on one level and has 3 bedrooms. There is a large kitchen diner and a separate study and lounge area. There is a double garage and utility room on the side of the house. The only downer is that we have to make do with a 50inch TV!! Great for movies on the Sky channels.

We have neighbours around us, but because of the size of the plots, you wouldn’t know they were there. At the top of our drive there is a quiet lane which has horses and a small plant nursery.

www.kerikeri.co.nz