One of New Zealand’s most iconic tourist operations, Forgotten World Adventures in the heart of the central North Island, has been placed on the market for sale.
When farmer Ian Balme told people he was going to start a travel attraction in the central North Island, running golf carts on the unused railway line between Stratford and Taumarunui, they scoffed. Ten years later, that crazy idea – Forgotten World Adventures, is now an award-winning tourist attraction that includes tours by rail cart, jet boat, and helicopter, and attracts 7-8000 visitors a year. Forgotten World Adventures has won several industry awards and in 2019 it took out the People’s Choice category at the New Zealand Tourism Awards for the second year in a row, a first in the history of the awards.
Built between 1901 and 1932, The Stratford-?kahukura Line (SOL) is a secondary railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, between the Marton-New Plymouth Line (MNPL) and the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) Railway, with 15 intermediate stations. It is 144 km (89 mi) long through difficult country, with 24 tunnels, 91 bridges and a number of sections of 1 in 50 grade. Near ?kahukura there is an unusual combined road-rail bridge over the Ongarue River, with the one-lane road carriageway below the single rail track. The line is no longer in service for rail traffic and is under a 30-year lease to Forgotten World Adventures.
Forgotten World Adventures provides the opportunity to experience the remnants of several settlements and townships that had their day in the sun along the route while the Stratford–Kahukura line was being built. Long since abandoned, these are now sites of historic interest on the map of New Zealand’s first heritage trail.
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Today, Forgotten World Adventures employs 5 full time and 25 seasonal staff and significantly contributes to the economic growth of the region. As well as creating jobs, the business has increased visitor numbers to a regional area that wasn’t previously considered a tourist destination. Hobbiton, Waitomo Caves and Forgotten World Adventures is quickly becoming the new North Island Tourist trail trifecta.
In a clever move of horizontal integration, the Forgotten World team purchased the local Taumarunui motel and opened the Forgotten World Adventures Motel, giving visitors an accommodation option that encourages longer stays in the area.
As one of the strategic assets of Forgotten World Adventures, the 15 unit Forgotten World Motel allows the business to add value to the customer experience, increasing the business’s value proposition, and spreading its risk.
Located at the north end of Taumarunui at 9 Hakiaha Street the motel is well positioned across the road from the New World super market and BP petrol station. The motel also hosts a commercial kitchen for Forgotten World Adventure catering purposes and this facility has earned an A-Grade for food premises hygiene.
Forgotten World Jet Boat Tours has the longest commercial Jet Boat Tour in the Southern hemisphere.
Unless you walk, ride or paddle, Forgotten World Jet Boat Tours are one of the few operators who can get you to the Bridge to Nowhere. FWA are one of a select group of operators who have a DOC concession to operate jet boat tours on the Whanganui River.
Operating under a NZ Maritime Licence, Forgotten World Jet Boat tours run two Seeka Jets powered by Hamilton jet (one owned, one contracted). A combo river jet/rail tour has become a very popular product for the business.
Forgotten World Adventures has proven itself to be a highly profitable business generating a greater than 50% return on assets. Bookings for the next season are already well ahead of previous years and the new travel bubble with Australia is generating renewed international bookings.
The business’s customer demographic is between 45-70 and are willing to pay for a unique experience. The FWA market has always been 80% domestic and has proven itself to be immune to border closures. International visitors will only continue to fuel future growth.
This is a fully managed business with highly experienced tourism industry personnel running the daily operations. This allows the owners to focus on business performance and strategic planning to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that lay ahead in this rapidly growing tourist region.
The sale includes all assets of the rail cart operations, jet boat operations, and the Forgotten World Motel and an approximate 5% share of the Timber Trail Lodge. Opportunities for growth are extensive and well researched.
