Backcountry bolthole for sale

A spectacular freehold parcel for sale in Queenstown’s historic Skippers Canyon, dramatically positioned over the Shotover River, is about as rare a buy as you could find.

Off The Branches Rd, the 7.2540-hectare section, part of a larger family farm for many decades, was formerly populated by rams during the summer months, earning it the moniker, ‘The Old Rams Paddock’.

Located about 30km from central Queenstown, via the tortuous Skippers Rd, the property’s just past the historic former Skippers School — a reminder of the area’s bustling past during the 19th century goldrush.

Nowadays the area’s home to adventure activities like rafting and mountain biking.

Ruth Hodges, Colliers’ Otago/Southland rural & agribusiness director, who’s marketing the property with Queenstown-based colleague Mike Eyles, says the property’s an ideal spot to relax, listen to the birdsong and admire the amazing scenery while witnessing adventurers enjoy themselves around them.

"This is a truly unique bolthole and one that will appeal to those seeking something with both adventure and quietude attributes.

"This site offers buyers the chance to acquire land in a part of the country that is seldom, if ever, available on the open market."

Since the site’s not got any services, any dwelling there would be off-grid, Hodges points out.

Rather than a house, she suggests it might better suit a cabin or hut.

"There are steeper sites on Queenstown Hill, so it’s not to say you couldn’t engineer it so you could build, but you’re in that [rural] zoning where you’d need to just make sure you complied with all the council plans and rules."

Eyles adds: "This property will give someone the opportunity to create an off-the-grid living space or explore potential tourism ventures, all while being just over an hour away from the popular hub of Queenstown."

Hodges says "some of the feedback we’ve had is they just love going into that area, so owning something within that kind of special place is really ideal".

"We’ve had not just local interest, we’ve had really quite wide interest, both New Zealand-wide as well as globally."

The property’s for sale by deadline private treaty, closing next Wednesday.

As to what it’s worth, "what we’ve been explaining to people is we don’t know where value will sit, but the owners will consider offers over the rateable value of $250,000".