Real estate agent Stephen Gregory-Hunt has travelled widely around the Pacific so he is familiar with island lifestyles, but nothing he’s seen compares to the location of Flowerpot Bay Lodge.
“It’s amazing,” he says. “It’s not Hawaii, it’s not Waiheke – it’s very, very different.”
Gregory-Hunt is talking about Pitt Island, about 45 minutes by boat from Chatham Island, and he can recite many examples of what makes this place so special.
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The lodge, completed in 2013, occupies a heritage site which is the location of the home of Frederick Hunt, the original European settler. Photo / Supplied
“You can go to a beach where nobody else has set foot for a couple of years. There’s nowhere anywhere on the island to spend a dollar except at Flowerpot Lodge,” he says.
“And – I’m pretty sure I’m right about this – this is the first time land on the island has been publicly offered for sale.”
The lodge belongs to Gregory-Hunt’s cousin Bernadette and her husband Brent Mallinson, who have decided that it’s time to retire.
It is being marketed for sale by Harcourts, Rotorua agents Gregory-Hunt, Paul Sanford and David Schmidt.
Pitt Island is the first place in the world to see the sun rise each day. Photo / Supplied
The Mallinsons built the lodge in 2013 – “well, we finished in 2013, but we actually started in 2008,” Brent Mallinson says – and it occupies a heritage site which was the location of the home of Frederick Hunt, known as the original European settler on the island.
Their plan was to build “a glorified homestay”, keeping the design appropriately colonial.
It’s north-facing, beachfront, surrounded by regenerating native bush and with its own safe, crystal clear swimming beach.
“We go down for a swim every now and again, but I have to confess it’s not that often, because it is a bit chilly,” Mallinson admits. “But the fishing is incredible.”
The island is about 45 minutes by boat from Chatham Island and has only 45 residents on 65 square kilometres. Photo / Supplied
The 500sqm lodge sits on 2.28 hectares and is totally self-contained with spring and rainwater, solar power and a backup diesel generator.
They’ve just spent $60,000 upgrading the power system and it’s now totally solar. There are six double rooms, each with ensuites and balconies with superb ocean views.
Pitched ceilings with timber beams, decorative architraves, skirtings and dados and vintage-style furnishings follow the colonial theme.
The 500sqm lodge sits on 2.28ha and is self-contained with spring and rainwater, solar power and a back-up diesel generator. Photo / Supplied
Pitt Island is the first place in the world to see the sun rise each day and has some of the region’s most spectacular scenery, bird life, botany, geology, fishing, diving and hunting experiences. There are only 45 residents on the 65 square kilometre island, so the atmosphere is friendly and nature lovers are well catered for.
For those who prefer a more sedentary holiday experience the lodge has comfortable sitting rooms, an inviting, country-style bar, and plenty of books, including fascinating material on the history of the island’s early settlers.
Running the lodge has been busy in recent times so the Mallinsons have been grateful for the winter months when they are able to close.
The lodge has sitting rooms, a country-style bar and plenty of books, including material on the history of the island’s early settlers. Photo / Supplied
Now they are looking forward to further slowing down, doing some travelling, and possibly going to live on the mainland.
Replicating what they have had on Pitt Island will be well beyond impossible and they will miss it, but with myriad family links there they will remain connected.
“You can have a really good alternative lifestyle here and pretty much live off the land,” Mallinson says. “It’s rugged and remote, and it can be isolated if you want, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Flowerpot Bay Lodge in Flowerpot Glory Road on Pitt Island is for sale by negotiation.
