KEY POINTS:
PEPPERS PIER RESORT,
HERVEY BAY,
QUEENSLAND.
Kiwis are joining the great Australian sea change: escaping from traffic-clogged cities and heading to the quiet of bush and beach towns.
The south Queensland area has been one of the fastest growing as city-siders from Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand head for the gorgeous beaches and year-round summer.
Hervey Bay, a scenic 3 1/2-hour drive north of Brisbane in the Fraser Coast region, is easily accessible and modestly calls itself the jewel in Queensland's crown.
Fraser Island, across the bay, ranks alongside the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru and Kakadu National parks as an exceptional World Heritage environment.
Hervey Bay, on the annual migration path of humpback whales, is also the centre for whale watching.
Pods of whales relax and play after calving at Great Barrier Reef before returning to the rich feeding grounds of the Antarctic, and the tourism industry has built up around it.
The Peppers Pier Resort on the Esplanade beachfront opened this year and the developer is now offering the last group of apartments under a buy now, pay later scheme. Peppers Hotels is a leading regional operator of hotels across the tourist high spots of Australia and New Zealand, and is known for its luxurious, stylish decor.
The U-shape of this development means almost all of the 132 apartments have uninterrupted views of the Great Sandy Strait and Fraser Island, and the curved sail-like forms step back so they don't crowd the beach.
Owners can live in their own apartments or join a letting pool, managed by Peppers.
This means sharing the building with holidaying guests or renting it out when you are not using it. Furniture packages from A$20,000 for a one bedroom unit to A$50,000 for three bedrooms are available for buyers intending to enter the letting pool.
Apartments are finished with stone bench tops, stone floors, quality carpets and have large balconies that relate to the spectacular beachfront location.
Income for the letting owners is shared from a pool on a 50:50 split, with owners receiving 50 per cent gross revenue minus business expenses.
A detailed list of all charges is included in the management agreement with the contract of sale. The body corporate fund pays a manager for caretaking and the on-going maintenance of the complex.
Until January 31, the developer is offering sales with a 10 per cent deposit and no interest charged for settlement by next September.
As would be expected in a luxury resort, apartments have the added benefits of spectacular tropical pools and landscaped grounds, a resort shop, a fine dining and casual restaurant plus the pampering of a health spa and gymnasium, Spa Botanica.
Hervey Bay has some 30 restaurants and a range of outdoor activities, including boating, fishing and bushwalking.
Prices start from A$427,000.
* For more information on the venture see www.pepperspierresort.com.au
