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A chance encounter in Mangawhai Heads rekindled a long-lost spark between Amanda and Peter Blake, which ultimately inspired the launch of their new business APB Lifestyle Property Maintenance.
The couple had dated in the late 1990s and, unbeknown to one another, both relocated to Mangawhai in 2014. After reconnecting, they married in 2019 and settled on a 15-acre lifestyle property nestled in the hills of Waipu.
“Living on a lifestyle block ourselves, we understand the commitment, challenges and machinery required to keep things running smoothly,” Amanda says. “Not everyone has the time, knowledge or equipment to realise their dream lifestyle – that’s where we come in.”
APB services properties across Mangawhai, Bream Bay and surrounding areas, providing mulching, topping, scrub and gorse clearing, along with general small block maintenance and mowing services for subdivision developers and commercial customers. New clients receive a free ‘no strings attached’ first visit to discuss their property needs.
Their business tagline, ‘Less Sentence, More Life’, is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek play on the common adage, ‘Lifestyle Block, Life Sentence’.
“We partner with our clients to remove the sentence of owning a lifestyle property, giving property owners more time to enjoy their land.”
A jack-of-all-trades, Pete honed his skills under the guidance of his builder father on the family’s small farm in Helensville. Like his famous namesake, he’s drawn to the water, spending over a decade working offshore aboard various vessels around the globe until Covid-19 brought him home.
While Pete handles the hands-on work, Amanda juggles the marketing and admin with her job in events.
In their spare time, the industrious duo renovate their home and also create rustic industrial light fixtures from copper hot water cylinders, wood and glass.
“We are stoked to live in this magical part of the country and love to partner with lifestyle property owners to make their land the best it can be,” Amanda says. “The APB philosophy is, work smarter, not harder.”
