I had a blast staying at Vanessa's! Her place looks like it's out of a design magazine. If I had stayed at her place in the beginning of my trip, I would have tried to extend my stay. The cottage is close to Kerikeri so finding a place to eat wasn't an issue and the kitchen in the cottage was well stocked for us to cook a meal. Vanessa thought of everything that we would need during our stay (including a warm mattress pad for the cool nights!) I would definitely recommend making this a home base to explore the bay of islands.