For those plotting their exit from the boardroom, this is the escape made real. Wake to breaking surf, take your coffee on the deck as the mist lifts off the lagoon, and trade your commute for a barefoot walk on the beach.

Cedar-clad and wrapped in decks and glass, the home is currently configured as three bedrooms plus a studio, created by a previous owner, a professional photographer who knew exactly what this light was worth! Keep it as an inspiring workspace or reinstate the consented five bedroom layout. Fully double glazed and warmed by a Fisher wood fire, it stays snug while the storms provide the evening’s entertainment.

For those structuring the purchase with lending, the investment case is compelling. The fully self-contained ground floor, independent of the two levels above, could be run as boutique guest accommodation in this thriving eco-tourism destination, quietly underwriting your retreat while you reside above it.

And one detail changes everything: Okarito has its own airstrip. Wheels up from Auckland after Friday lunch, wheels down on the Coast before sunset.

Properties of this calibre, in this location, with this outlook, simply do not come to market. When the rat race finally loses its charm, this is where you’ll wish you’d already bought.

Okarito is the West Coast at its most distilled: a seaside settlement of around 30 residents, bordered by Westland Tai Poutini National Park and home to New Zealand’s largest unmodified coastal wetland.

The lagoon is a sanctuary for the kōtuku (white heron) and over 76 bird species, while the surrounding forest shelters the rowi, New Zealand’s rarest kiwi. Kayak at dawn, surf the break at your doorstep, or watch the weather roll in from your deck.

Franz Josef is 25 minutes away for cafés and essentials, with daily Air New Zealand connections from Hokitika Airport two hours north, or simply use the local airstrip and fly on your own schedule.

Established kayak hire, kiwi tours and lagoon cruises draw visitors year round, demand that flows directly to the accommodation downstairs.

Whether you seek a full-time sea change, a lock and leave retreat, or a landmark holding with income, Okarito offers what no city can: silence, space, and a front-row seat to the wildest coastline in the country.

For further information on buying through Mackenzies Real Estate visit our Buy page or for general information about buying real estate in New Zealand visit: www.settled.co.nz