About your bed and breakfast  hosts

Barb & Steve Cuthbert

We  feel ourselves extremely fortunate in belonging to two countries and two cultures, with dual UK & NZ nationality.  Originally from the UK, we decided on an extended honeymoon/holiday in 1974 and emigrated to New Zealand. Our two children were born in Wellington, and we settled into the joys of NZ family life.  Called back to the UK in 1987 for a ‘few years’ we re-settled there and brought up our children in suburban Brentwood, Essex.   Living amongst family and old friends was great,as was easy access to Europe and its diverse cultures.    However, in 2005, with offspring launched into adult life and the university social scene, we took up the offer of early retirement and, taking the cats and leaving the kids, we embarked on the NZ version of the ’good life’ on a bare 8 acre lifestyle block in Kauri, a beautiful rural location just north of Whangarei.   Here we served our apprenticeship as newcomers to the rural lifestyle, in a barely habitable caravan for 9 months while we built a barn, planted hundreds of trees, put in water and sewage systems etc. and dreamed of a house with a flush toilet.  With the barn completed and enjoying relative luxury in our new quarters, we refined the plans for the next build, a new house.   But, just to make sure we were in the right place, we had a last look around.    We saw Totaranui was up for sale, came to view,  and fell in love with it.   And here we are.   

We left our two children and most of our friends in the UK, but we brought two with us :

Zac and Taz, the family cats. They really enjoy the laid-back NZ lifestyle and peace and quiet of Totaranui.