Island farm opportunity combines business with leisure

A stock grazing farm on an island just a short boat ride from the civilization of mainland New Zealand is on the market for sale - offering the ultimate work/play lifestyle. 

The 943 hectare property on D’Urville Island at the tip of the Marlborough Sounds is separated from the South Island by a short stretch of water known as French Pass – crossable by a 10-minute boat trip from ‘the mainland’ on a water taxi service. 

The property is being proudly marketed by Bayleys Canterbury. Sales consultant John McPhail said island farms such as those on D’Urville Island rarely came onto the market – simply because there were very few in existence.

Being on an island, the farm was bordered by some 15 kilometres of dramatic ocean coastline. Some 32 hectares of the farm are established commercial forestry, with a further 113 hectares in native bush. The land is fenced into 22 paddocks and blocks varying in size from 2.5 hectares through to 70 hectares 

“The farm’s contour is relatively steep hill country with a good selection of valleys and sloping faces which provide a balance of sunny and shady areas – with the natural contour of the land providing shelter. There is a limited area of gentle sloping land where the homestead, beach house and woolshed are situated in Owhai Bay,” Mr McPhail said. 

“The balance of the land offers stunning areas of beech forests that have an abundance of rare birdlife, along with native tree species which both benefit from the absence of possums and rabbits on the island. 

“The main farming block has ocean frontage to a harbour and three additional bays which provide sheltered landing and mooring options in most weather conditions. The popular boating anchorage of Mill Arm just around the corner, and the procession of boats sailing past in summer makes for a colourful foreground to the coastline in the background.” 

In peak years, the farm has carried approximately 4000 stock units – and earlier this year was running 3500 sheep and 120 cattle on a mix of atawhai, ketu and opouri soil types. The property is managed as a traditional sheep and cattle breeding/grazing unit with replacements bred on the property and surplus offspring sold as stores.  

Stock are barged off the island from various points – with yards on the shoreline and races set up down the beach. Lambing percentage is around 100, while 85 per cent of calves are weaned.  

The farm homestead consists of a four bedroom waterfront home with stunning views over a picturesque bay, alongside a freshwater swimming pool and tennis court. Just a short walk from the homestead is a smaller shearer’s dwelling on its own private setting - with a kitchen, laundry, bathroom, bedroom and bunk room. All buildings are full served by electricity from the South Island, with telephone lines running into the homestead and broadband internet access. 

Infrastructure buildings on the farm include a four bay implement shed with an attached workshop plus adjoining garage, and a four stand woolshed with its own toilet and kitchen facilities capable of holding approximately 500 sheep undercover. All of the yards are built from timber, netting, post and rail – with various satellite yards positioned throughout the farm to ensure easier stock handling. 

Further around the bay is a comfortable two bedroom open plan beachfront cottage utilised for rental accommodation throughout the year and to host visiting friends and family. Farm owners Richard and Barbara Mee said that by sheer virtue of its location, the farm offered a range of exceptional recreational activities – including fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching – right on its doorstep. 

“Having the beachfront cottage means a farm manager could be employed to run the farm and live in the main homestead, while any absentee owner could use cottage as a get-away lodge,” said Richard.

The bays around the farm are rich in cod, snapper, gurnard and crayfish, while Richard regularly shoots deer and pigs on the farm while out and about during his daily business. Adjoining the homestead is a fertile fruit and vegetable plot producing carrots, beans, peas, oranges, kiwifruit, passionfruit and tamarillos thanks to a temperate climate which sees D’Urville Island’s average temperature some two degrees higher than sunny Nelson. 

“We have the shearing gangs over from Nelson for four days at a time, and quite often at the end of a hard day’s shearing we all go out fishing and have a feast of fresh seafood for dinner,” said Richard. 

The D’Urville Island farm is for sale by offers, with a deadline of February 18.