The Ahipara Holiday Park will be run by Cormac and Aimee O’Keeffe from October 1, with Aimee’s brother Daniel Smith and his partner Sian Bluett taking over the Hihi Holiday Park.
The Ahipara Holiday Park will be run by Cormac and Aimee O’Keeffe from October 1, with Aimee’s brother Daniel Smith and his partner Sian Bluett taking over the Hihi Holiday Park.
Two popular Far North holiday parks have been sold, with both converting to Top 10 holiday parks from October 1, and the new owners have plenty of experience behind them.
The Hihi Beach Holiday Park and Ahipara Holiday Park have been sold, with the new owners including siblings.
Sian Bluett and Daniel Smith have taken over Hihi Beach Holiday Park while Cormac O’Keeffe and Aimee O’Keeffe (Daniel’s sister) will take over Ahipara Holiday Park from October 1.
The Smith family has a long association with holiday parks.
Bluett, 21, said having that experience set them in good stead to take on running a holiday park themselves and once they set their eyes on Hihi, they fell in love with the settlement and had to have the park.
Daniel Smith and partner Sian Bluett are the new operators of the Hihi Holiday Park in the Far North
She first started working for the Smiths while in school and loved the lifestyle and experiences working at a holiday park offered.
When the Smiths were looking at selling up the Ōhope park the siblings and their partners decided to move into park ownership, with the backing and support of Ian and Vicki.
The couple took over the park in July, after visiting earlier in the year and Bluett said while they had always wanted to take on their own park, seeing Hihi for the first time convinced them this was the right place, even if it was a bit earlier than they expected.
“When we drove into [Hihi] I fell in love with the place. It’s just so gorgeous and just a beautiful spot and we knew we had to have it. Hihi was amazing and was for sale and we should get it,” she said.
“We made an offer, while there was already another offer on it. But the other people pulled out and we got it, and we are so looking forward to making the park even better than it was.”
Sian Bluett and Daniel Smith, who have experience working in holiday parks, are the new operators of the Hihi Holiday Park, which will become a Top 10 branded holiday park from October 1, just in time for summer.
“It’s like going back in time, with such a relaxed lifestyle, we love it.”
They had already made some improvements and had a new playground built that would be installed before the summer rush.
They were also looking at putting in a new pool complex and two new, luxury self-contained apartments, and were getting feedback from visitors as to what else they’d like to see there.
She said working with the Whites at their previous Top 10 parks meant the couple had a really good understanding of what it took, and having Cormac and Aimee relatively close was a big help, too. As well Ian and Vicki and one of Daniel’s sisters had moved to Kerikeri to be closer to them.
Aimee and Cormac O’Keeffe are the new operators of the Ahipara Holiday Park
O’Keeffe is from Ireland and first came here in 2014 to donate a kidney to his brother, who got ill here. He said he was then lucky to meet Aimee – “it must have been fate” – and the pair went to Ireland, before returning to help out at the Whites’ parks.
O’Keeffe said the Whites had looked at the Ahipara park as a possible purchase previously and when it came up for sale again this year, the couple jumped in.
“When we came up to have a look at it, we just felt such a great vibe from the place. I mean, it’s just in such a beautiful spot, close to the ocean and it feels so tropical and serene, and we just fell in love with it. And the locals have been so good and so friendly to us, that it really, just feels like home already.”
He said the previous owners had done a “brilliant job” at developing the Ahipara park and he and Aimee were looking forward to developing it further to make it a must-go spot in the Far North once they take over.
“It only has one facility block, which we felt wasn’t enough if you want to have 300-400 people on site, so we’re putting in a second block with new toilets, kitchens, showers, dining facilities etcetera and it will be in place before Christmas.
“It’s such an idyllic spot here, and so relaxing, and we’ve got plans to make it even better.”
O’Keeffe said being a Top 10 holiday park would give them so much more support and the brand was well established with a very good reputation.
As well, Top 10 had high minimum standards its holiday parks had to meet so customers were assured of a great experience.
