Brett Bartlett, Aimee Bartlett and Wendy Lockart are selling up. Photo / Zoe Hunter
An iconic Bay of Plenty hot pool site that taps into the region's underground natural geothermal water resource is up for sale for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Fernland Spa first opened to the public in the 1970s and has been owned by the Lockart family since 1993.
Now, its owners Wendy Lockart and Brett Bartlett are looking to move on after investing significant time and money into the seven-day-a-week operation.
Since putting the business on the market, Lockart said there had been "outstanding interest".
Lockart said she and Bartlett were the fourth owners in the past 50 years.
Her parents, Sue and Peter Lockart, bought the business in 1993 and she and Bartlett took it over 10 years later in 2003.
"When we came here our son Matthew [Bartlett] was only a newborn baby and my daughter Aimee [Bartlett] was 2-and-a-half. He's now 18 and she is 20," Lockart said.
"Our dream, really, was that we would keep the business for the children but ... it's time."
Lockart said it was a difficult decision to sell the family business.
"We've been talking about it off and on for about four or five years. It was a difficult decision to come to but I think new opportunities will open up for us," she said.
"It's a big commitment. It's quite a big operation, not a hard operation, but it's constant. We're open seven days a week."
The pair had developed the campground since buying the business off Lockart's parents and had done a "massive amount" of work on the grounds.
Nowadays the business was also a "heck of a lot busier" than what it used to be, Lockart said.
"We haven't missed a beat with Covid. We were closed for lockdown but it has been busy since."
She said the business had broken all its records in terms of sales numbers, entries and camping.
"About 85 per cent of our business is local. I worked out the other day that we've got 700 10-swim concession cards out there.
"That just shows how many people are committed to coming again and again."
Lockart said Fernland Spa had featured on television, on a post stamp and in the Air New Zealand in-flight magazine over the years.
But Lockart said the biggest highlight over the years was their staff, who she said were the secret to business longevity.
"Choosing your staff wisely and looking after them really well [is the secret]. The staff are everything really.
"A lot of people would know our staff because they've been here for a long time. It's important to have stability with our workforce.
"A lot of training goes into the staff because we're managing the water that's getting pumped out of the grounds."
Mineral water flowing constantly through all Fernland Spa pools rises from a deep underground aquifer. The business had been classified as a true mineral spring as assessed by the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science.
"The water is one of the most special things about this place," Lockart said.
Like many businesses, Covid-19 lockdown was the "biggest blow".
"The day we had to close was pretty awful. We had some campers onsite so we organised other places for them to stay. That was tough times.
"But to open up after Covid and to be so well supported was an absolute highlight."
Lockart said she was proud of what they had achieved in the past 18 years.
"I really do think we've been custodians of the place. We feel grateful to have had the opportunity to have been here."
Lockart's daughter Aimee Bartlett remembers watching her father Brett Bartlett on the diggers working on the grounds at Fernland Spa.
The 20-year-old also remembers having "lots of swims" and exploring the 2.15-hectare native bush-clad site with her brother Matthew Bartlett.
"There's a lot of memories. My childhood has been here," she said.
"I remember growing up heaps around the diggers and watching dad and being taught from a young age how to run it all."
Now Aimee is preparing to say goodbye to the place she dreamed of owning one day but understood it was time for her parents to sell up.
"It's been our whole childhood so saying goodbye is sad. But it's time. They've worked so hard for so long, they deserve to have a break."
A long-time staff member, who only wanted to be named as Shirley, had been working at Fernland for more than 13 years.
"It's been such a lovely place to work in. To have this outlook every day, plus there's the perks of having a swim."
Jo Stewart and Lloyd Davidson, of Bayleys Tauranga, are marketing the freehold land, buildings and business via a tender campaign closing on December 3.
Davidson said early inquiries about the property suggested the buyer was "very likely" to come from the Bay or elsewhere.
"Recent publicity around the fact that several other Bay of Plenty holiday parks have been acquired by offshore interests, may spark some patriotism among New Zealanders.
"The freehold status of the property also sets it apart from many other tourism-related properties."
Stewart said Fernland Spa had long been favoured a place for Tauranga locals and visitors to visit.
"I think as more Kiwis start to actively explore New Zealand's playground, gems like Fernland Spa will find a whole new audience as families look to make memories with some wholesome road trips."
In the late 1950s, entrepreneur and former builder Des McIsaac and wife Paddy bought an undeveloped and swampy 2.5ha block on Cambridge Rd.
Work began on developing the land that McIsaac hoped to use for a 56-bedroom thermal hotel and conference centre with several large pools and six private pools.
Drilling for hot water began in 1970 and the first bores were established. A new bore was established in 2011.
McIsaac's dream of a motel complex never eventuated but in 1975 Fernland Spa Hot Pools opened to the public.
Initially, there was just one large main pool, reception area and male and female changing rooms and four indoor private pools followed later.
The property was also used by the couple to supplement their income as a cold-water fish farm with 11 ponds in use.
In 1974, disaster struck.
An error when emptying the Cambridge Rd water reservoir for cleaning resulted in 200,000 litres of water being inadvertently directed through Fernland Spa.
The water wiped out most of the fish stocks and left a trail of mud and debris throughout the pool and amenities.
In 1982, the couple sold the business to a trust, which leased the business to three families who operated Fernland Spa for seven years. The first family added a further four open-air private pools.
The Lockart family took over the lease in 1989 and bought the water rights, business and 2.5 hectares surrounding the pool complex in 1993.
Sue and Peter Lockart retired, sold the business to their daughter Wendy and partner Brett in 2003, who later developed the campground, cabin accommodation and pavilion.
• Set on a 2.15ha native bush-clad site.
• The freehold property lies on the eastern side of Cambridge Rd.
• Purpose-built swimming pool and changing room complex.
• Large in-ground, open-air main pool.
• Eight semi-detached private pools.
• Four open-air and four enclosed pools.
• The pools have clear, non-chlorinated warm mineral water sourced via bores.
• A 22-site camping ground.
• A modest 1950s home, sleepout and garaging.
• Rear of the property backs on to private reserve land.
The council has also been served with judicial review proceedings.