Neil and Joyce Jubb left behind the bush clad hills of Titirangi, in Auckland for the wide open spaces of Central Otago. Lynda Van Kempen finds out why they chose a straw bale house.
"Living a bit lighter on the land" is the aim of Neil and Joyce Jubb and they say their straw bale home near Bannockburn fits the bill perfectly.
The house, built three years ago, is of timber-framed construction, with straw bale infill panels.
"We wanted a classic-looking house, with walls of straw bale," Mr Jubb says.
"When I saw this style of home, I liked the look of them, so that was it," his wife adds.
Having an eco-house was important to them so they incorporated as many "green living" features as possible.
Their 315sq m house has 50cm-thick external walls, is sited to maximise the sun, has a concrete floor for latent heat and the roof is pitched at 45 degrees, to make full use of the sun for solar water heating.
Windows are double-glazed and their log burner has a wetback.
When asked if they would repeat the exercise, if they built again today, Mrs Jubb nods.
"I just like everything about it."
"It has a nice feel about it, and it's got a different character," Mr Jubb says.
The couple, who shifted to New Zealand from England more than 30 years ago, had been living in Titirangi, in Auckland, surrounded by bush, but decided to head south and try something different.
"I fell in love with this area years ago. I just love the hills and and big skies. It's just outstanding, a super spot," Mr Jubb said.
"We'd sold a business in Auckland and wanted to do something different. Wine-growing areas appealed; if an area can grow grapes then it has a reasonable climate.""It was important that it wasn't too cold. Coming from England winters, we didn't want that."
Mrs Jubb says although Central Otago may appear a barren landscape, it actually teems with life.
"There's a whole series of colours, the thyme, the valerian and then the briar rose, it's a really interesting landscape, with the lake almost always that greeny-blue colour."
The house, constructed by Strawmark, a Wanaka business, overlooks the Bannockburn inlet on Lake Dunstan and the stunning view includes vineyards, providing a splash of vibrant green on the hills this time of year.
The location gives the Jubbs country living, only five minutes from Cromwell.
Fruit and nut trees and an olive grove of 54 trees, are all thriving on the 7000sq m section.The Jubb's most recent olive harvest, in June, yielded two litres of oil.
Mulberries, apples, pears, peaches, cherries, quinces and nectarines are among the fruit trees in the orchard and they complement the steady supply of produce from the couple's immaculate vegetable and herb gardens.
Mrs Jubb had completed short courses on sustainable design and was confident straw bale infill was the way to go.
Straw bales have excellent thermal insulation properties and are also very good sound insulators.
"It's great insulation, keeps it warm in winter and it doesn't overheat in summer. You can feel the difference and the concrete floor works well, too."
The "deep" windowsills caused by the bale-thick external walls and slightly-rounded edges on the inside of the external walls, plastered inside and out, add to the home's appeal, she says.
Solar water heating is working well and the water heating bill is "negligible", Mr Jubb says.
The house has three bedrooms there is another room over the garage, a loft to accommodate their grandchildren.
Macrocarpa wood features on interior doors and in the landscaping, weathering outside to a silver colour. Stones in a "dry riverbed" provide a division between the house and the orchard and olive grove.
