Sunflower Crew: Houseboats around the World

I love to be footloose and fancyfree, so I love to travel. One of my favourite walks when I am staying in Paris is past the Houseboats on the Seine River. They often have plants and herb gardens growing outside and bicycles on the decks but are always scrupulously tidy! I always wonder about the people living on them , and dream of visiting inside.

When Lance and I travelled to Amsterdam, one of the things that all of the tourists wanted to see was the houseboats! They are certainly a tourist attraction, but are so beautifully maintained and shipshape due to the regulations that both allow, and control houseboat living, that we are asking for here on Waiheke.

I know that there are houseboats in some of the most beautiful and highly populated , and highly cultured cities of the world...., I have seen houseboats in the US, in London, in Canada, in Germany, India and Australia , I know that the fear of some of the councils and Authorities is that houseboats will proliferate and get out of hand..

This certainly hasn't been the case. On Waiheke in the 20 years that there have been houseboats, there had been literally no growth in numbers, the same 7 houseboats in Rocky Bay and a small number in Putiki Bay

The reason for this is that houseboat living is not for everyone. To build a houseboat is a skill that very few people have... It's as expensive as building a Bach.. And the electronic equipment, batteries solar panels, wind generation systems etc are hardly inexpensive ! They lifestyle suits only very few people .

There has been no out of hand growth of houseboats, despite a complete lack of regulation because of these reasons .

Because of their rarity, people love them! Everyday, the tourist buses roar by on Waiheke and l the tourists stop to take pictures , and I must ask. " if some of the most densely populated , most beautiful and cultured cities in the World successfully understand , the color and character that houseboats bring to a city, why can't we?