Moving on up to Kaipara
The Eutopia of cafes
Robert Ter Veer sums life up well when he says leaving Auckland for Kaiwaka was one the best things he and wife of 38 years Marijke Valkenburg have done in their lives.
“We love Kaiwaka. It’s the best place ever,” explains Rob.
The couple have had links to the area since they first bought into the Otamatea ecovillage off nearby Oneriri Road in the mid-1990s.
They purchased Eutopia Cafe in 2014 and spent five years slogging away rebuilding the café structure from the ground up, finally re-opening on April 8, 2019.
The progress in the final two years leading up to opening the doors and switching on the coffee machine once again, was helped immensely by Rob giving up his job as a medical technician specialising in kidney dialysis at Auckland Hospital in 2016, to focus solely on project Eutopia.
Ironically, they didn’t really want a café but Marijke saw unfinished business in the state of disrepair Eutopia had fallen into. She simply wanted to finish the project to do the initial concept justice, at the same time creating something iconic for Kaiwaka.
Despite putting in incredibly hard yards rebuilding Eutopia and recognising there is work still to do, Rob and Marijke are proud of their achievements - and there will be more surprises to come.
Before Christmas 2025 they hope to have a sizable outdoor covered area in place to cater for the addition of evening dining and live music, as well as providing weather protection, yet another Eutopia offering to locals and tourists.
They have always wanted the café to celebrate New Zealand’s flora and fauna and its unique identity. They have also incorporated Māori mythology including Manaia and Taniwha into the walls. Local Iwi who have such strong spiritual connections to the whenua in and around Kaiwaka and the Kaipara have always been supportive.
Near State Highway One and below the café is a carved mural depicting the deep see. On other parts of the unique buildings, coastal and other environments of Aotearoa are depicted; including plankton, fish and other sea life, insects, birdlife, fungi, orchids and much more.
In breathing new life into Eutopia, the couple have clearly celebrated Aotearoa’s natural environment and it is worth walking around the interior and exterior of the cafe to take in the intricacies.
One wee secret many people do not realise is that when there was a risk of the very popular Kaiwaka cheese shop closing down, Robert and Marijke simply could not let that happen. So, they bought the land and building.
The business was subsequently taken over by their son Anton Ter Veer and his partner Kristel Faber. They see them as complimentary businesses, both iconic in their own way.
Away from the café is their other slice of Eutopia that doubles as their dream home lovingly dubbed ’The Farside Castle’, which they spent many years building from 2005. Complete with a 10-metre-high turret and a curved bridge taking pride of place through the house, their home has been the location of many gatherings including many music sessions with their son’s band and friends.
“We think we live in Paradise. It is a very special place with wonderful diversity. We want it to be part of our legacy and a beautifully protected pest free forest overlooking the Otamatea River. We plan to work hard to protect and enhance it”
Recently they added a big chunk of land to “The Farside’ realm, near the castle. It totals 61-hectares - including 44ha of QEII covenanted bush - where mature Kauri stretch all the way down the peninsula to the Raepare Inlet and Otamatea River.
“We think we live in Paradise. It is a very special place with wonderful diversity. We want it to be part of our legacy and a beautifully protected pest free forest overlooking the Otamatea River. We plan to work hard to protect and enhance it.”
Marijke can think of nothing more perfect than Eutopia helping fund such a special ecological project.
As well as working on the environmental enhancement project with Kaipara Moana Remediation and local nurseries to plant thousands of native trees on the land, the couple are also starting to propagate natives in their own nursery.
It is yet another string to their bow with Rob’s manufacturing workshop at home kitted out with gear allowing him to reinvent himself over the years as a stonemason, glazier, joiner, concrete guy, wood worker, lifter of heavy things and more.
Marijke too is also a dab hand with plenty of skill sets, including sculpturer, mosaicer, painter and carver.
She says she is glad to be off the café floor and out of the kitchen after years of hard yakka, post the café reopening in 2019.
“I was working my socks off and had to learn how to cook as well as run the business. Yes, it took me four years to escape and that is thanks to building a great team of loyal people and hard workers around us to work in the business.
“We get joiners and woodworkers in the café for instance and they wander around and check out the work. They really appreciate it and often comment that the work must have taken us a while. It is what you can do if you have the time to spend on it and you are a perfectionist.
You can certainly learn a lot of skills taking on a rebuild project like this,” says Rob and Marijke.
Rob laughs when he suggests Eutopia is the worst business proposition ever, revealing those five years of restoration were expensive years in all respects.
“It’s like artistic philanthropy. People walk through and their jaw drops and they are taken to another place. People come in and say: ‘Wow – that must have taken a long time … are you crazy or what?’ Maybe we are!
“We are pretty proud of what we have created. It was not easy and we had to dig ourselves out of a few holes and borrow money because even though we were financially secure throughout the project, we were still pouring money into it.”
“When we walk around, we see all the things we have not finished. Because we are perfectionists, we cannot do a half-finished job and creating that workload gets us in trouble all the time. This place is a time drain. Every piece of mosaic, all the structures, the joinery, stonework, special lighting, sculptured tables and carved walls – they all chew up loads of time.”
But they are now happy with what they have created, with the flavour of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí and Hundertwasser both subtle and bold to the discerning eye.
“We are pretty proud of what we have created. It was not easy and we had to dig ourselves out of a few holes and borrow some money because even though we were financially secure throughout the project, we were still pouring money into it.”
The fact is, Rob and Marijke got there and have created a welcoming environment for people far and wide to enjoy on their travels, or just to call their local coffee shop serving locally roasted Rush coffee beans.
“Everyone sees something different here. Some see a lot, some not, most people love it and see something cool or something else that no-one notices. It is also interesting that different spaces (around Eutopia) appeal to different people. Some choose a little dark alcove and others a big open table. It appeals to everyone on a different subconscious level.”
Just as people support them, Rob and Marijke continue to support the local community and worthy causes like Coastguard, Heart Foundation, UNICEF, WWF, Greenpeace and various local events.
“It’s about giving back and loving living life in the paradise we call the Kaipara,” say Rob and Marijke with evident pride and a good dose of humility.