An Acre of Paradise

Mr T knew about it, and he had seen the pictures.  On 8 September New Zealand time, the contract for it to be ours became unconditional.  The deposit has been paid and the final settlement is just waiting for F's signature on the Land Registry transfer documentation.

This is slightly under an acre of a small community in the Marlborough Sounds at the 'top' of the South Island of New Zealand.  Along with the land we get a key to the community boat ramp and jetty (which is only a 100m or so from where our 'gate' will be.)

20 minutes to the nearest 'town' by road, 10 minutes by boat.

Plans for home building have started to be dreamed up - something small but as close to perfect as we can manage: good natural light, well insulated, carbon neutral, rainwater capture and storage, renewable energy exploitation (wind and solar) built in, composting toilets (thinking on that - I have seen it when it works really well) - vege garden and orchard, a big greenhouse/poly tunnel, workshop (for Mr B), studio (for F), small self-contained guesthouse for our visitors ... and that Kowhai 'forest' I promised Mr T - tussocks and kowhai.  

No lawns.  

Strangely enough, despite his devotion to making and maintaining a great lawn around his own acre of garden, I think my father would have approved of no lawns - or at least understood.  I think he probably knew better than anyone what a contrivance a lawn is - how much water, how many chemicals, how much time and energy and machinery, how strangely monocultural and remarkably devoid of life is that greensward beloved of the traditional owners of the quarter acre kiwi dream.

The community area also has a 5 mile walking track in the native bush clad hills that surround the little hamlet, and includes plenty of opportunities to get involved in conservation and restoration of native flora and fauna in the ecosystems of the area.

(NB Traditionally an acre was the amount a land a man and an ox could plough in a day.  I expect on that basis it could vary between flat land and hill country, between fenland and heath.  These days it has been fixed at a furlong of length by 4 rods wide -  43,560 square feet, or 4,840 square yards. One acre is equivalent to 0.4047 hectare (4,047 square metres).