- Tony and Rachael Massey are moving to Whangamōmona to run the Whangamōmona Hotel.
- The couple aim to spend more time with their children and embrace a lifestyle change.
- The hotel attracts 25,000 visitors annually, offering passport stamps and hosting overseas tourists.
A young family from South Auckland are moving six hours south to take control of a hotel in the middle of nowhere.
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From next week, Pukekohe couple Tony and Rachael Massey will be running the Whangamōmona Hotel in Whangamōmona, the result of their life-changing decision to exit the rat race and spend more time with their three young children.
Tony Massey, 35, told OneRoof they had been considering a lifestyle change, so when they spotted the listing for the Whangamōmona Hotel last October, they decided to drive down the Forgotten Highway (State Highway 43) to take a look.
The 114-year-old pub is internationally famous. It's New Zealand's remotest pub, and for a fee, visitors can get their passports stamped.
Tony and Rachel Massey: “We just wanted a complete lifestyle change." Photo / Supplied
“We had family friends from down there, and I’d been there before, and we had always been looking at campgrounds or motels or something, but we had always sort of loved pubs too, and this is sort of all of that,” Tony said.
They started speaking with the owners, Richard and Vicki Pratt, who were selling up after 13 years to retire, and by December, a deal was made.
Tony said one of the main drivers for the couple was to spend more time with their children, aged 5, 2 and 1.
Tony has quit his job at NZ Steel, and Rachael has left her role at ASB to run the hotel and raise their kids together in the tiny village. They also sold their home in Pukekohe to make the big move.
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Tony said: “We just wanted a complete lifestyle change. We were working a lot, and we just thought, 'Something has to change.' We just spent no time with the kids because we were both working flat out. Whereas if we bring our job home, if we are all just there, we can be together and chip in and out of work.”
Their oldest child has just turned five and will attend the local primary school, which has a roll of about 17 students, just a five-minute drive away.
The hotel and a bespoke gift store are the only two retail outlets in the village, which has only 20 residents. The closest towns for supplies are an hour's drive away in Stratford or Taumarunui.
However, being in the middle of nowhere only adds to the Whangamōmona Hotel’s charm and helps it attract a raft of overseas tourists thanks to recent write-ups in global travel guides. Whangamōmona being in its own republic is another drawcard and helped put the hotel on the map and bring in 25,000 visitors a year, including 5000 who stay in one of the 22 rooms in either the hotel or neighbouring lodge.
The hotel attracts 25,000 international and domestic tourists through its doors each year. Photo / Supplied
A lot of visitors who turn up are also eager to participate in the tradition of having their passports stamped. People can pay $5 for a passport and $2 for a stamp, with all proceeds going to support the community.
Tony said they planned to continue running the business as it is for now. “We are not going to change anything. It’s doing really well right now.”
The sale includes the neighbouring Whangamōmona Lodge and Post Office and some surrounding land, which the couple have earmarked for a stage for bands to perform on.
Moving to somewhere so remote has been a consideration, Tony said, but it didn't worry them. “My mining career was all remote. I was in a desert for most of my life. It is definitely something to think about, but it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Tony had spent many holidays growing up staying at a farm about 40 minutes away in Makahu, which was owned by their family friends and had been to the hotel several times.
“It’s just something different, and it’s been a Kiwi icon. As a young Kiwi myself, I was keen to see it carry on.”
McDonald Real Estate agent Russell Atkinson said it was great to have found a new owner for the one-of-a-kind property. “It’s great to have someone with a young family coming into the area to help grow it. They will carry on the positive legacy that the other people have left.”
He declined to reveal the sale price, adding that both the seller and purchaser were happy with the outcome.
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