This one came to us from the Far North of New Zealand, out past Kerikeri on a rural block near Pakaraka, and it was originally built for someone else entirely — a job Christo took on, not a house he sought out. The brief was straightforward: elevated views, room for stock, space for hobbies, serious entertaining. What actually got built is a white weatherboard home sitting under a 12.8kW solar array with 20kW of battery storage, ringed by multiple fully self-contained sheds with their own power, plumbing, and living space, all of it watched over by floodlights and security cameras. Nobody used the word ‘prepper’ in the listing. We are using it now.
The house itself is doing its best impression of a display home — white cabinetry, white walls, white ceilings, marble benchtops, and enough natural light bouncing around the open-plan kitchen and living area that we’d genuinely recommend sunglasses indoors. It’s a lovely spot for a morning coffee or an evening in the spa pool on the covered deck, looking out over hills that roll on for what feels like several time zones. Fish and chips from the local Chinese takeaway, an L&P from the Dairy on the corner, and you’d never leave.
Then you look past the house. The listing calls them a man cave, a hobby room, a sleepout and an office. We call them a small independent settlement. One shed holds a fully fitted band room — six guitars on the wall, an electronic kit, amps stacked to the ceiling. Another holds its own kitchenette and bathroom. There’s an outdoor wash station, a satellite dish, and floodlights and security cameras mounted on structures that, as far as we can tell, exist purely to host barbecues and jam sessions. Combined with the solar and battery setup, this property could keep the lights, the fridge, and the drum kit running long after everyone else on the road has lost power.
It’s since sold, and whoever’s out there now has, at minimum, a very comfortable lifestyle block with room for stock, guests, and several overlapping hobbies. At maximum, they’ve got a self-sufficient compound with its own power grid, its own security perimeter, and enough separate living quarters to ride out whatever they’re expecting. We’d put good money on a pantry somewhere on that property stacked with Watties tins and Pineapple Lumps, ready for whatever’s coming. If it’s you: we’d love to know if we’re right.
