Our Story
Our journey started in January 2010 when John & I decided to move to Havelock North. John lined up five homes for me to view and 443 St Georges Road was the first we looked at but it was far too big for just the two of us. We also viewed the property at 14 St Andrews Road, known as Cottages on St Andrews, fell in love with it instantly and a deal was done.
Dan & Kate helped me move into the Cottages in April 2010 while John was away on business. Their love affair with Havelock North & the property was instant which was surprising as neither of them had lived in the Bay. They told me that one day they would buy the property off us to raise their family here.
Three years later Dan proposed to Kate and the first thing Kate asked me was “can we please get married at the Cottages?”....and they did, on 28 December 2013 before heading back Spain where Dan continued his rugby career. 443 St Georges Road was still on the market in 2015 and Dan & Kate were keen to go into business together & turn it into a Lodge. It would give them a home, income and we would be blessed to have our family at our back fence.
The property settled in September and there was a lot of blood, sweat & tears to turn the Lodge into what it is today. The Lodge & Cottages are marketed jointly and can accommodate up to 50 guests on 10 acres & just 1km from Havelock North Village.
There are now three generations taking guardianship of the land, animals, trees and plants. We’re here for the long haul and want our guests to experience our special piece of paradise. We have beautiful bore water, without any chemicals added and no reliance on town supply. We dispose of our own sewerage and stormwater, without it going into the town system. We take all recyclables to the local depot and we have a generator in the event of a power outage.
We have planted fruit & nut trees for our guests to enjoy when ripe and in season, including apple, plum, pear, peach, apricot, cherry, grapefruit, lemon, lime, fig, avocado, feijoa, chestnut, walnut, macadamia nut, pine nut, pecan nut and chestnut.
We encourage our guests to get up close and personal with our petting animals and to handfeed them which is an experience of a lifetime for many. The animals include free range chickens, bottle fed lambs, alpacas, kune kune pigs, miniature ponies and cows.
We give back to the community by offering Cranford Hospice ‘Free Beds for Families’ at times of extreme financial and emotional hardship to whanau of loved ones in the Hospice. We donate free accommodation to Child Cancer, Lowe Rescue Helicopter Trust, Mental Health Week and many other charities for fundraising purposes.
We hope all our guests enjoy and respect our property as much as we do. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.
Warmest regards, Di – on behalf of John, Dan, Kate, Fletcher & Tommy
