Toby Lee and his partner Tessa Wallace opened Wānaka’s latest sunflower farm late last month.
Mr Lee said the idea to open a sunflower farm bloomed while living in Hawke’s Bay over the past five years.
"There was a large sunflower farm between Havelock and Hastings that was absolutely beaming with activity every day during the season.
"It seemed like a great use of a spare paddock," he said.
Mr Lee said a friend he had lived with moved to the West Coast and started a sunflower farm which had "great success".
"We thought it would be ideal for Wānaka and decided to give it a crack."
Mr Lee’s parents, Hound and Hayley Lee, own the salmon farm and restaurant Hook Wānaka.
"They have had a field in lucerne for the past few years and had often mulled over ideas for what else we could use the paddock for.
"It seemed like a great opportunity to try something different.
"We sowed the paddock behind the main Hook lake in mid-November, with the first sunflowers blooming around the middle of January," he said.
Mr Lee said when they first opened in late January, business was quite slow.
"Many people visiting Hook did not even realise the sunflower farm was there.
"After ramping up marketing through Hook social media and putting up signage, the last couple of weeks have been quite busy.
"The reaction from people has been awesome.
"We have not tallied the total but at a rough guess it would be around 500 [visitors]," he said.
Mr Lee said they hoped to make the sunflower farm an annual event.
"It is great to see people enjoying themselves in the field, and it has been a really positive visual attraction that adds something special to the area," he said.
