Make a point to check out a piece of paradise

Aerial view of The Point property for sale at Opito Bay, Coromandel, with property boundaries identified by a yellow border.

A property known as The Point at Opito Bay, Coromandel, has come to market after being in the same family ownership since 1946.

Located a three hour drive or thirty minute flight to Whitianga from Auckland, the 142.877 hectare property is now in four separate titles, with consents in place for various developments, including a large residential subdivision, lifestyle blocks and approval for three architecturally designed residential dwellings.

Heather Benson of Ray White Whitianga says the Point has a 2014 capital valuation of $24.775 million and has been listed for sale by private treaty at $35 million plus GST if any due to its special tributes and opportunities offered in numerous consents.

The four titles comprise:

The Development at 68 Skippers Rd - encompassing 10.4370 ha of beachfront coastal residential zoned land. Two current Thames Coromandel District Council Resource consents allow for the options of a 79 or 76 lot subdivision with the latter having Waikato Regional Council Resource Consents for an associated wastewater treatment plant and disposal Area. The Development is zoned Coastal Zone, Coastal Residential Policy Area with a Structure Plan Overlay.
Waitaha at 841 Black Jack Rd - comprising a 40.3600 ha lifestyle block which is the adjacent title to the west of The Development. A resource consent is in place for The Development's wastewater treatment plant and disposal area to be created inside this lot along with some backdrop planting.
Mahinapua Rocks at 721 Black Jack Road - a 56.1600 ha beachfront, lifestyle block located to the north of The Development and including part of the headland that can be viewed from the beach of Opito Bay. A Mahinapua Rocks beachfront house is proposed for this site.
Tokarahu at 707 Black Jack Rd - a coastal lifestyle block of 35.9200 ha and the most northern land parcel of The Point where a proposed Tokarahu House will be located. The elevated site has spectacular views of the Great Mercury Island Group. A Conservation lot can also be completed within this parcel to allow the associated dwelling.
"The Point lies on the northern headland of Opito Bay and has been owned, farmed and developed by a local family since ownership was established in 1946," Benson says.

"Featuring a spectacular and idyllic beach near the settlement of Opito Bay it is about a three and a half hours' drive from The Auckland International Airport and nestled on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula.

"This is considered one of the most popular Coromandel Peninsula holiday destinations and it is further enriched with the numerous islands dominated by the group known as Great Mercury Islands. Opito Bay is well known for scallop and crayfish gathering, scuba diving, great fishing, along with water sports such as sailing, cruising, kayaking and other outdoor pursuits.

"Mercury Bay is also widely known for its marlin and tuna game fishing with tournaments being held regularly by the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club in Whitianga. The Mercury Bay Boating Club was the challenging club in the first New Zealand challenge for the America's Cup in 1998."

Bensons says Whitianga township is about a 30 min drive from Opito Bay, and has a permanent population of around 4100 which can swell to an excess of 30,000 over the Christmas/New Year holiday season.

"The Lost Springs thermal spa is located in the township, along with numerous cafes, restaurants, retail stores, tourist activities, facilities and services. The renowned Cathedral Cove tourist spot is 10 km south east of Whitianga and the popular Hot Water Beach is approximately 12 km from Whitianga."

Benson says owners of property Sue and Murray Edens will be sad to say goodbye to the long-time family property. "They fondly recall Sue's parents Skipper and Joyce Chapman's story of riding in on horseback to take over a property which had not been lived in for 10 years with no running water or even power and only one neighbour."

Working several jobs, Skipper and Joyce Chapman eventually raised the capital to begin developing the farm 10 years after their purchase, while planting a large vegetable garden every year to help feed the family.

Murray Edens says there is never a right time to sell an ancestral family property. "However, we are now in our sixties and the farming future of our children is probably not best suited on this property," he says.

Sue Edens says the decision to market the property was challenging for the family to make. "I grew up as a child on the property when Opito Bay was an isolated bay at the end of a clay road. This is the culmination of four generations of family sacrifices, triumphs and tragedies over the last seventy years."