– Charlie Bowden and her husband left Auckland for a Balinese-style home in Golden Bay.
– They initially planned to build a micro community, but realised the existing community suited them.
– The couple is selling their current home after purchasing a larger neighbouring property for their family.
An Auckland couple who bought a Balinese-style retreat built by two Buddhists in a small town at the top of the South Island say ditching the rat race has been the best thing they’ve done.
Charlie Bowden and her husband had been looking for land on which to build a micro community for their young family when she stumbled across 141 Rocklands Road, in Clifton, Tasman.
The couple had just finished a four-month stint living in central France and decided they didn’t want to spend endless hours stuck in Auckland traffic.
“The kids were young, so they pretty much didn’t see their dad during the week. We were like, ‘This is messed up,'” Bowden told OneRoof.
The retreat-style home has a large open-plan living area with high ceilings. Photo / Supplied
There are two large bedrooms upstairs and a self-contained studio downstairs. Photo / Supplied
Bowden had been speaking with experts about setting up a co-housing community in the area’s Golden Bay when one of them pointed her in the direction of the 1.87ha lifestyle property on Rocklands Road.
The owner was looking to buy a neighbouring property, so agreed to sell the house to them off-market.
Bowden said she burst into tears as soon as she saw the property because she knew it was exactly what her family needed. “We kind of opted for the move out of Auckland to the best place we could think of. For me, that was a place that had community and was beautiful. I’m really into health and nourishing the upbringing of our kids, and I know that being amongst nature is a no-brainer,” she told OneRoof.
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The initial plan had been to add some additional houses on the 1.87ha property and create a gated community, but not long after The initial plan had been to add some additional houses to the property and create a gated community, but not long after Bowden moved there, she realised her mistake.
“It was a few months in that I had this a-ha moment. I had already moved into a community, that I wasn’t inventing anything, that they already existed, and I just didn’t know how to find them.”
Her husband continued to run his Auckland-based painting business remotely, and Bowden bought an e-commerce water filtration business to operate from an on-site air-conditioned hall.
The property itself also has an interesting history – if the community grapevine is to be believed. Two Buddhists reportedly built two small houses side-by-side on the hill with a kitchen in the middle, Bowden said.
The home’s features include timber benchtops and posts, carved Balinese doors, and leadlight windows. Photo / Supplied
Over the years, the property has attracted an eclectic mix of creative types, including gardeners, an artist, and a pianist. At some point – possibly when the artist lived there – a full-scale renovation was carried out, connecting the two homes together and transforming it into the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home it is now. There are two large bedrooms upstairs and a self-contained studio with its own private access downstairs.
Bowden said the large open-plan living area had been perfect for raising their young children, who attend the local school just 10 minutes away.
“The kids can be rowdy and crazy in the lounge, and I can sit in a different area and it’s not overwhelming. And with the high roofs, it just feels like you have got lots of space to breathe.”
The Bowdens had planned to make the Balinese retreat their forever home, until a neighbour mentioned they were thinking of selling.
“We had never been to their property, and it was amazing. My husband fell in love with it. He was like ‘I don’t know how we are going to do this, but we have to buy this property’.”
The neighbouring property is larger and better suited for the Bowdens’ growing children.
Bowden said they now had one property too many and were serious about selling Rocklands Road. They planned to spend more time travelling overseas, while keeping their other Golden Bay property as their base.
She still can’t believe how magical the area is and counts herself lucky to live there.
“I will never move back to Auckland. My family and my friends are in Auckland, but I cannot go back to that lifestyle.”
– 141 Rocklands Road, in Clifton, Tasman, is for sale by negotiation