|
|
|
|
Catharina and Mieke Van Dyck escaped to paradise. Brought up in the family business in Belgium, they discovered a new world half a world away. They chose to pursue the ultimate challenge: a new life in a vastly different place as far from home as is possible on Planet Earth. And while they have brought much of what they loved about Europe with them, they have enhanced, not changed, what they found in their new home of choice: Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands region of New Zealand. Home at First guests think so much of them and their villas near Kerikeri that they rate the accommodations and hosting there the best of any offered by Home at First anywhere.
"We both grew up in Belgium, in a province called Limburg, near the Dutch border. And
as it was in those days (the Pope was still a bit more influential) we were a family with
10 children: 6 girls and 4 boys." THE FORMER 'SPANISH HOUSE', KERIKERI, N.Z. THE BAY OF ISLANDS The
sisters hired a manager to operate the hostelry for five years, but now consider the
experience a "…real disaster." In 1989 Catharina and Mieke took over the
operation personally and changed the name of the estate. THE LIVING ROOM AT "SALVADOR DALI" VILLA Each
villa features two bedrooms, one with queen bed and one with twins, a full bathroom (with
luxuriant shower), a living room with room for living, a complete and very useful kitchen,
carport (on the odd chance it might rain in Paradise), and private furnished terrace. 'BELGIAN-PACIFIC' BREAKFAST The Van
Dyke sisters enjoy working with the "hardware" of their villas. But they have
even more fun serving their guests, who come from around the world to enjoy this paradise
in the South Pacific. Mieke and Catharina are self-described perfectionists in paradise. What new challenges do they see in their future? "We have now reached the point that the villas are near perfection. There is still a tiny wish list left. Then we probably need a new challenge. We both would like some more time for ourselves, and to do more travelling. The Spanish Paradores sound just the thing we have to investigate..." MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOME AT FIRST TRAVEL TO NEW ZEALAND |
—PERFECTIONISTS IN PARADISE—
The Van Dyke sisters first came to New Zealand on a holiday 24 years ago and fell in love
with the country. When Mieke returned in 1984 with her brother, she happened upon a large
property then called Spanish House. An eccentric Englishman had designed the residence
after spending a lot of time in Spain, and he put a lot of emphasis on privacy for the
guests. 
"Tough luck, nobody did. They got all cold feet," says Mieke. "The
most important reasons drawing us to the Bay of Islands region in the sub-tropical north
of New Zealand's North Island were the scenery and the weather. Coming from Belgium I
always wanted to live in a warm climate and close to the coast. So Kerikeri it was."
The Van Dykes "baptized and dedicated" each villa in the complex to a specific
painter: one to Salvador Dali, one to Paul Gauguin, one to Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. Each of
the "themed" villas features reproductions of their namesake artist's work,
giving each separate accommodation a distinctive style and elegance.
And, while the Van Dykes make every effort to provide for individual needs (TV, daily maid
service, thick towels and plush robes), they do nothing to dissuade contact with other
guests and with the charming hosts. There's a very enjoyable swimming pool in the rose
garden that begs to soothe the weary traveler. And few guests can deny satisfying their
curiosity to discover the joys of what the Van Dyke's call their
"Belgian-Pacific" breakfasts on the sunny morning terrace of the main house.
"Coming to New Zealand has made us more down to earth. In N.Z. you live more with
nature. Life is not so complicated as in Europe. Any American will tell you that Europeans
are very problematic and intense people. But you tend to loosen up after a while living
here. When we visit our family in Europe they find us very relaxed and we find them full
of stress."