Trouble with writing good reviews of fantastic finds: more people will know how great a place is and then its harder to get back in! B & V's place is a perfect get-away for a small family. The two bedrooms are great with that all-important to parents thing - great black-out blinds & curtains. Very necessary in glorious late afternoon/evening sunset times, if you have younger ones that should be asleep before the sun goes completely down.
A short walk to the beach north of the mouth of the Whanganui river, and a fabulous set of dunes & shaded bush-tracks. Can't speak to the quality of surf there while we were resident, but did see lots of beach walkers & the occasional car driving carefully along part of the beach.
Speaking of cars, although we knew that there was local bus services, we didn't use them. We loved the steep drive which allowed us to unload all our gear onto the big back deck. Our children loved the trampoline & hammock: we loved the immediately on-hand entertainment this provided.
Other great things over and above expected beach-'Bach' Kiwi bright decor and word-art were these:
Help-yourself garden vegetables & fruits;
Toys & games for a range of ages;
Beautiful A-V for DVD-Bluray player;
Lots of kitchen implements;
Outdoor BBQ (older, but fully functional);
Good WiFi (easy to set-up & consistent whilst we were there).
One last stand-out was the communication with the owners. We had an unusually strong gale-force storm come through on the 2nd night which did some damage to the place (no harm to us). Brian drove from more than an hour away to come & rectify & check out the rest of the place. We are definitely going back when we can & will stay at another of their places very soon. Thanks B & V!