Liz and Evan Cowan are delighted to welcome you to Kamahi Cottage.

For years city friends have enthused over their wonderful hilltop location, so they finally built a guest cottage to share the serene beauty of their country setting with visitors.

Liz was born in Switzerland and still speaks Swiss-German fluently. As a young child her family emigrated to New Zealand to farm. Her mother was a fabulous cook, gardener and home-maker, and it took Liz some years to realize that she also enjoyed cooking, gardening and interior design. These days she loves experimenting in the kitchen, sharing her recipes, meeting people, making new friends, tending the large garden, reading and listening to music.

Evan was brought up on the family's 1120 acre (450 hectare) sheep and beef farm, left to study organic chemistry at university and met Liz, who was studying literature and language. At the end of their university studies they returned "home" for a year. They never left!

Evan's father developed the farm at the end of the Second World War after his return to New Zealand as an ex-Prisoner of War. He cleared the brush-covered land and literally sowed grass seed by hand, a seed sack slung over his shoulder. In his retirement years he has become one of New Zealand's leading conservationists, planting hundreds of thousands of native trees to ensure the regeneration of some of New Zealand's beautiful native forests. The picturesque family farm has large tracts of protected native bush – a proud testimonial to his work.

Evan retains a great interest in chemistry and "things scientific". He's also developed a passion for the bagpipes and now plays with a local band – he can often be heard practising at an appropriate distance from the cottage and has had many favourable guest reviews! His other interests include astronomy, constructing various engineering projects in his large workshop, distilling schnapps and sampling red wine.

Evan and Liz share the homestead with their teenage son and Coco, the resident cat. When he's not relaxing, Coco loves nothing better than welcoming visitors.