OMAHA

326 OMAHA FLATS RD

Water lapping at the bottom of the lawn, cricket under lights on summer evenings, a launching ramp for kayaks — it sounds like the perfect holiday house, but for 10 years it was a permanent home for a farming couple easing into retirement.

When Lisa Nickel’s parents started looking for their retirement home their main requirements were peace, privacy and proximity to amenities. Having come from a farm, they were also keen on space and good soil for an orchard and vegetable gardens.

The waterfront house they found at Omaha had all of that and more, and three generations of the family have enjoyed it over the past decade.

Built in the 90s, the four-bedroom cedar house sits on 0.46ha (just over one acre) of waterfront land with easy care gardens, an elegant pond, coastal and rural views, and the requisite big lawn for children and grandchildren to play cricket and rugby.

“Dad had lights made for the lawn so the kids could play at night,” Lisa says. An indoor/outdoor sound system adds to the appeal. Direct access to the water meant they could also fish for flounder, go netting for sprats, enjoy swimming and kayaking in the safe environs of the upper harbour, and