{"id":551793,"date":"2026-07-30T19:37:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/551793\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T19:37:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T19:37:16","slug":"lifestyle-block-with-famous-kiwi-fight-club-for-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/551793\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifestyle block with famous kiwi fight club for sale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; A Northland lifestyle block known for kiwi encounters is for sale at 73 Weka Lane, Kerikeri.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The 12ha property features a four-bedroom house, native forest, and a private swimming hole.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Owners Karin and Roger Matthews are downsizing after selling their livestock, with an RV of $1.49m.<\/p>\n<p>A Northland lifestyle block that\u2019s home to kiwi \u201cfight club\u201d has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oneroof.co.nz\/property\/northland\/kerikeri\/73-weka-lane-okaihau\/ZQ9Md?from=app\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hit the market for sale<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 12ha property at 73 Weka Lane, in Okaihau, Kerikeri, shot to fame in April last year after homeowner Karin Matthews caught the nocturnal birds brawling on her lawn in the middle of the day.<\/p>\n<p>She managed to film the unbelievable scrap, with the footage going viral soon after she posted it online.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/northern-advocate\/news\/daytime-kiwi-fight-in-kerikeri-garden-surprises-locals\/CBH2RBWB6VDJ3BTZWBO7LYRHEI\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">It made headlines<\/a> around the world, and although some thought it was an April Fool\u2019s prank, Karin and husband Roger said it wasn\u2019t that unusual to find kiwi roaming around their property at odd times of the day.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kiwi brawling in the middle of the day in the garden of Northland homeowner Karin Matthews. Video \/ Supplied\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/436e8e745884c8897732e9c0f6412d7f.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\" class=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption\">A brown kiwi was also found hiding under a dinghy in a paddock on the property. Photo \/ Karin Matthews<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kiwi brawling in the middle of the day in the garden of Northland homeowner Karin Matthews. Video \/ Supplied\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/310c6471a49b4779e6e04fc90c98bfc2.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption\">The four-bedroom home was built on the 12ha block in 2018 and had been part of a larger farm. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kiwi brawling in the middle of the day in the garden of Northland homeowner Karin Matthews. Video \/ Supplied\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dd2c5f2eeb563d54cfc4b72d754a247.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption\">The 12ha property comes with its own swimming hole. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<p>They frequently hear the birds call to each other at night and even have a red light torch to help them spot them in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dYou will always find them if you go down the paddock and look at the bush at night, but we\u2019ve had them on the lawn quite a few times,\u201d Karin said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can get right up close if they are out in the lawn section.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They have had plenty of unusual kiwi encounters over the last few years, including in their haybarn or under their trailer. One bird even made its home in an overturned kayak near the swimming hole.<\/p>\n<p>Discover more:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oneroof.co.nz\/news\/expats-buy-nzs-answer-to-yellowstone-ranch-after-price-drop-49918?from=app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8211; Expats buy NZ&#8217;s answer to Yellowstone ranch after price drop<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oneroof.co.nz\/news\/heart-wrenching-decision-couple-behind-raglans-famous-treehouse-airbnb-selling-up-49908?from=app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8211; \u2018Heart-wrenching decision\u2019: Couple behind famous treehouse Airbnb selling up<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oneroof.co.nz\/news\/ex-black-cap-lou-vincent-sells-his-beach-bum-bach-for-over-1m-49859?from=app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8211; Ex-Black Cap Lou Vincent sells his \u2018Beach Bum\u2019 bach for over $1m<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son said, \u2018Mummy, wouldn\u2019t it be funny if there\u2019s a rat underneath?\u2019, and so we picked up the kayak and this big kiwi runs out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Matthews bought the lifestyle block in 2018 for just over $450,000 and built a four-bedroom board-and-batten house on it.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until they moved into the new home that they realised just how magical the place was. \u201cWe then found how amazing it is to live there with all the kiwi encounters we\u2019ve had \u2013 we\u2019ve had a few,\u201d Karin said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe could hear them at night, quite close, all around in the native bush and then heard them calling really closely so we would go outside and have a look, and they\u2019ve been on our lawn and in the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kiwi brawling in the middle of the day in the garden of Northland homeowner Karin Matthews. Video \/ Supplied\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f975ef0d160b20a13026c38d6817eef6.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption\">The four-bedroom board-and-batten house is stylish and well presented. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kiwi brawling in the middle of the day in the garden of Northland homeowner Karin Matthews. Video \/ Supplied\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2284d8dc6150228ae9fa166c3e229450.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"image-caption\">The property also has a separate tiny house, with living space, kitchen and bedroom. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<p>The property is also in the flight path of Kereru, which fly over the property every day, and is surrounded by native forest with massive kauri and rimu trees.<\/p>\n<p>The farming couple are looking to downsize and are selling the lifestyle block, which has an RV of $1.49m and comes with six paddocks, cattle yards, calf pens and troughs and a tiny home with its own living room, kitchen, and bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>They have already sold all their livestock and have found a waterfront property in Kerikeri to move to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been farmers all our life really, so we just keep scaling back, scaling back. We don\u2019t want to be farmers anymore,\u201d Karin said.<\/p>\n<p>REAL Property agent Andrea Magill said in her listing on OneRoof that the property \u201cenjoys sweeping rural views across rolling paddocks, toward the ocean, native bush and down to the Puketotara River, complete with your own private swimming hole\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether you are seeking a family lifestyle, grazing opportunity, native sanctuary or bonus accommodation options, 73 Weka Lane delivers an exceptional rural lifestyle in an unforgettable setting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oneroof.co.nz\/property\/northland\/kerikeri\/73-weka-lane-okaihau\/ZQ9Md?from=app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">&#8211; 73 Weka Lane, Okaihau, Kerikeri, Far North, is for sale, deadline closing August 28<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#8211; A Northland lifestyle block known for kiwi encounters is for sale at 73 Weka Lane, Kerikeri. &#8211;&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1258,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-551793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-latest-news","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}