Waking up to the sound of the Great Spotted Kiwi and the views of some of Aotearoa's most stunning alpine mountains at Arthur's Pass is an everyday occurrence for a former Wellington corporate couple.
Geoff Keey and Renee Habluetzel met over 15 years ago, fell in love a little later in life and decided they'd buy a home together.
Both living in Wellington at the time, a mortgage in the capital was unaffordable with their combined income, so Geoff spotted Arthur's Pass and said "what do you think"?
"We looked at Wellington house prices, and we realised that if one of us lost our jobs it would be very hard to pay a mortgage, so we started to think outside the box," says Keey.
They tossed around ideas what was important to them.
"We had to be close enough to a major city. She likes the bush and rivers and I like the mountains. It had to have good communication, public transport, and a good community. And had to be in our price range."
They found the home they were looking for, the Old Railway Cottage in Arthur's Pass at a price of $235,000 in 2010, and they have made it their own.
Locals and visitors to the village affectionately call it, "the gingerbread house".
Having restored the house after it was struck by lightning and nearly written off within four years of owning it, the gingerbread house is now valued at over $461,000.
"I was ready for adventure, my kids have grown up. I thought if I don't go and have a big adventure now, I will be too old," Habluetzel recalls of the initial move.
The couple agree moving to the sticks has changed their outlook on the world, and they have learnt not to sweat the small stuff. In a way, country life has allowed them both to come up for fresh air.
"It is pretty awesome place to live. You do feel quite small living here. The weather and the mountains are just very big, and very influential. It is lovely, right outside our front door is forest," says Keey.
"You look across the valley you see mountains, and you hear kea in the mornings, and it's always good to see them. They are a beautiful bird, but you don't want them messing with your house."
"We've got Great Spotted Kiwi, and you hear them in the night".
It has also helped upgrade Keey's skill-set, he's now a bit of a "handyman", if he doesn't mind saying so.
"I can do and build stuff that I thought I never could."
They haven't regretted their move, but admit living in the middle of nowhere - smack between Christchurch and Greymouth, can have its pitfalls.
"It's not the easiest place on earth to live, he says.
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The closest supermarket is 1.5 hours drive to Greymouth, so the bags of flour and sugar in the household could bake a life-sized gingerbread home.
"You have to be really prepared, we have 20kg of flour in the house. You tend to get in bulk."
The move was a brave one for them. They gave up corporate roles and city living, which they never disliked. Initially, they ran a B&B from the house.
"In retrospect it was really quite a bold decision, because we took out a mortgage, when Renee was made redundant. We basically turned up with a mortgage and no job in the middle of nowhere."
Habluetzel took up jobs at the motel, cafe and Department of Conservation to pay bills and Keey landed his job at Forest & Bird.
Life at Arthur's Pass is taking a step back in time in a way, where the basics and necessities are enough.
"I think it is good for your mental health actually, you just realise how insignificant you are and not to bother too much," says Habluetzel.
The village has a population of about 30 and some of the coldest temperatures in the country in winter, snowfall often reaching the road. The house currently has just a wood burner for heating, but they are close to installing a heat pump.
Not juveniles any longer, Keey 52 and Habluetzel 61, both know this adventure will eventually have to end up somewhere closer to healthcare.
"We will stay here for a bit. We will stay here until it doesn't work for us any longer," he says.
"In other words, when we get too old," says she.
This article originally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.
