An internationally acclaimed hunting estate in Canterbury has been placed on the market for sale.
Manuka Point Station offers buyers the chance to bag 1271ha of alpine wilderness in Rakaia and an architecturally designed five-bedroom residence .
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The property, which is being marketed for sale by negotiation by Ray White agents Mike and Debi Freeman, is expected to attract high-net worth buyers.
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The station is owned by professional hunter Don Patterson, who first set foot on the land there almost 40 years ago. He fell in love with the rugged alpine location where red stag, fallow deer and Tahr roam free and he made it his mission to buy it.
He eventually persuaded the then owners to sell him the land, and over the past 18 years he has lived there with his wife and two sons.
The estate is home to red stags. Photo / Supplied
“This property is the most renowned for professional hunting in New Zealand and we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming multiple nationalities over the last 18 years,” he said.
“I’ve always had a dream to become the ‘Spartacus’ of professional hunters, and to be that person, you have to be able to hunt on the best properties in the world – I’m proud to say that my property certainly ticks that box."
He added: “My wife, our two boys and I moved to Manuka Point 18 years ago, and it has provided our family with complete privacy and some wonderful memories.
The luxury lodge that owner Don Patterson promised his wife he would build. Photo / Supplied
“Prior to purchasing the property, I promised Julie that if she would move to this vast remote pristine wilderness, I would build her a lovely new home. I kept my promise and our purpose-built luxurious hunting lodge/home was finally officially opened in February 2009."
Mike Freeman said property has already attracted a lot of interest, including from celebrities. "It's a bit special and it comes with a special price. We've had some high-profile people, particularly from the States, who've enquired about it and Covid-19 is helping as a lot of people there want to move to New Zealand," he said.
"Ideally, we'd love to sell it within New Zealand and we're working with some people at the moment."
The listing of the station comes several days before the auction of another nearby playground: Terrace Downs Golf Resort.
The resort in Canterbury's high country is being sold following the death of its Japanese owner, Hiroshi Hasegawa, from Covid-19 in April.
Terrace Downs Golf Resort has been praised as one of New Zealand's best courses. Photo / Supplied
Tim Rookes, managing director of CBRE Christchurch, and Warren Hutt, senior director of capital markets, CBRE Auckland, are marketing the property on behalf of Hasegawa's estate, with the auction set to take place at 11.30am on September 17 in Christchurch.
Rookes told OneRoof there was a genuine desire among locals in Canterbury to see Terrace Downs succeed. "It's really heartening to see that support. There's an emotional connection to the resort in Canterbury - people want to see it continue."
Hutt said there was strong buyer interest in Terrace Downs, with much of the enquiry locally driven. "The challenge for offshore groups at the moment is they can't get to the property, although we have had Kiwis based in Singapore and Hong Kong show interest."
He said most of the buyer interest was from individuals and groups who wanted to develop the resort as a business.
At the start of the campaign, Hutt said golf courses of Terrace Downs' calibre rarely came to market. “Golf courses certainly don’t come up on the market very often, certainly not in such a magnificent setting as this, so we expect this will be seen as a trophy asset by prospective buyers.”
