How’s the serenity? Bach ‘at the end of the world’ could be the escape you’re dreaming of
Sunday, 26 July 2026
Sal and Jack Patchett bought a Marlborough Sounds property sight unseen six years ago, arriving to find it overgrown and shrouded in fog during a storm.
The couple used a 12-tonne digger to clear overgrown land at their North West Bay property, revealing sweeping views across the Pelorus Sounds.
The property attracts abundant birdlife and regular dolphin visits, with surrounding waters containing snapper, gurnard and blue cod for fishing.
When Sal and Jack Patchett first laid eyes on the Marlborough Sounds property they had bought sight unseen six years earlier, it was something of a damp squib.
It was pouring with rain and a storm was brewing over North West Bay in the Pelorus Sounds. The area was shrouded in fog, and the home they had purchased was severely overgrown.
They had bought the property from a 'lovely' couple who had built the Fraemohs kitset home as a holiday retreat in 1982, but the land needed a lot of love.
'I literally didn't even know we had a view,' says Sal. 'It looks nothing like it does now.'
In came a 12-tonne digger to clear the land, opening up sweeping views across the Sounds. Later, a new one-bedroom building was added.
Getting materials to the boat-access-only property wasn't easy, says Jack.
'Everything's probably double what you pay in town because it had to come down on the barge.“
One thing that was only meant to be temporary has ended up staying: Jack's Holden Colorado four-wheel drive.
'It was supposed to go back on the barge. That was three or four years ago, and it's still here. I think we've done 60km in those four years,' he says with a chuckle.
For Jack, the property's isolation is part of the appeal.
'That's how I wanted it,' he says of the boat-only access.
'I've been around boats a lot, but we've had some fairly hairy rides down here.'
Sal isn't quite as enthusiastic.
Although the property is marketed as a bach, the couple have lived there full-time, carefully planning trips into town for groceries and supplies.
'We probably, on average, go to town about every second week. I've been down here on my own for three months before going to town,' Jack says.
Living remotely has become much easier over the years. What was once a struggle to get a single bar of phone reception has been transformed by the installation of a repeater station.
But it's the ever-changing scenery that still leaves the couple in awe.
'You look out at the scenery and every day is so different,' says Sal.
'It doesn't matter whether it's stormy or sunny. It's just beautiful.
'We just couldn't believe how big the skies are here, and the stars. You feel like you're in a different world. It's beautiful.'
The property feels like it's at the end of the world, they agree, but in the best possible way.
Birdlife is abundant, dolphins and orcas regularly visit the bay and the surrounding waters are full of snapper, gurnard and blue cod.
The pair manage to keep themselves busy, although they playfully argue about Jack's long-held plan to write a book about a local character.
'There was a fella called Wacka Anderson. He got up to all sorts of hijinks. He had a patch over one eye, his left leg was missing below the knee, and he had a parrot on his shoulder most of the time.'
But the book will have to be written somewhere else.
While they both love the 'absolutely wonderful' area and the home, Sal is ready for a change.
'I've missed connecting with people.'
She hopes the next owners will love the home and its remoteness just as much as they have.
'I'd love to see someone come here and live full-time – someone who actually likes to be off the grid, who wants to be away from the madness of the world.'
Price is negotiable on 448 Tamuakawawe Bay. The listing is with Martyn Birch and Katie Gibbons at Harcourts.
Readers are advised to do their own due diligence when considering buying a home. A first point of reference could be government website settled.govt.nz, or our email course, the First-time Buyers Club.