- A defunct Northland holiday park with a glow-worm cave is for sale after 20 years.
- Harcourts agent Maxwell Zhu says the 72ha property could be reopened as a tourism business.
- The property features a log-cabin home, kiwi display house, and facilities for campervans and trucks.
A defunct Northland holiday park with its own glow-worm cave is for sale for the first time in 20 years.
Start your property search
Harcourts agent Maxwell Zhu, who is part owner of the former Kaitaia Nocturnal Park, told OneRoof the 72ha property would suit owner-occupiers, but there was an opportunity to reopen the tourism business which closed in 2011.
Zhu said a local Kaitaia family had just arranged an inspection of the property, but interest had also come from Auckland and Australia.
The main residence is a log-cabin style home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, but the property also comes with 50 car parks, two concrete bridges, a large barn and facilities for campervans and heavy trucks.
Zhu’s listing on OneRoof highlights the property’s stunning mountain backdrop, bush tracks and “feng shui”, as well as a kiwi display house and a magical cave, teeming with glow-worms.
Photos from when the park was operational show its potential as a holiday park.
A brochure from the park's heydays. Photo / Supplied
The park was home to ostriches and other birdlife. Photo / Supplied
Zhu noted buyers would need to bring some TLC to the property to bring it back to its “previous shining" standard. The CV is $1.337 million, but Zhu said this did not reflect the improvements made to the property.
The property was first developed as a tourism destination in the 1980s by a local, who then sold it to a Hong Kong investor in 1995. The park offered a Kiwi holiday experience with kiwis and glow-worms.
One of those who took up the offer was Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who stopped by the park while filming his TV show World Tour of New Zealand in 2004.
Zhu and his business partners picked up the park in 2005 and told OneRoof it was a special place.
“It was originally owned by a Kiwi family in the 1980s. Then it was sold to a Hong Kong-based guy called Mr Lau, who wanted to run a much bigger business,” he said.
“Mr Lau did a big extension around 1997. He built all the commercial buildings here and an expensive boardwalk over three hundred metres, and a 100-metre sealed road, which cost a lot of money. He told us he spent over $1.4m on the property.
Discover more:
- NZ’s one and only dog castle for sale - Woofington’s eyes $4m buyer
- Fed-up landlords quitting Auckland - $1m home to be sold with $1 reserve
- Grand mansion linked to infamous Harvey Crewe cold case for sale
“When the park reopened [after the development work] the local mayor turned up and there was a bronze plaque from the minister of tourism.”
Lau had approached Zhu in 2005 to talk to his “rich Chinese friend” who might buy the operation. Zhu’s friend had no time to look after the business and suggested that Zhu and his fellow directors buy the business instead.
“We bought it and put some more [money] into it. We built 10 caravan sites with power and water, and two concrete pads for big trucks,” Zhu said. “We even bought ostriches and it became an attraction to the public with lots of animals for the kids.”
Zhu and his fellow directors continued to run the business up until 2011 when they decided it was time to sell. “Koreans from Auckland bought it from us, signed the contract and went unconditional. Unfortunately, one of the parties’ immigration [approval] was declined, which meant they didn’t settle on the settlement date and lost the deposit.”
Afterwards, Zhu and his partners decided against reopening the park but they kept the property for its land value. The kiwis were returned to the Department of Conservation when the park officially closed.
- 12 Beckham Road, Kaitaia, Far North, is for sale, deadline April 8
