Tauranga Bay is beautiful and just what we were looking for - somewhere that is far away from the rat-race. The house is large, and there was easily enough room for the 9 of us. It is a bach, and not a luxury home (and the owners don't for a moment pretend it is!) which was perfect for us and our primary school age kids. It might seem a little thing, but the linen and towels are really nice quality and the beds are comfortable.
There was scope for the kids to be independent and have their own adventures on their bikes, kayaks etc. The location is great for this - a tidal estuary, caves to explore, nearby gorgeous walks, and a good swimming beach (although wrong time of year for us on that front). There is only a campground shop in the community, and the nearest Four Square is in Kaeo, about a 15 minute drive, so it pays to come prepared. On the upside, the only additional expense you'll have is buying ice cream for the kids, although there is a lovely restaurant round the corner in Whangaroa Harbour (the Marlin).
As a host, Hayden was really helpful, and was busy pumping up an inflatable SUP for us when we arrived, which we put to good use. He showed us all the idiosyncrasies of the house (e.g. the upstairs shower doesn't have great pressure, but hey, it's a bach on tank water!), and texted a few times during our stay to check all was well, which it was.
Highly recommend for a family holiday like they were when I was a kid. In a whole week we watched only one movie on TV - the kids had more than enough to do outside or playing games. Perfect.
We would happily go back.