Horse lovers and stars of Keeping up with the Kaimanawas - Vicki, Kelly and Amanda Wilson - have put their Northland home up for sale. Photo / Supplied
Horse lovers and stars of Keeping up with the Kaimanawas - Vicki, Kelly and Amanda Wilson - have put their Northland home up for sale. Photo / Supplied
It's not quite a Kardashian mansion in the Hollywood Hills but a slice of land made famous by Kiwi reality television show Keeping up with the Kaimanawas has gone up for sale.
Horse-loving sisters Vicki, Kelly and Amanda Wilson leapt on to television sets across the country earlier this decadewhen their show about rehoming and taming wild Kaimanawa horses became a national hit.
Fans not only fell in love with the girls' down-to-earth antics, but the show helped inspire young riders and save wild horses that were otherwise heading to the slaughterhouse.
The Wilson's three adjacent properties are located in Hukerenui just north of Whangarei. Photo / Supplied
However – with the sisters now moving to other parts of the country to pursue their careers - their Northland equestrian centre where the show was filmed has hit the market for a combined price of $1.76 million.
Kelly Wilson said the family were sad to let go of the land after living there for 15 years.
"It is the most beautiful, peaceful property," she said.
"The other day for the first time ever there was a kiwi just outside the house and there are always two grey herons that live here - and rosellas, fantails and every kind of bird imaginable."
The Wilsons' three adjacent properties are located in Hukerenui, just north of Whangārei. Photo / Supplied
Located at Hukerenui, just north of Whangārei, the horse-focused estate is spaced across three properties up for separate sale.
They include the Wilson's "home block" – a 4.2ha section with three houses, dormitory-style sleeping block for up to 40 people, five-bay horse shed and a fenced show jumping yard.
A picturesque river also borders the property and has acted as swimming hole for the Wilson sisters and swim lane for their horses.
The property has an asking price of $875,000.
A look inside the stables. Photo / Supplied
A 10.1ha block of "rolling countryside" and 30 paddocks is also up for sale next door for $525,000 plus GST if applicable. It includes a 14-box equestrian complex with feed rooms, wash bay and a "well-designed" racecourse, stretching across the property.
The third block features 11.6ha of grazing land that is bordered by another river and up for sale at $360,000 plus GST if applicable.
Kelly said the family would miss the rivers and swimming holes the most.
"On most days, we are in or by the rivers with our horses," she said.
The property includes family touches, including this huge treehouse. Photo / Supplied
"That is probably the hardest part for us and our horses, losing the river, because you don't find the same lifestyle anywhere else."
The properties have grown alongside the Wilson clan's ambitions as the girls' love of horses grew from a hobby into a large-scale "education and leisure" business, hosting equestrian-based adventure camps, catering to kids and adults.
It was also transformed into a television set as the girls filmed several seasons of their show about rehoming and saving Kaimanawa horses, which would otherwise be killed as pests during an annual cull on the feral herd that roams in the central North Island.
Bayleys selling agent Tracy Dalzell said the property's equestrian facilities were impressive, given the family's reputation for "their love and care for both wild horses and their team of show jumpers".
However, the "rudimentary accommodation" previously used for mostly kids' camps had potential to be transformed into upmarket glamping facilities or rooms better suited to adults, Dalzell said.
Wilson said the property was also filled with nice family touches that would help future buyers settle right in.
This included a huge treehouse built by her dad and a stocked garden.
"The vegetable garden is massive with everything you need for salads, stir-fries and roasts and there are dozens of fruit trees, including plums, nectarines, feijoas, peaches, apples, guavas, lemons and oranges," Wilson said.
