Vivienne and her husband, Tim, gave my wife and I an absolutely amazing experience and were very kind and thoughtful hosts. They designed and built the house themselves, and it is a marvel of color and creativity. The giant shower room is awesome! Kitchen was well suited for stovetop cooking and the fridge is big enough to keep a few meals. Not only that, but they provided us with tea, coffee, eggs, milk, greek yoghurt, homemade granola (muesli), preserved peaches, plum and fig jam, honey from their own hives, a freshly baked loaf of bread, freshly picked blueberries; and because it was our honeymoon, chocolate and a bottle of champagne! Unbelievable. They were there to greet us when we arrived and to show us the place as well. Their house is also the property (which is gorgeous), but the guest house is designed for privacy and stocked with games, towels, a sweet terrace outside and other amenities, including a guidebook for things to do and see. They gave us complete privacy, but were available whenever we needed some advice for the day's activities or just wanted to chat. They even came over for a few rounds of bananagrams upon invitation! One of the more incredible parts of the stay was that their highly intelligent dog, Jake, was literally our trail guide for a secluded and epic mountain hike, and then accompanied us to a nearby waterhole for a swim!
Their place was a in a great location for us, right at the base of the Coromandel peninsula and only about 40 minutes from either coast (both of which are littered with beautiful beaches they can tell you about) and about an hour and a half from Coramandel Town. There are hikes within walking distance of the house and good restaurants and a grocery store about 15 minutes south in Paeroa. Also about 30 minutes from Hobbiton, although we visited in the busy season and didn't reserve a spot, so we didn't do that tour. Their solar grid gave us power all day, and there were plenty of flashlights and battery lamps when it got really dark. I can't say enough good things about this place and these people - they made us feel at home. If you have a rental car and a little bit of time to unwind and see some of the best of the North Island, I highly recommend Earthbridge.