Splendid Isolation…

The birds are singing (along with the Italians!) and the sun keeps rising and come tides in and out. It feels like a great time just to sit and ‘be in the moment’ in Splendid Isolation here at Ngahere Hou. This is my latest painting of the view from here, that I did for one… Continue reading Splendid Isolation…

September Special….Make an offer

As we close in on completion of our new and spectacular house….and Chris Moller from “Grand Designs” keeps asking where’s the contingency? I’m thinking its time to get you involved! I’m happy to offer 30% off the listed price to get our house finished! So heres your chance to make an offer on any of… Continue reading September Special….Make an offer

Disempowerment!

Vulnerability and hopelessness descended on me as I watched helplessly as fire engulfed our power shed a couple of weeks ago… We’d had a week of dreadful weather and a team of builders onsite so the generator had kicked in to give the solar batteries a boost when the lights began to flicker and the… Continue reading Disempowerment!

Flying high

Bringing it on home: Part three. The final delivery of the house. After the perilous long and winding road and the steep climb up the driveway there was the just little matter of lifting the house off the trucks and up onto its foundations! Digger driver and wild goat hunter extraordinaire Richard watches the final… Continue reading Flying high

The Long and Winding Road

Bringing it on home part two: As dawn breaks on the big day the house pods are lifted onto the trucks at David the craftsman-builder’s yard for the long and delicate trip out to our place at the Kenepuru Heads. Normally it would take about an hour to drive this beautifully picturesque road. As it… Continue reading The Long and Winding Road

Bringing it on home

After nearly two years since we first saw our architect and the day finally arrived last week…. our house was due for delivery! The bulk of the construction of the six pods that make up the house being done at the builders yard an hours drive away at Mahakipawa. Our craftsman Builder David Kepes getting… Continue reading Bringing it on home

We’ve got plans!

Our house plans have gone to Council and now we wait to get started on the build! Hugh Tennent is our architect and he’s done a brilliant job in bringing our dream to realisation. Our vision to live lightly on our beautiful land, in a small but spacious and sustainably off the grid home looks… Continue reading We’ve got plans!

Get in the Sun

    Living off the grid you learn to adjust your behaviour to minimise your power usage. So during a week of blazing sunshine it was something of a surprise to run out of power! At Hou Ngahere we have a basic but very effective solar system. Starting with just the two panels (on the… Continue reading Get in the Sun

A Sliver of Hope!

  Spring rains over Wellington Harbour, embedded into so many of my earliest memories, deep into my heart’s core… My latest painting, embarking on its journey into the world   “I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway,… Continue reading A Sliver of Hope!