A piece of the past where time doesn’t exist
In this third story in a series on holiday homes, Liz McDonald visits a tiny bach where it’s all about the simple life.
Boulder Bay near Godley Head is not just a one-hour drive and walk from central Christchurch, it’s a trip back in time.
A journey back to when a simple bach was the sort of place many Kiwis spent long weekends and holidays. Before booking apps and online reviews.
Christchurch’s Jamieson family owns one among the little row of Boulder Bay baches.
After beginning life as a one-room whaler’s hut, it is now a tiny getaway with about 25m of floor space.
It is one of a dwindling number of no-frills baches to be found on out-of-the way beaches, river mouths and lake frontages around Aotearoa. Many are on public or shared land, and of thrown-together construction.
The Jamieson family’s place has no road access, no town sewerage, and no Uber Eats. There’s only sea, rocks, trees, stones, seabirds, fish, about nine similar huts, and a visitor or two.
Unless you arrive by kayak, a steep walking track past a few sheep is the only way in and out. Everything you want to bring must be carried.
Bathroom facilities are basic – outhouses with long drops or compost loos. Wastewater from the sink is collected and spread on the land. But the power is hooked up, and water is on tap thanks to the Department of Conservation.
There’s a single bar of phone reception, if you find the right rock to stand on.
“This is the real Kiwi bach,” says Mike Davidson, a member of the Jamieson clan.
“It’s a great location – so close to the city but so far away. You just get here and relax and unwind.”
Davidson, a former city councillor and parliamentary candidate, says the best things about the place are the quiet solitude and the chance to do nothing.
“There’s an amazing view, and you might see a dolphin or a seal. Some people fish, but I’m not sure they catch anything. There’s board games and cards. You can just tune out from everything. But then, when you get a few people down here, it becomes a real community, which is great.”
Inside the Jamieson hut are three chairs, a tiny table, and a small kitchen bench unit that was lugged down the hill. Two bedrooms hold simple beds.
Pictures on the wall and collectables on a shelf tell stories of the bay’s past. The baches appeared between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s. “These places have a heritage factor. They’re iconic,” Davidson says.
Several years ago, Christchurch City Council tidied up the status of the baches at Taylors Mistake, Hobsons Bay, and Boulder Bay. Owners pay for leases that expire in the 2050s. The huts can be handed on through families but can’t be sold or rebuilt.
They’re not for full time residence, but staying for a few days is OK. The council lets owners rent their places out for short spells, to help meet leasing costs.
“This is a different way of living. The toilet situation isn’t for everyone. But like the isolation, it’s just part of the charm. Some people love how basic it is,” Davidson says.
Owners expect the sea will eventually claim the little structures. “This is a lowlying area. At some stage in the future, they will go because of climate change, whether it’s sea level rise or king tides.”
But for now, Davidson says, there’s very little to worry about in such an isolated getaway. There are only the tides, day and night, and hunger to structure your day.
“When you’re down here, time doesn’t really exist.”