- A former Catholic Church on Lake Poerua sold for $1.25m, nearly double its RV.
- The property, known as Hidden Valley Lodge, attracted significant interest and features a lakeside house.
- Former owner Grant Marshall noted the lodge’s popularity for weddings and its rich history.
A former Catholic Church on the shores of Lake Poerua, on the West Coast, has been snapped up by Christchurch buyers for $1.25 million - almost double its RV.
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The quirky listing on Lake Brunner Road, in Inchbonnie, is known to fishing enthusiasts and holiday-makers as Hidden Valley Lodge.
It is one of the most viewed homes on OneRoof this year, and attracted seven to 10 serious buyers since hitting the market in February, according to Ray White listing agent Adam Rogers.
The lodge sits on a 13ha section that also boasts a lakeside house and dates back to the 1920s, when it was a place of worship for residents of Waiuta, a former gold-mining town near Reefton.
The church was converted into a lodge by the previous owners. Photo / Supplied
The lodge is nestled in the bush on a 13ha site. Photo / Supplied
Rogers said properties by Lake Poerua were private and affordable, unlike those at neighbouring Lake Brunner, the West Coast’s largest lake, where property prices have rocketed.
“The prices are phenomenal at Lake Brunner. This is the overflow now, where you can buy lake views and get some privacy. There are some sections available next door to [Hidden Valley Lodge] - they’re priced from $245,000."
Rogers has inside knowledge on the beauty of the area, telling OneRoof he has recently built a house there. The area is pest-free, he said, and lush with tui, kereru, black fantails, kiwi, weka, kea and white herons.
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The former owner of Hidden Valley Lodge, Grant Marshall, wasn’t surprised at the property’s popularity with buyers. He told OneRoof that generations of families had stayed in the church over the years. Some visitors loved it so much they asked to have their ashes scattered there.
“We’ve had honeymoons, we’ve had numerous weddings, and we’ve made a lot of friends through the place, too.”
Marshall and his wife Fran had spent a lot of time across the Tasman, and he said that even when sitting around a campfire in the remotest part of Australia, people talked about New Zealand and the great holiday they had experienced on the West Coast.
Sections at nearby 2237 Lake Brunner Road are priced from $245,000. Photo / Supplied
“They say, ‘We stayed in a lovely old church’ and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s our place’. That has happened probably three or four times in Australia, in particular, but it also happened over sailing in French Polynesia.”
Marshall said they acquired the former church after it was put up for tender in the 1990s, recalling having to tie it up with number 8 wire and fencing strainers to hold it together while they got it on a truck and moved it.
“We had the Power Board sitting up on the peak of the roof, lifting up the power lines over the top of the cross.”
This was the second relocation for the church, which was shifted to Greymouth from Waiuta in the 1950s.
Marshall said he and Fran went sailing after Covid hit and were currently on the hunt for a bigger boat: “We’re basically off for as many adventures as we can squeeze in before we get too old.”
- Click here to find more properties for sale in West Coast
