Countrydale -  an opportunity to enhance your income and life style - work from home and live off the land  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Countrydale is now for sale:  please refer to Trade Me property ID # AZA398 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This property is the perfect get away from all the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of country life. Located 30 minutes north of Masterton,  an hour from Palmerston North and under two hours from Wellington CBD. Nestled behind Mount Bruce, it is rural New Zealand at its best. Guests constantly remarked at the peacefulness and restful environment and the magic of the clear night skies. The super-fast broadband connection via  fibre-optic cable to the house, makes working from home an added bonus. Background: We purchased this property over twenty years ago, in search of a life style change. This began our wonderful adventure into country-life. We were city people and didn't know much about rural life. We have wonderful neighbours who welcomed us into the comunity and taught us to be farmers.  We were fortunate enough to live in Wellington and travel to the farm each week. Our menagerie of animals bagan with two pet lambs: Sam and Suzie. They were both bottle fed and both travelled back and forth to Wellington with us until they were old enough to live at the farm. As two very well behaved lambs in a city car, their visits to the city created much amusement. Then came Sally, our first piglet. She was looked after during the week by some neighbours. After her came Sally two, three and four. Then came George, a  cute kunekune pig who  was too small to leave on his own so again we housed him in Wellington during the week and travelled to the farm at the weekends until he was big enough to live on his own. At the farm, his house was next door to the aviary which was full of yellow and orange canaries and finches. We were gifted two goats; a horse and a pony. They all got on very well and the only complaints were from George when the pony or one of the lambs raided his house and ate his bed of lovely fresh hay. During this time we began to run farm stays, administered and managed from Wellington. We offered self contained accommodation for six to eight people. When the farmhouse was booked, we stayed in the caravans. This was very successful and we had many returning guests. We also ran several successful rural retreats.  The property has stock yards and a well built race as well as six good paddocks with water troughs in each paddock. The land is fertile and receives plenty of rain, even in the dry summer months, so when the time came to take over the farming we fattened sheep and cattle. We were proud that all our cattle and the majority of our sheep went to the export market. Our building projects included a large, double sided, covered BBQ. This was great to entertain large groups of around 60 people at a time. The open barn area provided our guests with a comfortable, rustic place to relax, talk and listen to music. The current project is to enclose the barn. This will enable more more options for the new owners. It could easily be developed into a large studio for painting or writing or a large reception area for weddings or large family gatherings or even more accommadtion: this,  the new owners can decide. It is now time to let someone else enjoy the amazing lifestyle we had. The property is large enough for two or more families to live and get a living off the land. Another house can be built or relocated on the property for extended family living: a second house is allowed on property over 4 hectares. History of the Local Area: The district was settled by immigrants from Denmark and Norway. During the 1870s. Scandinavians came to New Zealand to clear the dense bush clad country commonly referred to as the "Seventy Mile Bush". Settlers were each allotted 40  to 50 acres of land, partly in exchange for clearing the land for roading. Before the land was settled, immigrants lived in a transit camp at Kopuaranga. Individual family histories can be found on tombstones in the graveyards at the Lutheran Church at Mauriceville West and the historic Norwegian Methodist Church nearby This farm is sited on one of the original settlement allotments.