1/28 Surf Beach Road, Cape Paterson, VIC

Cape Paterson holds a fixed number of front line addresses, and the Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscapes settlement boundary means no further ones will ever be created. This is one of them. The coastal reserve sits directly opposite. The sand is a walk across the road.

The distances tell the story better than adjectives do. The Surf Beach Road reserve and playground are under 150 metres away. The coastal reserve is under 200 metres. Cape Paterson Bay Beach and its tidal rock pool are around 220 metres, and First Surf Beach is roughly 400 metres. The Market Place village hub, with the general store, café and tavern, is a very short walk in the other direction. Day to day, the car stays where it is.

The home is single level throughout, which is what makes it work for two very different buyers at once. There are no stairs to negotiate now or in twenty years, and there is no separation between a parent in the kitchen and children in the courtyard. A welcoming porch and foyer open into a light filled living and dining room where high ceilings give the space genuine volume. The kitchen keeps the working zones defined and out of sight when guests arrive, which matters in a house built for long lunches.

Three bedrooms and two bathrooms carry a family comfortably, or hold visiting children and grandchildren without anyone sleeping on a sofa. The master has its own ensuite and walk in wardrobe. An internal laundry, a separate toilet and an outdoor shower for sandy feet handle the practical side, and two car bays keep things secure. At 130 square metres on 307 square metres, the house is generous where it counts and small where maintenance would otherwise accumulate and no lawns to loose the weekend to.

The courtyard is where the address earns its money. A long lunch, a quiet glass at sunset, or a book and nothing on the agenda.

Everything else is ten minutes north. Wonthaggi, around 8 kilometres away, carries Bass Coast Health's Wonthaggi Hospital with its 24/7 Urgent Care Centre, GP clinics, dental and allied health services, plus Coles, Woolworths and ALDI. A local PTV bus service reaches the Wonthaggi Bus Interchange in 10 to 15 minutes, and V/Line coaches continue through to Melbourne.

Ten minutes to full services. Two minutes to the ocean. Protected in perpetuity by a settlement boundary that will not move.