This house was amazing, a friend found it advertised as
'free for removal'. It perched high on a cliff above the motorway. Access was by sharp sudden turn up a steep and rutted gravel road.
Walking up there felt quite surreal, it was surrounded by bush and felt like it was miles away from anywhere, yet in reality the seaside town of Petone was close, we could see the traffic whizzing by down below.
It had been empty for a while, but had been in the beginning stages of renovation at some point, there were building materials in the front room and it was well kept inside, with beautiful character features. Due to it's isolated location it hadn't been vandalised, even though the door was open. It was an elegant house even in it's neglected state.
I was overcome by a solemn feeling while we were there, after I sat on a bed in a dark back room and we joked around taking pseudo-ghost pictures (top right)
I sometimes get washes of melancholy in abandoned places, they can carry a sense of desolation and loneliness.
My camera had a low battery, hence the lack of exterior shots.
Unfortunately the house was gone next time my friend and I went there- just a concrete slab and some scraps of wood remained.
It would have been the most amazing location to live in, sweeping ocean views and bush all around, no neighbours except the native birds.
I hope the owner isn't planning a sterile subdivision where this gem of an old house once stood.
