WHY WAIHEKE?

In their move Down Under, Claude and Gabriella had initially bought land in Christchurch to fulfil the property requirement for their visa. But Gabriella sought something specific — well, three specifics — for their forever hillside. It needed a coastal landscape much like Ireland’s Slea Head, have good coffee in a nearby village and be close to a large city.

“Those were my marching orders,” says Claude, who ended up on a solo scouting mission throughout New Zealand just before their intercontinental move. “Everyone I talked to told me her vision was of Church Bay on Waiheke.”