- A unique glamping safari tent on Great Barrier Island is up for auction in January.
- The waterfront property features a permanent tent, utility unit, and high-standard outdoor bath.
- Interest has been strong, with potential buyers keen to retain the glamping setup.
A one-of-a-kind glamping safari tent in Tryphena, on Great Barrier Island, is heading to auction at the end of January.
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Barfoot & Thompson agent Mike Jensen told OneRoof that not only is the tent at 403 Shoal Bay Road a fun way to holiday almost resort-style on the Hauraki Gulf island, but the waterfront location is one of the best.
Where many properties by the water still had a road in front, this one did not: “I think the best feature of the property, without a doubt, is that it's absolutely waterfront.
The tent is currently rented out on Airbnb. Photo / Supplied
The outdoor bath is a hit with guests. Photo / Supplied
“I would say that on the island in total there would be probably less than 30 properties that actually walked down and touched the beach - you think they're everywhere, but they really just don't exist.”
The tent is more than your average tent. It is a permanent structure with flooring and a deck, so it’s not the kind of tent you take down and pack away at the end of the holiday.
At the southern end of Gooseberry Flat, the beach is one of the most pristine with crystal-clear water, Jensen says.
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The tent is 59sqm with a big bedroom, a living area and the elevated decking. A utility unit next to it accommodates the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, and there’s another cabin for extra guests.
Jensen says there’s no escaping the holiday vibe once you are there, but the tent has been built in such a way that the foundations enable a more formal house to be erected if someone desired to do that in the future.
The vendors have also completed extensive landscaping, and the property features one of the best outdoor baths on the island.
The tent sits on 984sqm of absolute waterfront land. Photo / Supplied
While Great Barrier has several outdoor baths, none is as nice as this one, he says.
“Most people just have a bathtub down on the ground somewhere, but that's been designed and built to a really high standard. It's very attractive," he says.
“There's a beautiful boardwalk from the safari tent through the bush and down to the water’s edge, and on the way, you pass the outdoor bath.
“Everything that is built there is built to a really high standard. There's no shortcut taken in all the work that they've done.”
As well as the beach access, the property is near the local shops, pub, and restaurant.
Jensen wasn’t sure whether the vendors had modelled their safari tent on African adventures, and while there are no elephants around, there are plenty of native birds in the bush, which paying guests have enjoyed.
“It works very well. They Airbnb it. They're getting $886 for two nights’ accommodation, and it's got some fantastic comments from Airbnb people who have stayed there.”
There had been so much enquiry about the property, and it was in such a great location, Jensen says he decided to take it to auction.
“The last one we sold [by auction] was Tryphena House, which was also a waterfront property in the same bay. You'd look at each other from this property, and that went well, and we ended up selling that for, I think, $1.8 million [the sale price was $1.95m].
“For this one, we're quoting around $925,000."
Jensen adds: “It's a fun place. At the end of the day, you're buying waterfront land.
“We sold an A-frame house just down the road from it, and the guy only bought it because of the amazing waterfront location. But we still had a road between the house and the beach, and it got $750,000.”
So far, interest has been mainly from Auckland, with everyone indicating they would keep the glamping tent.
“It's too good to remove. I think it's a good way of buying a property and working out how the site works, to understand where the sun rises and sets."
- 403 Shoal Bay Road, Great Barrier Island, goes to auction on January 28
