We are thrilled to extend a very warm welcome to our inaugural resident, Anne Bonning, who moved in mid-February.
Anne lost her dear husband, Harry, in October last year and the process of packing up their North Shore home of 50 years was understandably difficult. “Harry struggled for two to three years with ill health but he always knew I was coming here to Tamahere. He would have been very pleased to know I would be happily resettled in our new home.”
While excited at the prospect of living closer to family in the Waikato, Anne was worried she might feel claustrophobic in a retirement village. “I’m used to an old rambling garden and a big house but Harry and I were convinced that in order to keep our independence, this was the only alternative.
“I must say Tamahere is a glorious solution to retirement living. It already has a wonderful atmosphere. I love the wide corridors and the high ceilings. The whole house has a great feeling of spaciousness and that in a retirement village is exactly the opposite to all the others. I’ve seen many of them but none were equal to the lovely openness I feel in my new home here.”
Within a week of moving in, Anne has already played a round of golf at the local club and enjoyed playing cards at the local Bridge Club. She says new homes are being built “everywhere you look” and she will be very pleased to meet her new neighbours soon.
Tamahere Village Manager, Brendon Russo, and Development Manager, Nathan Sanderson, have helped Anne settle in and organise all the small jobs that come with moving into a new home such as hooking up the internet and various appliances.
“They’ve come instantly to do lots of jobs around the house for me because I’m in my mid-80s and sadly can no longer do many of these things for myself now. The help has been absolutely brilliant and nothing is too difficult for them to sort. I’m most impressed with that sort of attention and believe I am a very lucky person.”
The surrounding carpark and roads are also being prepped and should be sealed within a month. Meanwhile, consent for the adjacent health spa (which will house our swimming pool, sauna and gymnasium), has been submitted to council and we expect to get the go-ahead in March so construction can begin. We’re all looking forward to watching these fantastic facilities be built.