Beachcombers

Malcolm is a retired engineer and Cheryl is passionate about gardening. In a moment of inspiration they decided Awatuna was for them .

In 2006, as visitors to the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival, they spotted a hectare of land with a B&B looking out to a boisterous sea.
Once they entered the garden and discovered the Waimea creek, flowing past on its way across the sand to the sea, they knew it would be home.


Cheryl uses the beach, in her garden and in her home.
Every day, on the way back up the beach to home she brings a wheelbarrow full of driftwood; some for the fire and some special pieces become garden art.

The palette of coloured stones inspires her mosaics. Cheryl doesn’t describe herself as an artist, but her garden tells another story. The sculptures are the artistic interpretation of her beach.

Occasionally the ocean provides an abundance of kelp. Cheryl follows the great coastal tradition of valuing the goodness of seaweed for the garden. She describes draping herself in trees of kelp to drag them home.

Every day the wild sea changes the beach; shuffling coloured stones, washing up intricate driftwood shapes and other surprising treasures.

Cheryl and Malcolm wish to share their magical lifestyle with visitors, they want people to come play on the beach.


During the summer, when the creek is a gentle flow, the sea builds up a sand bar creating a long lagoon.
The lagoon drifts lazily past the garden, inviting hours of beachcombing, kayaking, bird watching and even a little whitebaiting in season.

The lounge is presided over by Miranda, a black cat enjoying her dotage from her favourite chair. Max, the white cat has more energy and helps with the gardening.
The sheep and goats, whose original purpose was to help keep the grounds in order, are now tame, hand-fed individuals requiring constant supervision to keep them OUT of the gardens. One days happy munching would destroy the years of tender care they have put into an extensive planting programme in the extreme coastal environment.

Cheryl and Malcolm have researched the history of the area and can tell of the mining, centred on their creek. They can point you to the former goldfields where tunnels, tailings and the bush clad hills show the difficult conditions miners encountered in their workings.

Malcolm is a Tubist. He has played in many brass bands and now enjoys making a contribution to the community through the Westland Brass Band. The band participates in many district events enabling Malcolm to meet some very interesting characters.