36 | Lifestyle options galore Stage one of The Marsden Cove development consists of 100 plus canal and non-canal lots, a 230 berth marina including waterfront retail and commercial amenities. Hopper Developments: Marsden Cove DEVELOPMENT After thirty years of working in landscaping in Northland Ben Edgar knows what works in the area’s picturesque but sometimes challenging conditions. One recent focus for Ben’s firm, Blue Nikau Landscaping, has been the Marsden Cove development, where they have worked on about a dozen homes, along with creating the landscaping around the Anchorage lifestyle village at the site. Ben says the key to landscaping, which looks good and thrives, is all about getting the design right in the first place. He says Blue Nikau is a specialist in bringing out the best in the beautiful but harsh coastal environments, and they know what styles will work. He says the plantings in the area need to be able to deal with coastal conditions like salt laden winds and long stretches of dry weather. The gardens Blue Nikau have created within Marsden Cove have often had a resort feel to match the holiday atmosphere of the many waterfront properties, with an emphasis on palms and hardy sub-tropical plants. “We know that a mixture of natives and exotics, Kentia palms, hibiscus – they will look great, and do well in these conditions.” He says careful plant choice is very important, and that’s where Blue Nikau Landscaping having their own nursery comes in handy. “We grow our own plants, plants which suit the area,” says Ben. “So, we’re not just heading to a plant centre and taking what they have, and hoping they don’t fail. We know the varieties chosen and the quality of our plants will thrive.” Many of the properties at Marsden Cove are holiday homes, or homes which people are planning to move into permanently in the future. Therefore, Ben says they make a point of ensuring the landscaping is low maintenance, and not in need of constant tending including watering. He says that often means either selecting low water requiring plants or setting up a high quality and efficient automatic irrigation systems in a limited area of the garden. Blue Nikau often even suggest a no lawn property. This reduces water usage and no lawn means no mowing. Blue Nikau can also provide ongoing maintenance, and if this is taken up can offer a 12-month guarantee. Ben says they can often suggest ideas that people have never considered for an imaginative but personalised garden that you’ll love to spend time in. Design to fit the environment Imagine waking up one morning, looking out your front window and weighing up whether to go for a quick swim off the end of your private jetty or head out fishing. It’s a lifestyle which Leigh Hopper says is proving very popular at Marsden Cove. The Marsden Cove development situated within the confines of the Whangarei Harbour and neighbouring the existing community of One Tree Point, commenced construction back in 2005. Steadily growing over the next 17 years to become one of Northland’s most exciting coastal lifestyle developments. Offering residential and retirement waterfront and non-waterfront living along with a world-class 230 berth marina including retail, commercial, and boat haul out facilities. On completion of the development there are expected to be close to 1000 homes, with the project currently two thirds of the way through. It’s the brainchild of Leigh Hopper, the principal shareholder and chairman of Hopper Developments Limited. Hoppers are a privately owned family company, now with its third generation heavily involved within the company. Hoppers have an extensive knowledge and experience with coastal development over the past 50+ years, projects between the Rachel Graham East Coast of the Coromandel including the greater Auckland area through to Whangarei. Consisting of coastal residential subdivisions, marinas, and more exclusively, canal housing developments. Hoppers developed New Zealand’s first two canal housing development, Pauanui Waterways and Whitianga Waterways on the Eastern coast of the Coromandel. Stage 1 of Pauanui Waterways opened in 1993 and was the first coastal subdivision held under the newly adopted Resource Management Act (RMA or formally known as the Town and Country Planning Act). Marsden Cove is slightly more unique in design than the other canal developments of Pauanui and Whitianga, due to the tidal height difference within the Whangarei harbour. A navigable lock & weir system was created allowing vessels of up to 20 metres in length, six metres in beam, and a draft up to 2.5m to enter and exit Stage’s 2 and beyond. By design, this has created a higher amenity look and effect, with a controllable level of tide closer resembling that of high tide. Stage 1 which consists of 100 plus canal and non-canal lots, a 230 berth marina including
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