February this year we looked at land 50 kilometers north of Westport, South Island. It was a new subdivision overlooking the Mokihinui River called the Mokihinui Preserve. The 40 hectare preserve has 11 residential blocks in various sizes with a series of covenants which were designed to protect the giant beech, rata and rimu trees plus many other native trees and plants such as nikau, ferns and lancewoods as well as it's native bird life.

Two sections in the Mokihinui Preserve had been sold earlier but all the rest sold within 48 hours of an article about the Preserve being published in the property section of Christchurch newspaper The Press. We bought Lot 8, and the title came through in August. We have named it Old Forest.

The Mokihinui Preserve is close to Seddonville, a small settlement with a pub which is also the mail centre and has a wee store. Seddonville also has a holiday camp, a bowling club and a volunteer fire service. It has permanent population of around 69.

The Mokihinui River has trout and whitebait and is also popular with kayakers, the beach is just few kilometers away and the area is great for mountain biking and walks and tramps.