Restful, friendly and relaxing.
We stayed three nights in the honeymoon cottage and found it restful and relaxing. The cottage is thoughtfully equipped and decorated with a decent kitchen and a good BBQ, family sized fridge and plenty of crockery, pots, pans and cutlery. The shower is a big walk in one with facilities for the disabled and lots of hot water. The bedroom and all other windows (ex. the patio doors) have mosquito a screens which were really appreciated as the rural surroundings mean there are bugs around at night.
Claes was very welcoming as was his lovely old dog. Wandering around the extensive grounds are some very happy looking chooks and there are 3 very contented pigs in a pen!
An added bonus was the swimming pool. It was "fresh" but large enough for a decent swim and has a relaxation area around it with a couple of sunbeds.
Claes provided a large fruit bowl full of his delicious oranges and mandarins. So good!
There's a washing machine in the main house and plenty of drying lines.
It was a 5 minute drive into Kerikeri which is an interesting town with some good eateries. Russell and lots of other beaches are within an hours drive. One tip- do take the ferry to Russell, the road is unsealed for quite a way and quite rough!
In summary this place isn't luxurious but it is nicely done and comfortable. There's a bit of road noise in the day but at night it's very quiet and dark! Highly recommended if you want a rural idyll.