Up for grabs: big slice of island life

Slipper Island is a 15-minute boat trip from Tairua or Pauanui.

An island about 4km off the Coromandel coast is being marketed as a boutique tourism venture or the ultimate private hideaway.

Brian Brakenridge of Sothebys Realty at Cooks Beach said 217ha of the 224ha Slipper Island, or Whakahau, was for sale. The remaining 7ha has been subdivided into smaller lots and already sold privately.

The 217ha comes with its own airstrip and six houses: four holiday bungalow-style guest chalets and two residences.

Most of the island is rolling farmland but Brakenridge said it had sandy west-facing beaches and breathtakingly dramatic eastern cliffs.

Power comes from a diesel generator and rainwater is collected but water is also sourced from a spring.

The island is a 15-minute boat trip from Tairua or Pauanui or a 30-minute helicopter journey from South Auckland's Ardmore Airport.

Brakenridge said the Needhams, a farming family originally from South Auckland, had owned the property for about 45 years.

The Thames-Coromandel District Council lists the 217ha property as having a rating valuation of $5.5 million. Expectations are that it could fetch about $7.5 million but Mr Brakenridge said that it was open for offers.

International real estate specialists Vladi Private Islands has advertised a 1.7ha slice of the island in two lots for $1.85 million, saying they are both building sites with panoramic views.

Rare opportunity
• 217ha of the 224ha Slipper Island, or Whakahau, is for sale. It has its own airstrip
• 6 houses: four holiday bungalow-style guest chalets and two residences.
• 15 minute boat trip from Tairua or Pauanui or a 30-minute helicopter journey from Ardmore Airport.