QEII Trust chairman Bruce Wills said combined with the Remarkables Station, the preservation of open space in an area under increasing pressure from development was something the Mees felt very passionately about.
"This covenant will ensure the spectacular backdrop and views are protected for the people of Queenstown and visitors to enjoy in the future."
Mee believed it was unfortunate Queenstown's eastern corridor, Ladies Mile, has been lost to development and was also unhappy the Queenstown Lakes District Council had allowed the Coneburn special housing area south of the Mees' property.
While much of the property was hilly land north of The Remarkables skifield access road, around to Windy Point, which probably could not have been developed, about 50ha of flat land on either side of State Highway 6 could have been developed.
While it might seem the Mees are missing out, Mike said that was not in their thinking.
It was about "doing the right thing", he maintained.
Mee said he was partly inspired by the major parks he had seen in London when he worked there.
He planned to continue farming deer and cattle on the covenanted land - "that's a silty loam, which is as good a producing land as you can get".
"If we wanted to put hazelnuts in, if deer farming became unviable, or something, we can still do horticulture."
However, the covenant excluded dairying - "we can't do dairy or dairy grazing because that's a mess".
The Mees' farm also includes Deer Park Heights.
"I want to leave that to the family to decide what they want to do, but most of it's ONL [outstanding natural landscape], so you can't do anything anyway."
