Features

In London they ran an elite antiques business. In Mahurangi they commute to work by dinghy. It’s a change that suits a couple with an unerring eye for the decoratively pleasing.

The male half of Ginger Meggs flaunts flamboyant outfits and a head of dreads. The female half moonlights as a volunteer in a neurology ward. Not your average suburban hairdressers then.

The Burmester family of Christchurch retreats to its holiday home in the Marlborough Sounds’ Bay of Many Coves to be with friends and enjoy its classic boats.

Is it a tent? Is it a giant clam? No, it’s a house in the Hauraki Gulf whose architect owners used an astonishingly simple design to build themselves an astonishingly interesting home.

A million miles away from the world of whiteware, Dot and Gary Paykel have time to paint, go fishing and grow their own veges.

Merinos, red deer and Angus cattle now concern well-known Auckland philanthropist Christine Fernyhough in her new life as owner of Castle Hill station.

She’s establishing a reputation as a gifted singer both at home and internationally. Whirimako Black uses her gift and her cultural background to give traditional Maori music a contemporary edge.