A high-end, off the grid, grown-up escape
We’ve been visiting some of the country’s best baches, as voted by Bookabach users. Today Colleen O’Hanlon stays in Pigeon Bay.
Family holidays are a wonderful thing, until they’re not.
There comes a time in every parent’s life when they no longer want to make 5000 mini Marmite sandwiches a day or arrange appealing little platters that appeal to finicky 4-year-olds before they want to pack up and head on home.
It’s at those times that a break away without the junior members of the family starts to become the stuff of fantasies.
Perched atop cliffs overlooking Banks Peninsula’s Pigeon Bay, The Point is fantasy made real. You can feel OK about leaving little ones at home – surrounding cliffs make this place a no-go for them.
The Warren and Mahoneydesigned bach is off grid and off the beaten track but perfectly on point when it comes to a high-end haven.
A short, easy drive from Christchurch, the contemporary bach is a master class on designing for the good life and Kiwis’ love of bringing the outside in.
The trip from the city is itself a pleasant thing, the township of Little River makes for an interesting stop and a short detour via Duvauchelle brings travellers to Barrys Bay Traditional Cheese.
The bach is the future retirement home of owners Edward and Penny Aitken and they have built it with love, care and the highest attention to detail.
Made from concrete and steel with rammed earth walls, the solar-powered structure is itself is a point of interest.
But it’s the attention to detail that sets this place apart. Visitors to The Point soon realise that their enjoyment and comfort is uppermost in their hosts’ minds. Picnic tables are positioned to maximise the view or shelter from a cool breeze, an outdoor fireplace leads to long evenings outside, huge rolling glass doors keep things cool when it’s hot.
Copper accents, a high-spec kitchen, tasteful furnishings, an endless supply of fluffy white towels and crisp high-thread count sheets all add to the luxury vibe.
The Point is built on the farming family’s favourite picnic spot and there’s no mystery around why they chose that location or built to make the most of it – it’s perfectly clear when you lie in bed and gaze at a starspangled sky and then wake to a view down the bay.
Native kanuka bush provides a welcome windbreak and also is home to native birds including pı¯wakawaka (fantail), tı¯tipounamu (rifleman) and korimako (bellbird).
A private, sheltered swimming cove lies just a few steps away, perfect for paddlers and for more serious swimmers.
A measure of a good weekend is the moroseness that settles in as your departure time approaches. In my case that gloom lasted well beyond hitting the road and getting home, and lifted only when I resolved to return at some future date.
More information
The Point at Pigeon Bay is just over an hour’s drive from Christchurch on Banks Peninsula. It is a gold winner in the eco category and is ID ##25672 on bookabach.co.nz.