- A coastal estate in the Far North, featured in a Hollywood film, is attracting overseas buyers.
- The 433ha Whangaihe Bay property requires Overseas Investment Office approval for foreign buyers.
- The estate includes forestry, livestock, a vineyard and tourism properties, and is for sale after 60 years.
A coastal estate in the Far North that made a star appearance in a Hollywood blockbuster is attracting interest from overseas buyers.
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Bayleys listing agent Irene Bremner told OneRoof that she had a Dubai-based German buyer who had flown to New Zealand at short notice to escape the war in the Middle East. “He got sick of the missiles going overhead,” she said.
“We have been there with a young Dutch guy who felt like crying [because] he was so overwhelmed by all the beauty down there.”
However, foreign buyers looking to acquire the 433ha block at Whangaihe Bay, in Kaeo, won’t be able to take advantage of the new “golden visa” rules and will need sign-off from the Overseas Investment Office.
The magical coastline attracted the attention of Hollywood filmmakers in 2009. Key scenes from the third Chronicles of Narnia movie were shot there. Photo / Supplied
A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The Rhodes family had to sign an NDA as part of the filming deal. Photo / Supplied
The estate is up for grabs for the first time in over 60 years. Jonti Rhodes, the grandson of original owner John Rhodes, told OneRoof that Whangaihe Bay was where he spent his summers.
“I loved it. It was awesome,” he said. “I used to ride my dirt bike all over that property. We used to waterski, wakeboard, sea biscuit, kayak.”
The bay also doubled as a fantasy land, featuring in the 2010 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
During pre-production, location scouts hired a helicopter and scoured the Northland coast for suitable backdrops for the adventure movie. “They obviously saw [the property] and were like, ‘Wow this is pretty unique, this is pretty amazing, you know, let’s get this into our film, that’ll go round the world’.”
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The Rhodes family were offered a deal and asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
“They told us that they wanted to do some filming there. They wanted to use the landscape for an important scene that they had in the movie.” In typically understated Kiwi fashion, the Rhodes family replied: “Oh yeah, cool, no worries.”
“I was actually in the United States working at the time, but Dad was living there.” For weeks during filming, the property teemed with film crews and helicopters, with catering supplied from Kerikeri. Rhodes’ father, David, remembered director Michael Apted visiting the site and possibly a couple of the actors, but due to the passage of time, he no longer knows which one.
Once filming was complete, the Rhodes family eagerly awaited the film’s release, in December 2010. They recognised the property immediately. “There’s a scene when they’re sailing out, and you can see all the natural landscape and everything. There’s CGI in there, but if you know the property, you know the landscape, you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s the Frenchman Rock and the beautiful hills’. It was really cool.”
The original owner’s grandson says he remembers spending summers at the estate. Photo / Supplied
Rhodes himself watched the film on a plane while returning to New Zealand from the United States, where he was working at the time.
Although he had read the Narnia books as a child, he hadn’t seen the first two films and said he was not a big fan of fiction. His sisters, however, were avid followers and were more excited, having grown up reading the books and watching the earlier movies.
“We obviously had to sign an NDA. But we weren’t running around telling everyone that was what was going on. There were just some guys here, just filming a big film.”
The family was paid, he added, but it wasn’t “change-your-life money. It was more, ‘here’s a little bit of extra help’.”
Rhodes said the property for sale comprised 28 individual titles.
“A big chunk of it’s in forestry – thirty 10‑hectare blocks that roll with the natural life cycle of a tree.
“Then we’ve got sheep and beef. My grandfather brought the Braford cattle to New Zealand. It’s a [cross] between Brahman and Hereford [cattle]. Brahman are good for drought weather, and Hereford has strong beef lines.
“And then we have a boutique vineyard, which does 1500 bottles a year, and a number of little tourism properties.”
The property was also teaming with wildlife. “At night, you can hear all the kiwis, and it’s pretty cool,” Rhodes said.
He added: “You’ve got some of the best views in the world. You’ve got all these different business units, beautiful beaches. It’s completely private. The only way to get to it is either by boat or on our private road.”
- Whangaihe Bay, Kaeo, Far North, is for sale, deadline closing April 23
