Hawke's Bay hill country station and lodge

In Hawke's Bay the Rotongaio Station's expansive hill country farm and lakeside lodge have been placed on the market for sale.

The 769ha property, about 58km from Wairoa and 100km north of Napier, comprises a quality sheep and beef breeding/finishing unit with full farm infrastructure and amenities.

A five-bedroom lodge, a three-bedroom cottage and a boatshed provide ample accommodation and storage, with views across Lake Rotoroa.

Colliers International's rural and agribusiness team is marketing Rotongaio Station for sale by international tender closing at 2pm on Monday May 6.

Colliers' Hadley Brown says the property offers an excellent mix of productive farmland, native bush, lakeside recreation and accommodation.

"Rotongaio Station has a very good balance of contour, with the majority being easy-to-medium hill country and a high proportion of easy finishing country," he says.

"The station has historically carried 7500 stock units and has a full complement of farm infrastructure.

"The property has some forestry land planted with 15- to 20-year-old pine, as well as some areas of native bush on the steeper contours.

"A special feature of Rotongaio lies in its surroundings that provide the ideal gateway to an outdoor enthusiast's dream. There's water skiing on Lake Rotoroa, fly fishing on the Waiau River and excellent trout fishing on both waterways.

"If you prefer hunting, there is an abundance of wild game including red and fallow deer, Spanish goats and wild boar."

Brown says the accommodation provides the perfect place to relax after a rewarding day working the land, or an ideal tourism opportunity.

"The high-quality, five-bedroom lodge is situated on the shores of Lake Rotoroa, while the tidy three-bedroom cottage, with stunning views, is ideal for staff and guest accommodation.

"The boatshed provides accommodation, catering and bathroom facilities plus storage for all the toys."

Rotongaio Station is located at 2221 Putere Road, which branches off State Highway 2, about 40 minutes' drive northwest of Wairoa. The provincial town provides the station with essential services, including a vet and building and rural supply stores.

The agency's rural sales specialist Mike Heard says

about 595ha of the property is pasture, ranging from easy cultivatable land to medium-steep hill.

"An additional 19ha of light scrub provides fair pasture, while 73ha of steep native scrub provides limited grazing," he says.

The station has another 64ha of native bush, about 33ha of which is under QE II covenant. The remaining land includes 13ha of forestry.

"The property mostly relies on water from springs, pumped to header tanks and gravity-fed to troughs throughout the property. Some paddocks rely on dams and streams for water," Heard says.

"It also benefits from an annual rainfall of around 1400mm to 1500mm. This is generally evenly spread through the year, making the property historically Summer-green."

The property's buildings include a woolshed and covered yards, plus additional supplementary sheds and stockyards. The two-level lodge has about 293sq m of living space plus a 97.6sq m double garage.

The cottage, built in the 1950s, has around 100sq m of living space plus a 50sq m attached garage, open plan living, a covered veranda, three double bedrooms, a newly tiled bathroom and a new laundry. The boatshed comprises 108sq m of basic accommodation, a 44.4sq m timber deck and 132sq m of shed space.

A five-bay implement shed and lean to of 109.2sq m is near the 233.8sq m woolshed. At the rear of the woolshed is a 52.3sq m partitioned area providing basic self-contained accommodation.

Two cattle yards and a sheep yard have timber race and load out facilities.