Extraordinary Coromandel estate

A remarkable Coromandel estate shaped by more than two decades of creativity, music and connection to the land has been brought to market, offering its next owner a private coastal sanctuary unlike anything in New Zealand.

Set across 30.88 hectares at Ōpoutere, Ohui combines an extraordinary handcrafted residence, panoramic coastal and rural views, a resort-style swimming pool, purpose-built recording studio, expansive grounds and access to an almost deserted white-sand beach.

But behind the physical attributes is a property with a story every bit as distinctive as its architecture.

Completed in 2001, the main residence was created by its previous owner following years spent overseas studying yoga. Drawing inspiration from India and Morocco, and taking cues from the circular form of a yurt, the resulting home was designed as an expression of its surroundings rather than a conventional coastal residence.

The handcrafted home sits high above the landscape, its elevated position capturing 360-degree views across the Coromandel countryside, coastline and offshore islands.

Current owner Tim White says the changing outlook remains one of the property's most captivating qualities.

"The light is constantly changing. You look out towards Slipper Island and the landscape can feel completely different from one hour to the next. It's extraordinary."

White and his family purchased Ohui a decade ago after an exhaustive seven-year search for somewhere genuinely different within reach of Auckland.

They’d never attended the festivals for which Ohui was known for and approached the property without any particular connection to its past.

"We searched for nearly a decade for something different and special, and Ohui was simply not like anything else we had seen," says White.

"You get glimpses of the house as you approach, but you can't immediately see what makes the property so special. It draws you in and gradually reveals itself. There is a lot to discover."

That sense of discovery extends well beyond the main residence.

A separate purpose-built recording studio provides an inspiring creative space with accommodation and views along Ōpoutere Beach, while elsewhere on the estate are expansive paddocks and grassed areas, an outdoor stage, established campground-style infrastructure and even a glow worm cave tucked into the lower grounds.

Then there’s the beach.

Reached from the property via a reserve, the sweeping stretch of white sand remains remarkably quiet, despite the popularity of the wider Coromandel.

White estimates that around 95 percent of the time his family visits the beach, there’s nobody else there.

"That kind of access is pretty rare. Some of our greatest memories have been down there surfing with friends and having the entire beach to ourselves."

Ohui's history has also helped shape the property into what it is today.

For many years the estate was home to the Prana Festival, which transformed its lower paddocks into a gathering place for yoga, music, creativity and wellbeing. At its peak, around 2,000 people attended the multi-day event, with infrastructure including the outdoor stage, camp kitchen and shower facilities supporting the gatherings.

While those days have passed, traces of that chapter remain, giving the estate potential that extends far beyond its use as a private home.

Bayleys salesperson Lauren Mirabito says a future owner could see Ohui as an exceptional family retreat, a place to bring generations together, or explore its potential as an exclusive wellness, creative or corporate retreat.

"There is so much you could do with Ohui, but what is quite special is that you also don't need to do anything with it," she says.

"It will appeal to someone who values privacy and space but also wants to feel genuinely connected to the land and environment around them. It's very hard to find this amount of land, an established home of this calibre and access to such a beautiful stretch of coastline all within one property."

The residence’s circular form creates changing perspectives throughout the home, with the primary outlook oriented east towards Ōpoutere Beach. The master bedroom looks across the swimming pool to the ocean beyond, while the elevated office captures another dramatic perspective over the estate.

White says the property comes into its own throughout the seasons.

"The house is fabulous in summer, but winter is just as special. You can have the fire going and sit there looking out at that view. Ohui has its own pace. It's calm."

For him the recording studio is another favourite retreat.

He jokes about playing guitar “badly” during evenings spent with friends, or simply listening with the distant sound of waves in the background.

Mirabito says recreating Ohui today would be an enormous undertaking.

"There has clearly been an extraordinary amount of thought, investment and craftsmanship put into the property over many years," she says.

"Trying to find the land and then recreate everything that is already here would be incredibly difficult. You're buying something that has evolved over time and developed its own history and character."

It feels deeply secluded, yet Whangamatā is around a 20-minute drive away and Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga are all within a few hours.

For the White family, increasingly busy lives in Auckland have ultimately prompted the decision to sell after 10 years of ownership.

White describes the move less as selling a conventional property and more as passing Ohui on to its next custodian.

"It has to be seen and experienced to really understand it," he says.

"I've never seen people connect to land in quite the way they do at Ohui. It gets in their blood. It is extraordinary."