Quirky Queenstown homes for sale

A quirky estate where Oscar-winning Kiwi filmmaker Dame Jane Campion and her crew stayed in Queenstown is for sale.

It is one of two properties designed by the late, renowned architect Sir Ian Athfield for sale in the resort, although the agents involved say their appearance on the market is a “total coincidence”.

Campion was just one of many celebrities, world leaders and politicians who visited the luxury Punatapu Estate at 1113 Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd over the last 20 years.

The property was designed by Sir Ian in the early 1980s for Queenstown doctor Pat Farry and his wife Sue as their family home. When their children left, they turned it into a luxury retreat complete with its own chefs.

The estate, with a trademark Athfield turret, has six bedrooms and bathrooms, two kitchens and three living spaces that are spread over four linked accommodation buildings giving it a village-like feel.

Farry, well known as an advocate for rural health, died suddenly in 2009 and for the last four years the property has been off and on the market.

Punatapu is currently run as a short-term accommodation business, but with a heated swimming pool, sauna, and spa is also marketed as having plenty of potential.

Colliers salesperson Doug Reid, one of the listing agents, says it's a very special property that has been developed over the years. The family first bought the land in 1973. 

“The mature tree, the beautiful ponds, and the quite timeless architecture - it is quite cool.”

Reid, previously a valuer for 20 years, says Punatapu Estate and a house at 453 Littles Rd in Dalefield are the only Athfield properties he knows of that are in the area.

Both will appeal to those who love architecture and he said he has been contacted by a North Islander who wants to own a unique Athfield building.

Meanwhile, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom Littles Rd home has an asking price of $3.885 million. The current owners purchased it last year and have carried out a renovation including adding a new deck and pergola.

Built in the early 2000s, the Dalefield home is one of Sir Ian's later designs and has a distinctive Mediterranean feel despite being in an alpine environment.

Luxury Real Estate salesperson Nick Horton said it is unique with the expansive 85sqm roof terrace giving 360-degree views over the countryside and surrounding mountains.

OneRoof-Valocity records show the property last changed hands in July 2022 for $4.008m on a 20,371sqm section. However, it is now being sold on a 6003sqm section.

Horton says it is a “total coincidence” that two Athfield homes are for sale at the same time.

There are a small number of his properties in the South Island, with the majority being in the lower North Island.

In 2018, a landmark waterfront home, known as The Castle, sold for $835,000. The Marine Dr property in the Lower Hutt suburb of Eastbourne, has Sir Ian's hallmarks of rounded walls, slit windows, tile flooring and floor-to-ceiling glass.

Prior to that, another Athfield home in Amritsar St in the Wellington suburb of  Khandallah, sold for $860,000 in 2016.

The property was next door to Sir Ian's home and office, which is described as his most well-known and outlandish design complete with turrets, slides and courtyards.

Athfield House has never changed hands and remains in his family’s ownership.

- One Roof