I thought I'd start this blog to document the adventures of my husband and I as we aim to turn our dream of a lifestyle block in the country into reality.
We first started searching for a lifestyle block in June 2009 after deciding we'd lived in town for long enough. I ride horses and grew up on a lifestyle block, so was thoroughly sick of traveling out to grazing everyday to ride/check horses. Chris loves gardening and the peace and quiet of the country so was just as keen as I to move.
We had a number of criteria that our dream block had to meet. Firstly, it had to be within commuting distance of Hamilton and Cambridge. That ruled out areas north of Hamilton and South of Cambridge. Secondly, it had to be of a soil type suitable for horses. This restricted the areas further, as much of the Waikato is peat. Thirdly, it had to have no pylons on it or near it. There also had to be good road-riding in the area, or at least access to a larger farm to ride on. Finally, we had to be able to afford it!
We started off looking at properties that were already developed but quickly realised that most of the 'nicer' properties were out of our price range, and those that weren't had dilapidated houses, fencing, shedding etc. So we eventually started looking at bare blocks.
We found an agent that was willing to work with us in our search, and as a bonus, she is horsey so understood our needs when I said "horse property" and our lists of requirements. She had heard of a particular block that was in the process of being subdivided so we went out and had a look on a rainy winter's day in July.
To cut a long (and oftentimes frustrating) story short, we are on the cusp of owning that very block. We heard today that title has come through and the solicitors were notified on Friday so all going well, we could be settling in the next week or so.
The block is more than we could ever have dreamed of finding. It is 6.9 acres of sandy loam soil, 6kms from Cambridge town centre in an area called Pukekura. It is all flat land, and has been used for grazing horses and cattle as well as being a market garden at some stage in the past. Best part is, there are no pylons! The property is bordered on 2 sides by The Oaks Stud, and set back off the road. The road riding in the area is awesome, and there are some larger farms in the area that will allow riders access.
Below are some photos of the property taken just before Christmas (20th Dec 2009) after some balage had been cut and baled and the posts were in for the post and rail boundary fences.
Standing at the road, looking up what will be the driveway
Looking back down the driveway towards the road.
Noticethe pylons far in the distance.
Looking east from the top of the driveway. The pines are on
the neighbours property
Standing in South-eastern corner with me looking rather chuffed!
Standing at the North-eastern boundary corner looking
South-west over the property
Photo from halfway down Northern boundary looking East
Standing at the North-western corner of the property looking East
We came up with the name Waterford Estate in honour of my ISH gelding Mac who's registered name was Waterford. As well as being a nice name, we thought it suited the Cambridge area being just a little bit posh!
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