Are you ready for the country?

In an extract from her new book, A Natural Year, a former city-living writer gives her tips for finding country zen.

We've all heard stories of couples who decide to move to a lifestyle block and live to regret it. Sometimes one likes it, the other doesn't, the marriage crumbles, and it's a total disaster. Our move to the country came from a desire to be more in nature, less in traffic. And for me, a very primal need to have some serenity.

I found the most gorgeous little old bach right on the water in Huia, about an hour's drive west of Auckland, for a very good weekly rent and signed a lease for a year. It became my haven.

Wendyl's tip: lease a property and give yourself a chance to see if you really are cut out for rural life.

One Saturday morning, I was in bed, scrolling through Trade Me on my iPad and there was this place in the Hokianga. It was in our price range and ticked all the boxes, including solar heating and a composting sewage system.

‘It can't hurt to look,' I said to Paul. The next weekend we arrived in the Hokianga, took one look and knew it was the one.

"Bugger," we both said as we had a drink or three at the pub that night. Wendyl's tips: when you buy a block, resist the urge to rush around planting trees and changing things. Sit through the four seasons and watch the place. You will change your mind at least 20 times about something you have planned. On a spiritual ooky spooky level, I guess it's allowing the land to talk to you. On a practical level, it's about getting to know the place.

When we first bought our house, we had so many visitors in that first year. But after a while it was all a bit exhausting. I was hanging out the fourth set of sheets on the line and the tenth towel when I realised that my weekends were being spent catering for others.

Wendyl's tips: Limit visitors so you have time to enjoy your new home on your own. When they ask if they can bring something, don't say, ‘Oh no, everything's taken care of.' Instead, say: ‘Whatever you like to drink, some snacks (especially if they have children), and anything else you feel like bringing.' If they offer to bring their own linen say ‘sure!' Don't act like a lodge host. Point at the beach, the kayak, the dogs, and say ‘go for it' and head out to the garden if you want to.

Learn to say no if someone wants to come up on a weekend when you really need a break and want to do nothing except eat, drink, garden, and read books.

"Bugger," we both said, as we had a drink or three.