From early mornings to easy living

First published in the NZ Herald.

When Lynn Collecutt started losing her balance and having the occasional slip, she knew it was time to give up her beloved Clevedon Animal Farm and look for a new home.

Being responsible for 10ha and 30 animals, putting on shows with some of her animals and hosting visitors from all over the world was work that Lynn loved – but it was a lot, especially when she started feeling unsteady.

“I couldn’t imagine walking horses and being wobbly,” Lynn explains. “I knew I just wasn’t up to it physically and being in my 80s, I decided it was time to stop work.”

Finding her new home proved surprisingly straightforward. She had been driving past the site for Metlifecare’s Ōtau Ridge and watching it take shape for a couple of years before she decided to leave her farm.

“I went past it regularly, saw it starting to take shape, and I thought that looks interesting. I put my name down and I said if I’m going to go anywhere, I’ll go there because I love Clevedon and I never want to leave here.”

Prior to moving into Ōtau Ridge, just the second resident to do so, Lynn had thought retirement living would mean living in a cramped little unit with others living right up against her door. She didn’t want to live in a city or a built-up area where she couldn’t see the natural environment around her. So the development of Ōtau Ridge retirement village was the answer to her prayers.

“I came to the promotional evening,” says Lynn, “but I had already made up my mind that I was coming here. Then I came to the open day and I thought – yes, it’s good. In fact, it’s even better than I imagined. So I thought this is the place for me.”

Lynn loves that the village is close to the Clevedon shops, her doctor is just over the road and when her little dog Arlo needs his check-ups, the vet is right next door to the doctor. Her friends live nearby and the church Lynn attends, where she regularly plays the organ, is also right in the heart of Clevedon Village.

“To think such a beautiful place has been built for me in Clevedon!” Lynn laughs. “I feel very blessed.”

Most people, when they’re downsizing, have to find someone to take their sideboards or dining room suites. Lynn had to find homes for her horses, sheep, cows and a donkey. Arlo was the only pet she could bring with her to her new home, although she did try to persuade the Ōtau Ridge managers that a donkey and a couple of horses would add to the ambience. They weren’t convinced, Lynn laughs.

She could have sold Clevedon Animal Farm as a going concern but she wanted to make sure that her animals would always be cared for, so they’ve all gone to family and friends. She’s already been to see many of them and she’s allowed to come and visit them whenever she likes.

It might have seemed a big change going from 10ha and a big farmhouse to a one-level villa in a retirement village, but Lynn is loving her new life. “My villa is amazing,” she says. “When you open the front door, instead of seeing little poky rooms, it opens out and makes you feel like you’re in a proper house. I look out over the Wairoa River, and there’s the Hunua Ranges...it’s just great.”

Lynn still has a garden, albeit one that is much easier to manage now, and she’s enjoying making the most of the facilities as they open at Ōtau Ridge. She says within the River Lodge “there’s a theatre area with the most comfortable armchairs, outdoor dining areas with outdoor heaters, a library with books and board games and chess sets. I’ve had my hair done at the salon and there’s a wellness centre... isn’t it lovely!”

Lynn says she has no regrets since leaving the farm. The fact that she can stay in her Clevedon community and live in a village that is rooted so deeply in the countryside means she has the best of both worlds.

“I think I’d have retired here earlier if I’d known it was going to be so good,” Lynn says.

“I often go round the house and I find myself singing and I think, I’m happy. I’m really, really happy.”