The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country / Rural Property

<i>Mangawhai / Te Arai:</i> Natural beauty

28 Oct, 2004 09:44 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Breathtaking, gorgeous and idyllic, this piece of paradise north of Auckland is the definition of a dream lifestyle destination. By VICKI HOLDER.

Upping the ante on the romance stakes, marketers of Manaia Estate near Mangawhai, north of Auckland, have pulled out all the stops. Anyone who has become tired of a
continuing plethora of enticing lifestyle destinations wheeled out over the past few years will surely stop in their tracks with this gorgeous piece of landscape eye candy packaged in some of the most seductive promotional material you'll ever see.

Scenes straight out of an international fashion magazine portray beautiful young people set against a beautifully tinted backdrop of rolling green hills, golden sands and clear blue seas and skies.

Not your everyday piece of heaven, Manaia is a large residential block soon to be transformed into 25 sections set in 192ha acres of farm park and pristine native bush - just 90 minutes' drive north of Auckland.

The blurb accompanying the pictures slowly reels you into this idyllic rural location. "A paradise for lovers of the outdoors," ... "green carpets greet your waking gaze...", "rolling to a sparkling ocean...", "murmured song of crystal waves...", "the soundtrack to a morning stroll...". And so it goes on.

The site affords panoramic pastoral and sea views, with Te Arai and Pakiri Beaches close by, the perfect playground for water sports enthusiasts. Manaia Estate owners also enjoy a one twenty-fifth share of the farm park, an area leased from the Manaia Estate Residents' Association for breeding 500 ewes and a truffle farm.

Truffles, or Perigord Black Truffles to be precise, are prized throughout the world for their unique flavour and intoxicating smell. The ultimate gourmet taste treat, they have been attributed with other qualities such as their ability to boost health and virility. While they may vary in size from 2cm to 10cm and look like a cross between a shrivelled avocado and a lump of coal, they are succulent and firm.

Truffles are grown under oak or hazelnut trees, producing one crop every year between May and August in the Southern Hemisphere. Truffle host trees usually start producing within six to eight years from planting. When the truffles mature, the trees grow fairy rings around them, and trained dogs with a keen sense of smell are used to hunt them out.

Manaia's developer Bill Lee says 4600 trees were planted on the estate in 2002. Their roots have been tested to confirm they have been successfully infected with the fungus that creates the truffles. Lee expects the total annual production to be around 900kg, which, at an average sale price of $1000 per kilo, will provide an income of $900,000 and equate to a nice little royalty of $90,000 to farm park owners. Once the 3500 trees planted in 2004 are producing as well, then the farm park will be earning even more down the track, making it not just a holiday dream but a great financial investment.

As it has been a working farm, it includes all the usual farm assets, such as a woolshed, implement sheds, manager's quarters and farm machinery. The block will include a small lake with a tennis court and a fully developed equestrian centre with dressage facilities, stables, stalls and paddocks. Residents can take their horses along the beach or ride the trails in the farm park and surrounding hills. A community pavilion will be completed next month.

A permanent, live-in manager will maintain the non-farming grounds and all other amenities. Residents can feel assured their investment is well protected. Entry to the estate will be controlled by electronic gates and the style of the architecture and landscaping are covenanted to ensure everything is in harmony with the exceptional natural surroundings.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: Manaia Estate, Te Arai, Wellsford.

FEATURES: 25 sites on large farm park close to beaches; residents have 1/25th share of farm park and associated facilities - these include pasture, truffiere, covenanted native bush and roading; equestrian centre with dressage facilities; man-made lake; tennis court; entertaining pavilion; strict covenants on architecture; panoramic sea views.

SIZE: Sections are 4000sq m, plus one 3555sq m; total land area 192ha.

PRICE: Sections from $400,000.

AGENTS: Jody Calvert and Julian Brown, Belle Property, Queenstown. Ph 03 442 9000 bus; Jody 027 2379 109 mob; Julian 021 790 153 mob.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rural Property

Premium
The Country

Paved paradise? Top Auckland school builds staff car park on $150m gifted farmland

06 Jun 05:00 PM
Rural Property

‘Exciting for the country’: Why the rural property market is set for spring

15 May 08:30 PM
Premium
Rural Property

'Past the first hurdle' - Fletcher Living on progress at $500m The Hill

11 May 07:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rural Property

Premium
Paved paradise? Top Auckland school builds staff car park on $150m gifted farmland

Paved paradise? Top Auckland school builds staff car park on $150m gifted farmland

06 Jun 05:00 PM

The ASB MAGS Farm is protected by a covenant requiring it be used to teach farming.

‘Exciting for the country’: Why the rural property market is set for spring

‘Exciting for the country’: Why the rural property market is set for spring

15 May 08:30 PM
Premium
'Past the first hurdle' - Fletcher Living on progress at $500m The Hill

'Past the first hurdle' - Fletcher Living on progress at $500m The Hill

11 May 07:00 PM
Premium
Two more Hawke’s Bay farms sold to overseas buyers for forestry

Two more Hawke’s Bay farms sold to overseas buyers for forestry

04 May 06:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP