Holiday Park Business Pitched For Sale To New Owners

Media Release
10.12.2012
Holiday Park Business Pitched For
Sale To New Owners

An internationally renowned holiday park and camping ground used as the headquarters for one of New Zealand’s richest fishing competitions – and as a launching pad for bus tours along Northland’s famous Ninety Mile Beach - has been placed on the market for sale.

The 90 Mile Beach Holiday Park at Waipapakauri some 18 kilometres north of Kaitaia has been operating for some 41 years – for the past 10 years with a manager running the business for its South Island-based owners. However, new investment opportunities for the campground’s owners have spurred them into selling their cash-generating business and diverting the proceeds into another venture.

The Park camp ground land and business is being marketed for sale by Bayleys Kerikeri through a tender process closing on December 18.

Bayleys Kerikeri Sales person Alan Broadbent said The Park had a hugely diverse customer base – ranging from big game fishing participants who have been booking the same dates for several years, through to free independent travelers using the seaside location as a starting and finishing point for Ninety Mile Beach tours.

“With more than $100,000 worth of prizes on offer, the lucrative Snapper Classic surf casting fishing competition held annually along Ninety Mile Beach attracts anglers from Australia, the Pacific Islands, and even North America,” Mr Broadbent said.

“The Park camp is just a few hundred metres from the beach dunes, and with a ramp which allows vehicle access so anglers can drive up or down the beach to find a secluded spot, the cabins and powered sites at the ground are usually booked a year in advance of the event.”

Mr Broadbent said that like most coastal campgrounds, The Park’s busy period was Christmas through to Waitangi weekend, with a final seasonal burst over Easter.

“Trading accounts show that the first wave of campers tend to come arrive in the days immediately leading up to Christmas Day, and they stay through until just after New Years Day. A second, longer, wave then books right throughout January until schools go back, while the third wave comes at the end of January to take advantage of children being back at school, combined with any Waitangi Day or Auckland Anniversary Day long weekends.

“The rest of the year tends to be booked by the likes of school groups, religious organisations booking for weekend retreats, and by free independent travelers in camper vans.”

The camp ground is slightly elevated and sits on 1.999 hectares of land zoned coastal residential. The amenities were originally constructed in 1971, with additions in 1985 and a major upgrade in 1995. Accommodation options include 19 units, 34 powered sites for campervans and motor homes, with 70 unpowered tent sites.

The main building within the complex houses a communal kitchen, toilet block, recreation room with TV and pool table, internet café, restaurant and bar facilities. The accommodation blocks are located in three separate wings – ranging in style from ensuite cabins to backpacker bunk dorms.

A separate owner’s accommodation features a two-storey three-bedroom home with its own garage and workshop. The reception desk and shop servicing the complex are on the building’s ground floor.

Recreational amenities within the grounds include a swimming pool, newly installed 2 years ago at a cost of $40,000, a children’s playground area, as well as multiple flat grassed areas for such sports as cricket, softball, rugby and tennis. The Park is surrounded by a mature pine forest, with rows of large trees separating the grounds allocated sites.

Customer feedback data compiled over the ground’s recent trading history shows that many guests use The Park as a base for their Far North tourism travels – taking in Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach tours, boating at nearby Lake Ngatu, the Ancient Kauri Kingdom at Awanui or the 100,000 year old buried kauri forest at Gumdiggers Park. Both the Harrisons Cape Runner and Sand Safari beach tours pick up guests from The Park.

The Park generated an annual turnover of $250,000 in the 2010/2011 financial year, rising to $275,000 in the 2011/2012 financial year. Mr Broadbent said a dormant 100-seater bar and restaurant within the campground could be re-invigorated to add other revenue streams to the accommodation business.

“Long-time Waipapakauri locals fondly remember the great Sunday roasts which the venue used to serve up until 2007. The opportunity exists for a new owner to reinstate and refurbish the food and beverage amenities, and open a beach-bar style hospitality operation – potentially operating only on the weekends, and predominantly throughout summer,” he said.

“With a tender campaign closing on December 18, a new owner could be in place within a matter of weeks – enabling them to capture a sizeable portion of the summer market.”

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Generating revenues from a broad customer base, The Park camping ground at Waipapakauri in Northland is up for sale.

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