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The Home
This home was featured in Sunday Magazine, the national lifestyle/news magazine in New Zealand. It is a contemporary, urban house with a distinctive cabin feel and native New Zealand timber throughout. It is an eclectic and quirky space. The house itself is nestled on a secluded back section at the end of a shared driveway. The beautiful Port Hills with the Bridle Path nature reserve as the “back yard.” And while we are only 15 minutes from downtown Christchurch, we feel as if we live in the country when we sit within our terraced property and listen to the sheep and goats meandering through the hills. Each room in the house has a stunning view of the Lyttelton Harbour and the Banks Peninsula beyond. You can spend hours relaxing and watching the ships bustling in cargo for the entire South Island or cruise liners dropping off tourists. The view is spectacular from our 24 square meter rooftop deck.
There is an expansive, open floor plan on the ground level. Skylights throughout the main floor let in heaps of natural sunshine. Japanese sliding doors open up to the ground floor office. There is also a small mezannine gymnasium with a treadmill if you want to keep fit indoors. There is central heating throughout the home, but also an antique wood burner if you would just like some added ambiance. The kitchen has modern, stainless steel appliances and all sorts of random kitchen gadgets if you wish to cook at home.
There are 2.5 bathrooms/restrooms. Two downstairs and one upstairs. On the ground floor there is a restroom with a sink, toilet and walk-in shower just off the main bedroom. There is also another small restroom with only a toilet and sink. The upstairs restroom has toilet, sink and also a claw foot tub/shower for a bit of luxurious relaxation after a day exploring the area. The house sleeps four comfortably, but both twin beds upstairs have easy-pull out trundler beds, so the house can also accommodate six easily.
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The Neighborhood
Lyttelton is a wonderfully eclectic, artsy, harbour village of 3,000 people, which is just 15 minutes outside of downtown Christchurch. All of our neighbors are very kind and more than willing to help out if you need anything at all. A short stroll down our hill brings you to the main street. While many of the shops have been demolished due to the earthquake, much still remains, new creative ventures have blossomed and the rebuild is on its way. Perhaps most notable is our local restaurant, Roots, which won the 2015 Cuisine Award for the Best Restaurant in all of New Zealand. There is also the outstanding Freemans restaurant, an upmarket fish n' chip shop and restaurant, several excellent bars (The Port Hole, Civil and Naval, and the Wunderbar), as well as a small organic grocery, coffee shops, dairy, health centre, liquor store, library, bank, atm, chemist, magazine/book store, several gift shops and a hair stylist. On Saturday mornings, Lyttelton holds an excellent farmers market that brings people in from miles around. Lonely Planet included this farmers market as central to what makes the Banks Peninsula a worldwide "foodie" destination.
The entire town of Lyttelton has been declared an official historic area by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. This includes our former gaol, cemeteries, steep streets, 19th-century timber cottages and volcanic stone walls throughout the town. Much of these historic sites now need restoration or will have to be reconceptualized after the earthquake, but the core of what made Lyttelton so special still remains. You can take a cruise around the harbour or a short boat ride out to Quail Island, kayak or walk around the stunning bays. Located on the South Island, our house also can serve as a home-base while you explore highlights of New Zealand, such as Christchurch, Akaroa, Kaikoura, Queenstown, Wanaka, the Milford Sounds, Nelson and the Marlborough Sounds, Franz Joseph & Fox Glaciers, Stewart Island…
In 2012, just one year after the major earthquakes of Feb 2011, Lonely Planet listed Christchurch as one of the New Zealand's most exciting cities (see link below). Just one year after that, Lonely Planet named Christchurch the 6th best city in the world to visit.
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