Teachers who quit Auckland in disgust are selling their holiday park escape

A Kiwi couple who quit Auckland and their careers in education to run a holiday park in the South Island are on the move again.

Nigel and Shelley Lowe made headlines in 2018 when they accused the then Government of failing teachers.

They left their jobs in South Auckland and shifted to Central Otago, taking over Ranfurly Holiday Park. Six years later, with their children at secondary school, they’re selling up and moving to Timaru.

Nigel told OneRoof he was already back teaching technology, and living Monday to Friday in teachers’ accommodation at Timaru Boys High School, where his son Riley boards. Daughter Maddy is due to start at Timaru Girls High School next year.

He said the school had asked him to take on a role at the school “because they couldn’t find tech teachers. I said I’d give them a year”.

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That was a year and a half ago and he has plans to stay next year. “I don’t think kids should suffer because of the negligence of any government,” he said.

Nigel used his trade skills to carry out improvements at the holiday park. He modernised the units and cabins and upgraded the bathrooms, one at a time.

He also added a $25,000 jumping pillow to the facility, which keeps children on their toes, he said.

Nigel told OneRoof that he had rented out the park to multiple film crews over the years, with some of the productions filmed nearby including Mulan and The Power of the Dog.

“We had one guy who was a set director. He was telling us how they set up sets and did stunts. He also talked about Tom Cruise, who was here filming Mission: Impossible. We talked for about two hours,” he said.

Shelley and Nigel Lowe in 2018, when they quit their jobs as teachers. Photo / Newshub

“With The Power of the Dog, I was lucky enough to go out on set.”

While there, Nigel had a surprise encounter with Kiwi director Jane Campion, who won an Oscar for her work on the film. He had been asked to pick up her camper van from Oturehua and return it to Christchurch. “I jumped in, started driving, and Jane Campion was still in the back doing her editing. That was a bit of a laugh.”

He added: “This Christmas we’ve got another film crew in. But I can’t tell you who that is or what that is about. We’re not allowed to.”

Being a holiday park owner with his wife Shelley had been brilliant, Nigel said. “It was the people you meet, the stories you tell, and trust me, there’s a few of them.

“Shell and I both love it, but with kids getting older, family has to come first.”

Owning the holiday park had allowed the family to travel to Australia and Europe, which wouldn’t have happened on their teacher salaries. Back in 2018, the couple blasted the then Education Minister, Chris Hipkins, in a TV interview.

Nigel said teachers did not “get treated as professionals, we don’t get treated with respect”.

He said he was working 65 hours a week. His wife, a primary school teacher, worked the same on a wage of $52,000.

“I worked out her wage and divided it by all the hours she was doing, it worked out to be $13 something an hour, which to me is pathetic, so the Government need to pull their finger out,” Nigel told TV3.

The couple put the holiday park on the market for sale in June last year and have recently reduced the asking price to $1.375 million-plus. The property is situated on the Central Otago Rail Trail Cycleway and is being sold as a freehold going concern, which includes the land, buildings and business.

In his advert on OneRoof, listing agent Adrian Chisholm said Ranfurly Holiday Park, Motel & Cabins sat on two hectares close to Ranfurly and attracted a variety of guests.

“This is a rare opportunity to purchase a great business, including a great owner’s three-bedroom home for less than the cost of the average price of two homes in New Zealand.”

- 8 Reade Street, in Ranfurly, Central Otago, is looking for offers over $1.375m