Whitianga's classic Kiwiana campground, with its own swimming river and native bush surrounds, has been placed on the market for sale.
The 1.17-hectare property at one of the Coromandel Peninsula's favourite beach towns has been a destination for campers and holiday-makers since the 1970s.
The campground – a short walk from Whitianga’s famed Buffalo Beach – is reflective of New Zealand’s old school rustic camping psyche. Guests are encouraged to make their own fun through everything from outdoor sports activities to sharing a glass of beer or wine with the neighbours at the end of the day.
Camping accommodation options at the Whitianga Campground include 59 powered non-powered tent and motor home sites, six budget cabins for up to five guests and four self contained tourist flats for up to eight guests.
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There's also a managers' home, a two storey four-bedroom house and a separate two-bedroom cottage, ideal for staff quarters.
The site has enough space to build glamping accommodation options. Photo/ Supplied.
The campground includes a the shared camp kitchen and adjoining outdoor dining space, separate men’s and women’s shower and toilet blocks, and a sheltered barbecue area, perfect for the summer gatherings.
Bayleys Whitianga and Bayleys Hamilton are selling the land, buildings and campground business as a going concern , with a sale by tender closing on October 22. The agents marketing the property, Josh Smith and Belinda Sammons, say with underutilised space toward the rear of the site, there are multiple options for any new owner to explore.
“The building infrastructure and set up of Whitianga Campground reflect the very heart of Kiwiana from a bygone era. The cabins and amenities are basic by today’s standards, yet totally comfortable and functional - from a time where families talked around the dinner table lit by Tilley lanterns or played cricket and frisbee on the grass outside, rather than being hunched over their mobile phones and i-pads, or scrambling over the ropes and poles of a supervised adventure theme park,” said Smith.
He says there's already a substantial number for bookings for sites, starting in the lead up to Christmas this year and running well into the summer of 2021.
A new owner could keep the site as it is or upgrade it with new accommodation options, such as glamping, which will be popular year round, not just during the summer.
“Glampers are prepared to pay top dollar for that authentic camping experience - the comforts of a four-star hotel in an environment of a traditional Kiwi camp site," Smith says.
Sammons says that for an off-site owner-operator looking to take on the business, there was the obvious potential to convert the bigger four-bedroom residential dwelling into the accommodation pool – thereby adding another option for guests with bigger numbers in their party.
“Whitianga Campground has deliberately chosen to operate its plot sites on a low-density model - allowing the caravan, tent and motor home sites to be spaciously spread out, many under the shade of large mature native trees running around half the perimeter of the site – rather than being tightly packed side-by-side in large field-like spaces.
She adds that the surrounding thick bush, combined with the positioning of the holiday park campsite in a shallow valley, protect the property from strong winds.
The campground is located close enough to Whitianga township that guests can easily drive into town yet having a sense of peace and serenity.
