Our story - redeveloping Rose Cottage

Welcome to Rose Cottage, Kahutara, in the South Wairarapa. 

We purchased the property in early 2019. Simon is a passionate gardener and for some time had wanted a place where he could undertake large scale plantings and realise his vision. 

While Rose Cottage was once a beautiful and much loved family home, it had become run down.  We could see the underlying strong "bones" within the property, and set about a major renovation, including the new kitchen and downstairs bathroom. 

Simon fenced off part of the large paddock, extending the space around the house, and has planted the area primarily as an orchard. Here you can find all sorts of interesting flora - including a cork tree, finger lime and chestnuts. Never done, Simon has now fenced off and started planting out an area near the old sheep yards in natives. We are already blessed with tui, fantail and the occasional morepork. We hope the additional natives will attract more of these birds.

We also added a "gin deck" that overlooks the orchard. The gin deck is the perfect spot for watching the sun sink below the Rimutakas - and it also boasts an outdoor bath for those who are brave enough to soak and watch the stars at night. 

It's been a family project, and our son has also had a say in things. His wish was for a frog pond. In early 2021, I got brave, hopped on a digger...and wallah (sort of). We get a few frogs in the pond, visiting from our neighbours. As the plantings around the pond mature and provide cover, we hope our attempts to directly introduce tadpoles will be more successful. 

Redeveloping Rose has given me the opportunity to learn things I never imagined myself doing in our city life. Whether it is little things like how to hang blinds, or more challenging tasks like using a digger or building an outdoor shower.  

Most of all though, we've created lots of wonderful memories at Rose - for our family and extended urban whanau. It's a place where kids can be kids - getting muddy, playing spotlight, swimming in the pool, and checking out the neighbours farm animals. And parents can mostly chill and relax.

Rose Cottage is available for hire as a vacation rental - we think it's the perfect family friendly country escape for groups, just over an hour from Wellington city.

We hope you can come and check out our "project" for yourselves - and that Rose Cottage creates special memories for your whanau - just as it has for us.