Farmhouse, close to Ohope Beach

We are homeowners offering our farmhouse on the edge of Ohiwa Harbour while we are away on holiday. This is not on Ohakana Island in spite of Google's attempt to put us there! A wonderful place for a city family: collect eggs from our hens, ride our very tame donkeys, Uncle Arthur and Auntie Kay. But take care as they can get a little too friendly though and come into the house if you leave the door open, as do hens and wekas. We have many other birds too: fantails, kereru, tui, bellbirds, pukeko, and paradise ducks in the ponds by our farm entrance. Off the farm activities abound. Use our surfboard and boogie boards at the wonderfully safe Ohope beach or our two ‘beginner’ paddleboards to explore the harbour margins and islands. There are stunning walks and parks nearby such as Onekawa Te Mawhai, Tauwhare Pa and the Ohope to Whakatāne walk through the hidden beach of Otarawairere. It is unlikely to rain as the Whakatāne District has almost the highest sunshine hours in the country, but if it does, ours is a child friendly home. Take advantage of the many toys, games, dozens of children’s games and books and even a secret hiding space above the single bedroom. For adults, there’s books, jigsaw puzzles and board games. Make this a screen free holiday, but if that sounds problematic, we have wifi, Freeview and reception for Spark/Skinny phones. (Note: our deck is high and not fenced which worries some parents of toddlers, though we have had our own and many visiting ones and never had anyone try to fly in the 30 years we have lived here.) As well as the two double and one single bedroom, we have several couches that convert to beds: two upstairs on the mezzanine (TV space) and three in the main sitting room. There is a bathroom (bath and toilet) and shower with toilet. We usually eat outside at a large table in the summer. Our work involves sourcing and piping water on farms and you will enjoy our spring water. We provide free spring water at our gate so others can take advantage of this superb resource (t is filtered to community drinking water standards). However our garage is full of pipes and fittings: you will have to park outside, but there is plenty of parking space. A dog that won’t chase or eat our hens or terrorise our cat (Lady Marx) is welcome.