- A 30ha Ohui estate in Ōpoutere is for sale, with rumours it once hosted Sting.
- The estate was the site of the popular Prana Festival, which ended a decade ago.
- The owners planned smaller events, but Covid and poor health kept the venue from reopening.
Thousands once swarmed to Ohui for its promise of good vibes, healing and health. For some, the connection runs even deeper: many claim they were conceived there.
Start your property search
More than a decade after the “magical” ecolodge in the Coromandel hosted the final Prana New Year Festival, the one-of-a-kind property, which may have counted a UK pop legend as one of its guests, is up for grabs.
The 30ha estate at 750 and 742 Ohui Road, in Opoutere, comes with three yurt-inspired buildings – the main house, a purpose-built recording studio, and a pool house complete with a resort-style pool.
The festival facilities and campground sit at the bottom of the property. Some of the structures have been removed over time, but the camp kitchen, shower block and stage, which many Kiwis still have fond memories of, and several trucks and caravans, remain.
The White family bought the lodge a decade ago, ending an exhaustive search for the perfect property from which to run a small-scale events business.
Vendor Tim White told OneRoof that his family knew it had been home to the Prana Festival, but that’s not why they bought it.
The hand-built ecolodge took three years to complete. Photo / Supplied
A resort-style pool complex overlooks the ocean. Photo / Supplied
The Prana Festival was set up by the previous owner. Some of the facilities, including the stage, are still in place. Photo / Supplied
“My Dad looked for about seven years. What really stood out was that it was such a unique property with so many possibilities.
“There are so many parts to it; we were getting lost for the first six months. There’s a cave with glow worms, and at times there’s a waterfall, but only in very heavy rain.”
The dramatic sea views from the house and the quiet sandy beach are undoubtedly White’s favourite features.
“The property just takes time to reveal itself to you. It’s a magical place and a lot of people say it’s had the most profound effect on them; it’s quite strange,” he said.
“People just fall in love with it. We’ve had hundreds of people calling us – can they come and stay on the land? They went to the festivals; they were born there or conceived there.”
Discover more:
- 'I'm not the easiest customer': Mike Pero selling up after island property swap
- Four weeks into real estate, a $30m Lotto winner walked through his door ...
- Xero country boss selling her mid-century 'masterpiece' home for close to $5m
Ohui was built in 2001 and was a three-year labour of love by the previous owner, Tim Myers, who transformed farmland into a spiritual retreat.
Myers was inspired by his time studying in Morocco and India, and enlisted the help of Ian Burrow and Alan Drayton, who specialised in ecological builds, to bring his creation to life.
He had initially intended to run it as commercial accommodation, but once the build was completed, he decided to live there himself.
Myers ran the Prana Festival from the site up until 2015. At its peak, up to 2000 people attended, with top musicians and bands thought to have spent time in the purpose-built recording studio.
White told OneRoof there were so many different stories about the property that it was hard to tell fact from fiction.
“There are stories of who went to the studio and who didn’t. Herbs apparently recorded there, and there are stories Sting was there. I have no idea if that’s true. It’s just rumours that you hear of the people that came.”
Sting in 2008 playing to audiences in Auckland. He is rumoured to have visited the retreat. Photo / Getty Images
Also thought to have spent time at the retreat is New Zealand reggae outfit Herbs. Photo / New Zealand Herald
The retreat has a purpose-built recording studio. Photo / Supplied
The White family’s plans to continue running smaller events at the venue were thwarted by Covid. The family ran one corporate event hosted by Red Bull for local musicians, and had several weddings lined up before the country went into lockdown.
Poor health meant the events side of the property never got back up and running. The lodge instead became their home away from home and a popular place for friends and family to recharge.
White, who is based in Auckland, said they were finding it harder to get to the property and the time had come to put it on the market.
The lodge is being marketed for sale by Bayleys agent Lauren Mirabito with Dale Sholson and Gordon McGregor. Sholson said there was nothing like it in the whole of the Coromandel.
“Not something that has a house of this magnitude plus to go down the lower part of the property and have something that resembles an old camping ground,” he said. There was also direct access via a reserve to an “almost untouched” white sandy beach.
“It’s just very, very special. It feels good, and you know cool things have happened there.”
Sholson said Prana Festival had a huge following. “So many people have been through the property or associated with the property. Everybody has a story or a rumour or something, and it’s just that special. So no, I don’t believe there’s anything else like it.”
- 742 and 750 Ohui Road, in Ōpoutere, Coromandel, is for sale, tender closing October 1
