Land and buildings set up to operate as an upmarket boutique accommodation lodge and motel – located beside a park-like golf course in one of New Zealand’s foremost big game fishing destinations – have been placed on the market for sale.

The semi-rural property beside the Mercury Bay Golf Course in the Coromandel township of Whitianga comprises a six-bedroom homestead style lodge along with five stand-alone self-contained cottages sitting on some 1.1665-hecates of land.

Whitianga as a resort destination is the biggest town on the Coromandel Peninsula’s eastern seaboard, and is highlighted in Thames Coromandel District Council’s 2020-2030 Community Plan as being one of the fastest growing towns within its administrative area.

“Retail, fishing, tourism, hospitality, and the education sector are the main sources of income in the Whitianga community,” the council report notes, with approximately 30-40 percent of the town’s income generated by the annual summer influx of tourists and visitors.

Over the past decade, Whitianga has grown to become New Zealand’s foremost big game fishing destination – with bountiful billfish found off its shores, and anglers coming from within the country and abroad to partake in the recreational activity. Whitianga now annually hosts one of the most lucrative big game fishing events in the Southern Hemisphere, the Kubota Billfish Classic, which has a potential prize pool of up to $875,000, including a $200,000 cheque for the heaviest billfish.

With scope to become an integral part of the Coromandel Peninsula’s tourism sector, the freehold flat land and array of accommodation buildings at 3263 State Highway 25 in Whitianga are being marketed for sale at auction on December 5 through Bayleys Whitianga. Salesperson Josh Smith, who has been involved with the sale and lease of several properties linked to Whitianga’s game fishing sector, said the lodge and motel style property was perfectly positioned to capitalise on the town’s aquatic recreational reputation.

Designed and constructed in a North American forest log cabin style, the main lodge at 3263 State Highway 25 comprises six bedrooms, an open plan dining room space serviced by a large kitchen, two lounges, two raised fires, games room/bar, and inviting wrap-around decking suitable for guest and visitor entertaining.

Scattered around the property are five self-contained one and two-bedroom cottages – previously used as motel style accommodation, but currently leased out as long-term rentals with tenants in place, with the property’s owners occupying the main lodge as one residential home. The venue has previously operated as Summer Wine Tourist Cottages

Smith said that taking the property’s infrastructure into account, and with the appropriate council consents, the most likely future for 3262 State Highway 25 was converting the site into a broad-spectrum tourist and visitor accommodation venue.

“The configuration of lodge rooms and stand-alone units allows for a multi-pronged pricing and service offering model dependant on guests’ requirements. Alternatively, the main dwelling could be retained for a family, and the stand-alone units run under an Air B’n’B or motel business model,” said Smith.

“Five of the bedrooms within the main homestead dwelling are situated in a private wing – allowing for an owner/manager to utilise the remaining separated bedroom for their own use. As a homestay style venue, it is forecast that each room could achieve a nightly rack rate of between $190 – $240 depending on seasonality.

“Concurrently, the handful of well-maintained standalone motel units with their own bathrooms and kitchenettes are calculated to let for between $220 – $250 per night, again subject to seasonal tourist and visitor demand, which is at its highest over the summer between December and February.”

Meanwhile, the vast expanse of unused flat land well away from any neighbours in the rural setting also added an opportunity to develop further accommodation options to the site, said Smith. Council consent applications along these lines – such as proposed development of a campervan accommodation facility – were lodged many years ago, but were never fully pursued.

“In addition to the existing accommodation building infrastructure, the address also encompasses some 10,000-square metres of fully fenced metaled work yards and grassed areas perfect housing large recreational vehicles such as caravans and motorhomes, or as boat storage for guests bringing in their own craft for weekend fishing events,” he said.

“There is also room for developing, subject to council consents, a camping ground amenity for tent users. Under such a paradigm, the broad configuration of accommodation options open to any new owner of 3263 State Highway 25 would cover off a multitude of price and service delivery points for guests. It has also been suggested that the site could operate as a weekday corporate retreat with room to sustain archery, clay bird shooting or axe throwing activities.”

The address previously ran a retail raw milk dairy operation, milking a small herd of cows from a now decommissioned six-bay milking shed – which Smith said had the potential to be converted into a function room, games room, or campground dining room.

Much of the Eastern Coromandel’s economic resurgence can be attributed to not only the region’s emergence as a fishing magnet, but also a Regional Events Fund which has been accessed by numerous community organisations promoting cultural and sporting events – and increasing tourism numbers as a consequence.

The fund is particularly conscious about supporting events which attract domestic visitor numbers from outside its borders of the Coromandel and Hauraki districts – with an awareness on the Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and Waikato regions.

Click here for more information on the listing.