- Two farming couples transformed an abandoned fishing lodge in Tokaanu into Braxmere Lodge, now selling for $3m.
- They renovated derelict units and landscaped the grounds, opening the lodge in November 2013.
- The sale includes a manager’s house, with potential to re-open the restaurant, closed since August last year.
Two farming couples who bought an abandoned fishing lodge at an underrated lakeside village and transformed it into a popular holiday spot are selling it more than a decade later for $3 million.
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Rangitīkei farmer Nick Whisker was on a fishing trip in 2010 when he spotted a for sale sign at the Lakeland House Restaurant, in Tokaanu, at the southern end of Lake Taupō.
He called the listing agent on his way home, thinking it might make a great holiday spot for his growing family, but after getting a few initial details he didn’t hear anything further, and so he let it slide.
Several years later, the real estate agent called Nick and his wife Annabel out of the blue and asked if they were still interested.
The lodge includes 10 self-contained, one-bedroom apartments completed in 2013. Photo / Supplied
The once-popular Lakeland House restaurant has been vacant since the last tenant left in August last year. Photo / Supplied
The couple told their farming friends, Bill and Jodi Jamieson, about the neglected property. They were intrigued and decided to chip in and buy it with them.
Annabel told OneRoof: “The plan was for our families to enjoy and then for any New Zealander and travellers to enjoy our slice of paradise.”
But there was a lot of work to be done before they could even think about spending holidays there.
The couples had bought the lodge off the receiver, and it was in a terrible state, she said. The previous owner had been forced to abandon his plans to turn the lodge into a grander hotel-type offering.
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“They [motel units] were derelict. They had broken windows, exposed wiring – it was totally abandoned, but the restaurant [Lakeland House] was flourishing.”
The friends spent a year renovating the self-contained units and landscaping the grounds to create direct access from the accommodation and restaurant down to the water.
Braxmere Lodge, which offers 10 self-contained lakeside holiday apartments, officially opened its doors in November 2013.
Annabel said her family had spent several Christmases there and every January she booked out all 10 apartments for a long weekend to spend with friends.
Annabel Whisker (far right) books out the lodge for a long weekend every January and invites a group of friends to join her family. Photo / Supplied
“Each family has a unit, and we take boats, water skis, paddle boards, fishing rods and biscuits. We have created lifelong memories.”
Annabel said the lodge was in an underrated but very special lakeside spot. “It is a pretty sleepy village, I guess. I’d like to think that one day it’s something people would say is an untapped market."
Braxmere Lodge and the restaurant (when it had been running) had also benefitted from the neighbouring and more established villages of Pukawa, Kuratau and Omori, which were popular holiday spots, she said.
“The customer base for the restaurant was massive from those areas, but also often those people would have guests staying at Braxmere because their baches or houses didn’t have the capacity for everyone.”
The neighbouring manager’s house, which they bought in 2016, is also included in the sale. Annabel said it would suit someone with an interest in food and beverage and wanted to reinstate the restaurant, which had been closed since the last tenant left in August last year.
“We would only sell it altogether because we believe it gives the owner or manager a house to live in and then keep the restaurant and the accommodation as the business.”
She added: “There is a huge demand for the restaurant to reopen and for boaties to make their trip to Waihi Bay for meals and refreshments on the edge of the lake.”
Annabel said the friends were sad to be selling, though. “It is a really special spot for our family. It’s probably going to be really tough for our [four] kids to go there for the last time, but I think it’s definitely time for somebody to come in and give it the next level that it deserves.”
- 88 and 104 Waihi Road, Tokaanu, Taupō, is for sale for $3m plus GST if any
