Hunters have their sites on shareholding

Shares are being sold in the land and buildings at Miners Creek station.

Big-game hunters and trout anglers are being lined up as potential shareholders in a remote South Island high country partnership.

Shares are being sold in the land and buildings at Miners Creek station, about 13km west of the Central Otago township of Ettrick.

The 513ha freehold property is on the Mount Benger Range, adjacent to the Department of Conservation's Mount Benger Reserve. Combined, the two landholdings are home to red stags and brown trout.

The property is currently being run as a sheep and beef operation stocking a combined 1800 units. Proceeds from the share sell-down will go towards four new hunting cabins for use by shareholders and their guests.

Six shares, representing 60 per cent ownership of the property, are being offered for sale at $285,000 each through Bayleys Real Estate. Each shareholding entitles the owner to a minimum of four weeks on the block.

Salespeople John Greenwood and Wayne Scurrah said the topography ranged from rolling hills to tussock-clad mountains and beech forestry. Several tributary rivers feed into the Pomahaka River.

"The red deer stag bloodlines have been proliferating for generations, with only the occasional invited guest of the owners ever having the privilege of hunting on the block," Scurrrah said.

"This has ensured red deer stock numbers have remained bountiful. In addition to hunting, the Pomahaka River runs deep with brown trout. It's a rarely fished location — the ultimate scenario for a keen angler who wants to be the only person on a stretch of water."

Existing accommodation at the Mt Benger Rd property consists of a generator-powered cabin recently refurbished with bunks, wood-fired stove for cooking, and toilet and bathroom facilities.

Shareholders will also receive a portion of the lease payments from the farm management company. Scurrah said the lease payment would be fixed at $6000 per annum for the initial lease period.

The Miners Creek block is roughly equi-distant between Queenstown and Dunedin airports. There are numerous natural landing pads for helicopters. "The terrain also has numerous four-wheel drive tracks. There is the opportunity for a shareholder to have an all-terrain vehicle garaged permanently on site," Scurrah said.

The nearby township of Ettrick has several claims to fame, including being one of the first places in New Zealand to grow apples, and where the biggest collection of McDonalds paraphernalia is on display in a public museum, featuring burger boxes, cups, hats, toys, watches, badges, dolls and uniforms.