- David Cameron and his wife Karen sold their Waipara Sleepers property for close to its asking price of $995,000.
- The Christchurch family buying it plans to run the quirky train accommodation business with their children.
- The sale allows David to join his wife in Te Anau after living apart for months.
A South Island family forced to live 700km apart while waiting for their home and quirky accommodation business to sell can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
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The property has been snapped up for around its asking price of $995,000.
When Waipara Sleepers co-owner Karen Cameron took a new job in Te Anau, in Southland, at the end of last year, husband David stayed behind in Waipara, Hurunui, until they found a buyer.
He told OneRoof this week he was pleased he could finally join his wife down south. “It’s been a challenging time,” he said.
The owners lived in the renovated 1950s cottage while running the onsite accommodation business. Photo / Supplied
The buyers first viewed the property in January this year and visited it another four times before making an offer last month.
“They loved it – they were just thinking about how they would work it,” David said.
The conditional deal then took weeks to complete because it had been dependent on the family selling their home in Christchurch.
The new owners are moving to the property with their adult children. One of the children will take over the daily running of the business, while the couple continues to work remotely.
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David said the new owners would be a good fit for the property, adding that he was pleased they had decided to continue running the business.
The property boasts four carriages, a railway hut and a railway cabin, which can accommodate up to four visitors each.
There is also separate accommodation for vineyard workers, which David said kept the business alive during winter.
The 1940s old guards wagons were craned onto the site in the 1990s. Photo / Supplied
The train carriages sleep between two and four people and are popular with European tourists. Photo / Supplied
David said the new owners had fallen in love with the property, just like he and Karen had when they bought it in 2020 for $665,000.
David had been looking for a new business opportunity after being made redundant from his job in finance during Covid when he stumbled across Waipara Sleepers.
“We went and had a look at it and I fell in love with the place. I thought, ‘This is so cool. Who wouldn’t want to stay in a train rather than staying in a motel where every room is exactly the same’,” he told OneRoof last year.
The previous owners had purchased the four 1940s old guards wagons in the 1990s and craned them onto the 1.77ha site.
David said he had worked almost every day since taking over the property, but said he had absolutely no regrets.
He also believed the sale price, which was close to the asking price of $995,000, was a steal. “I think it’s a bargain, and the business is such a great business. The people we get are all friendly and all nice. It’s a good and pleasant business to have, and basically you are your own boss,” he said.
“I would love to buy something as big as this down south, but you won’t get that – you’d be paying three times the price.”
And while he’s not sure what his next career move will be, he admitted he was looking forward to getting his weekends back.
However, the job hunting might have to wait as David already has a long to-do list waiting for him when he relocates at the end of July. The couple have already bought a property in Te Anau where Karen lives and top of the list is getting the self-contained downstairs area ready to rent out on Airbnb.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Hurunui
