More on the New Zealand cottage...

Our cottage is located in this little village 30 minutes drive from the city of Dunedin in the south of New Zealand. It has a northerly aspect over the inlet you see here to the Pacific Ocean. We've owned it for about 30 years, we lived in it full time for 4 but otherwise it was a weekend and holiday retreat. Since we've been living in Australia it's mostly been unocupied and that combined with the fact that the 'old girl' is getting on a bit has meant that recently we've had to turn our attention to some serious repair/renovation work.

Don't forget to 'poke' the photos for a better look :)

If you drive past this is all you will see as it sits down below the road line.


However, if you stop and stand at the top of the steps you will see the door so come on down and take a look around - take care though because the steps are made from old railway line sleepers and they can get a bit slippery...


Walk on by past the door, around to the front of the house...


From here you can enjoy the bush and coastal view for a moment, unfortunately it's a bit hazy today so you can't see the ocean as well as usual - and I must ask the neighbours to take the top off that pesky tree!...


Let's go down to the bottom of the yard, where the trees are, so that we can look back and see the front of the house properly...


Now if we turn around, there she is...


The poor old shed on the right has seen better days and is overdue for a coat of paint, maybe next summer.

It's a pity that the beautiful window in the upstairs bedroom has broken in the bottom left corner. Just what happened is a mystery but our neighbours noticed the lead and the glass had collapsed in the corner after a period of very strong wind. We've had to cover the broken area with a piece of board to prevent further damage. The lead has started to collapse a little in the middle at the top also so the window has to be removed. It will be replaced by a plain window, not as pretty perhaps but at least we'll be able to see the view from up there then! At the moment three little diamond shapes of plain glass are about all you can see through.


We are hopeful that this window can be restored and located elsewhere in the house.

Before we go up to the house for a look around inside I want to show you something hidden among the trees down here...


... a derelict chicken house! Isn't it cool?? Every yard should have one!