Along the western edge of Auckland, where the Tasman Sea moves with a steady and restless rhythm, the land narrows into steep bush-covered valleys before opening suddenly onto dark volcanic sand.
Karekare sits there, tucked between forested slopes and the wide sweep of the coast. Wind travels freely through the trees, and the sound of waves carries far inland, threading through houses that seem to appear and disappear among the greenery. It is a place that has long attracted artists, writers, and filmmakers—drawn perhaps by the landscape’s mixture of isolation and intensity.
For decades, the suburb has quietly earned a reputation as something like a small creative refuge, sometimes called a “Hollywood” corner of West Auckland.
Within this setting stands a modest bach whose story stretches across literature, cinema, and the simple passage of time.
The property, located on Lone Kauri Road, is now being offered for sale by New Zealand filmmaker Brendan Donovan. The small two-bedroom retreat once belonged to the poet Allen Curnow, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern New Zealand poetry.
Donovan acquired the property in 2002 while he was living and working in Los Angeles. The purchase was made in a manner that seems almost improbable now—sight unseen. After learning the house had belonged to Curnow, whom he had studied at university, he arranged for his mother to view the property and ultimately committed to buying it without stepping inside himself.
The bach, simple in form and closely connected to its surroundings, had served as a writing retreat for the poet. Over the decades that followed, Donovan approached the house less as a renovation project and more as a kind of stewardship.
Rather than transforming the building entirely, he made careful updates while preserving much of its character. The kitchen was modernized, insulation and new fittings were added, and the structure was maintained to better withstand the coastal climate. Yet the atmosphere of the original cottage remained, including furnishings and design details that echoed the home’s earlier life.
The result is a house that sits somewhere between past and present.
Two bedrooms open toward views of bush and sea, and French doors lead onto a deck where the afternoon sun settles over the valley before fading toward the horizon. From the hillside, the surrounding landscape remains the dominant presence—dense native greenery on one side, the distant shimmer of the ocean on the other.
For Donovan, the place has carried both personal and creative meaning. He has described himself as more a caretaker than an owner, conscious of the literary history attached to the home and the quiet legacy of the poet who once wrote there.
At the same time, the property has also played a role in his own work. Donovan, known for the 2010 coming-of-age film The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell, used Curnow’s fold-out desk at the bach while writing his screenplay.
Karekare itself has long been familiar to New Zealand’s creative industries. Its wild coastline and secluded valleys have provided both filming locations and private retreats for artists seeking distance from the city. The settlement remains small, its houses scattered through bushland along narrow roads that wind toward the beach.
Yet places like this rarely remain unchanged forever. Ownership passes quietly from one generation to the next, and the stories attached to a house continue to evolve with time.
The Lone Kauri Road property is now being marketed for sale with a set date for offers. The listing highlights the bach’s private setting, sea and bush views, and the careful upgrades made during Donovan’s two decades of ownership.
The house remains much as it has long been: a modest retreat in the hills above Karekare, shaped by poetry, film, and the long rhythm of the West Coast wind.
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Source Check
Credible coverage of this story appears in: OneRoof NZ Herald Stuff The Post Radio New Zealand