A versatile cattle grazing farm and lifestyle block located directly opposite the busiest boat ramps on the Firth of Thames has been placed on the market for sale. Photo / Supplied
A versatile cattle grazing farm and lifestyle block located directly opposite the busiest boat ramps on the Firth of Thames has been placed on the market for sale. Photo / Supplied
This could be your boaties' paradise -- two baches right on the water at an idyllic Coromandel holiday spot.
The three-bedroom holiday homes at Waikawau, on Thames Coast Rd, are up for sale with a 143ha block of coastal grazing land.
Both baches, with road-front access to the coast, are right by Waikawau's popular boat ramp, which is used by up to 400 boats a day during the summer.
Photo / Supplied
Bayleys real estate agent Karl Davis said the area was a popular holiday destination during the summer months, and renting holiday homes around the area cost upwards of $1200 during the Christmas and New Year season.
"The ramp provides safe, protected launching and retrieving from the prevailing westerly wind, while the Waikawau mussel farms are just an 8 minute motor from the ramp -- providing excellent fishing," Mr Davis said.
The large property was divided into six paddocks with eight wire post fencing and had the potential to graze up to 1400 head of stock, he said.
Water was supplied by streams that run through the property, he said.
Waikawau sits between Thames and Coromandel township. It was first settled by a handful of pioneer families during the 1850s Coromandel gold rush era.
"In these early days timber logging was the predominant commercial enterprise - with kauri and totara extensively felled and milled," Mr Davis said.
During the 1900s, when the Thames Coast Rd was opened, Waikawau was used as the halfway point between Thames and Coromandel, with several boarding houses where coaches would stop for the night.
One of the original farm blocks was purchased by George Winstone, founder of building materials company Winstone Aggregates.
Mr Winstone established a quarrying business to extract thousands of tonnes of rock that was shipped to Auckland and used for constructing major buildings and early roads in the city.
Photo / Supplied
Waikawau is now known for its converted tram baches.
Twenty-three trams that formerly served Auckland commuters were moved to the settlement by entrepreneur and tram-lover Ted Russell, who bought them when they were decommissioned in the 1950s.
A further 10 were moved to Tapu, while the remainder were dotted around individual locations along the Firth of Thames side of the Coromandel peninsula.
