So iliana contacted an Opotiki estate agent and began to search for a comparable property in the area.  Some land bordering the property was being subdivided, but it wasn’t the same.  Many fruitless trips were made all around the place, often ending in the parking lot at the bottom of aurum’s drive where that day’s offerings were discussed, in full view of aurum.

Nothing came of that, so iliana began searching in Whakatane and Ohope.  A house was found in Ohope, an offer made and excepted.  But upon her return from a weekend trip to Auckland, despite the assurances of the realtor that the trip would in no way jeapordize the sale, iliana found that the owners had sold the house to someone else, illegal as though that might have been.  Never mind, there must be something better to be found.

And so there was.  A beautiful section at Ohope.  Negotiations began with the owners, now living in Hawaii.  Telephone calls and faxes bearing figures.  Trips to council and valuers involved, and the negotiations nearing the end, the last set of figures back and forth.  But the wife answered the final phone call and put an abrupt end to the sale.  This was a stunning property with a wonderful location, and it hardly seemed possible, but there must be something even better to come.

As over a year had passed at this point, iliana returned to the Opotiki agent to explore further afield.  One trip yielded nothing, but a second trip was planned for the following Tuesday afternoon.  On Monday, iliana discovered an unusual house at West End in Ohope, and made an offer.  Tuesday morning the offer was accepted, with the stipulation that the deposit be made Wednesday morning at 9:30.  Agreeing, iliana rang the Opotiki agent to cancel the afternoon’s outing.  His wife answered: "You mean he’s not been in touch with you?" "No, why?" "He had some news that you would be excited about."  Iliana knew that he knew what would excite her.  "But if you’ve not heard from him by 8 tonight, he won’t be able to ring you until 10:30, as the projectionist in Opotiki is ill and he has to show tonight’s movie." 

10:30’s phone call came, a mere 11 hours before the deposit on the West End house was due.  The lovely couple had decided to sell, to shorten their list of 6 prospective buyers to 1, and were willing to sell to iliana if the family with first refusal rights should refuse. 

Iliana rang her Ohope realtor the next morning to explain developments.  Had she bought the West End property, she would have had to wait until the end of the summer to move in, to give the elderly owner time to make other arrangements.  So she asked the owner to wait a week to see if her dream property was available, and the time was extended. 

The prospective buyers with first refusal were to visit Ohiwa over the weekend.  The weather was perfection, the sea sparkling constantly.  But on Sunday night about 5 pm the phone call came: the house was too small for the family.  Iliana instructed the realtor to drive now to the property and meet her there, and within 30 minutes had signed the purchasing agreement. 

Iliana had little doubt that she had found her New Zealand home.  Clearly, it was meant to be.

iliana moved to new zealand in 1990, following her heart.  no choice, really, as she had left it in new zealand after her first visit december of 1988. as she says, "i wasn’t born in new zealand but i came as soon as i could."

upon her arrival in new zealand in september of 1990, she lived in a flat in a nursing home operated by her employer until she located a house to rent at ohope beach, the beach just west of ohiwa beach where she now lives.  she had never had the luxury of living at the ocean; it was a thrill.

friends from ohope invited her to a picnic the day after christmas on a neighboring beach.  after enjoying a picnic beneath beautiful pohutukawa trees on the beach, it was time to go.  walking back up the rise to the parking lot, she looked across the road and saw a cottage tucked away in native pohutukawa bush; it was love at first sight. 

one day a few months later, she returned to the parking lot. she had decided to meet the owners of the cottage and request that they keep her name and number in the event they ever wished to sell this charming property.  she didn’t get very far when she had what was to her a most unusual experience. 

when she reached the gate, she clearly heard a voice speak to her.  "we are so glad you have finally come.  we have been waiting so long for you to arrive."

there was no one around, and she realized the speaker wasn’t there in a physical sense.  this was quite surprising. (the last sentence is an understatement.)

feeling most welcome by she didn’t know whom, she proceeded up the hill to the cottage, where a lovely english couple greeted her.  they quickly bid her farewell when she told them why she had come.  they had no intentions of moving but if they ever should want a change, they had a list with 6 people on it already waiting for them to leave.  this list was long enough already, good day.

quite a contrast between the experience at the bottom of the hill  and that at the top…

ever asked for a sign to know what step to take next?

well, aurum’s signs are up, so there you go, or here you come…

it took 3 men to put up one sign, then two men could handle the others, but they are all in place to show you the way to my own little bit of heaven.  the waves are crashing to shore (not rough, just loud because i’m so close) and the native birds are singing and the plumber is drilling.  the plumber will finish in an hour, but the ocean and the birds won’t. 

the showers above the deep, luxurious spa baths are the last thing to go in.  all is finished after i paint some woodwork and clean and finish one curtain.  perhaps tonight all will be ready for you to drive up my new driveway…

many thanks go to all those who have worked so hard for so long to make this possible.

oh, a wee story.  i made the electrician an espresso, my best one yet.  don’t know how i could improve on it, really.  anyway, i walked out of the house up two meters of steps and by the time i got to the top, two pohutukawa stamens were in the coffee, a new zealand christmas coffee it was.

yesterday we had our christmas "break up," punctuated by the chocolate cake with bourbon & almonds, with a rich ganache icing.  yummy.  i still have two pieces…