- Builder Toby Baxter bought a property with a wine cave, two cottages, and 5ha after a chance meeting at a pub.
- He transformed the estate into a venue for weddings and functions but is now selling it.
- The property features a 130sqm wine cave, stunning views and resident peregrine falcons.
Dropping into the pub for a beer had quite unexpected consequences for builder Toby Baxter. He came out with a handshake agreement to buy a huge man-made cave, two cottages, and five hectares of land, all overseen by two pairs of resident “dogfighting” peregrine falcons.
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At the time, Baxter was looking for land in Little River, on the Banks Peninsula, for a project. But his chance meeting with Hurunui Hotel owner Adam Martin turned that on its head.
“It was funny because I’d actually put an offer on something in Little River and then withdrew it. This was quite a spur-of-the-moment kind of purchase,” Baxter told OneRoof.
Baxter couldn’t say “no” to the Hurunui property’s pièce de résistance, a wine cave that from the outside looks like a tunnel. “You come down about a 16-metre tunnel that leads you into the cave into the hillside.” The tunnel and cave together are about 130sqm.
“I really bought the property because I thought, ‘That cave is a gold mine. If it’s finished and renovated, it’ll be a perfect venue for weddings and functions – a heli-hunting lodge and all that sort of thing’.”
Accommodation includes two replica 1880s cottages built in the mid-2000s, along with a glamping tent. Photo / Supplied
The wine cave was refurbished to host functions such as weddings. Photo / Supplied
“I could see the untapped value in it that just needed the right person with a bit of vision to come along and give it some love.”
Baxter took on the challenge and transformed the estate.
But having finished his work and having no wish to deal with “bridezillas”, he is now selling up. “I’ve set it up for someone who is great on the socials and that marketing side of things, and can deal with bridezillas, to come along and hit it out of the park. It’s a turnkey operation.”
He also wants more time for surfing and some other business opportunities in the pipeline. “For me, I’m a big surfer, and I’ve got some business interests in Australia too that I probably want to focus on as well. I’m not the guy really to be hosting weddings.”
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Baxter laughs when he thinks back to that chance stop at the hotel on the way back from a weekend at Mount Lyford. “I’d been up there, to Mount Lyford, for the weekend. I thought I’d stop for a beer at the pub. He struck up a conversation with the publican, who told him about some land and cottages he wanted to sell.
“Adam’s like, ‘You know, there’s actually this old wine cave here too’. It was a bit of a sight for sore eyes originally. The chaps who used to own the hotel before Adam had tried to make it look like a cave. It was going to be a tasting room. It had awful stalactites hanging from the ceiling, [but] the project was never completed.
“So, I bought the property along with the vineyard, which I’ve since pulled out because it’s just impossible to try and make a buck doing that. The wine industry being the way it is at the moment.”
The property already had two replica 1880s cottages on it, built in the mid‑2000s. “They’re new. The stone cottage is built out of 400 by 400 concrete blocks, with all mod cons and clawfoot baths, but built in that 1880s style to the theme of the Hurunui Hotel.”
The complex above the wine cave includes a smart kitchen and bathrooms to service guests or become part of a wellness complex. Photo / Supplied
The property boasts views of the Southern Alps and Hurunui River. Photo / Supplied
Baxter employed Christchurch-based architectural designer Peter Dunbar to design the new structures and to advise on the Scandi-style interiors. He built an amenities complex above the wine cave to service functions, private hire for parties, weddings, or a wellness retreat.
“People can stay in the cottages, and I’ve got a glamping tent and another studio room. There’s potential for a party of six or eight to come and stay for a weekend and have the use of the cave as well.”
Over and above the cave, the location is a real selling point, said Baxter. “I quite often sit there on a hot nor’west blustery day where you really don’t even want to be outside. It is such a sanctuary just to sit tucked in the tunnel there with the doors open and still look out on a sunny day.
“You’ve got about a 270-degree view of the Southern Alps, which is awesome because we’re elevated up off the road. And then Hurunui River, just on the other side of the road.”
The other unique aspect of the property, Baxter said, was the wildlife. “We have two pairs of rare peregrine falcons, which I think are New Zealand’s rarest birds. They’re constantly at war with magpies, so there’s dogfighting acrobatics between magpies and falcons going on all the time, which is pretty awesome to watch.”
The property has a water reservoir, a bore for spring water, and a pump system that irrigates the land. “So, there’s water security with the whole place, to grow crops or grow grass for horses or some Highland cows, whatever you want to put on there. There’s a lot of potential.”
Harcourts agent Michelle Singh, who is marketing the property, said she was blown away by the wine cave. “Toby had taken me over the whole property, but when I walked into the wine cave. It was just like, wow, he saved the best till last.”
She added: “It’s ready to go, it’s a turnkey operation. Everything they need is there to start. The cottages are being sold fully furnished down to knives and forks, and bed linen, and everything. But there is scope to add more infrastructure.”
- 1208 Karaka Road, in Hurunui, Canterbury, is for sale, deadline closing March 26
