Shares are being sold in the land and buildings at the Miners Creek high-country station some 13 kilometres west of the Central Otago township of Ettrick.

The 513-hectare freehold property is located on the Mount Benger Range adjacent to the Department of Conservation’s Mount Benger Reserve. Combined, the two landholdings are home to red stags on its stark hills and brown trout in its pristine rivers.

The property is currently being run as a sheep and beef operation – stocking 1,800 units encompassing Hereford cattle and Superfine Merino sheep. With proceeds from the share sell-down, four new ‘rustic’ style hunting cabins are being built on strategic locations within the station for use by shareholders and their guests.

Six shares – representing a total of 60 percent ownership of the property are being offered for sale at $285,000 per portion through Bayleys Real Estate. Salespeople John Greenwood and Wayne Scurrah said the topography within the Miners Creek block ranged from rolling hills stretching up to tussock-clad steep mountains and beech forestry, with several tributary rivers running along the gullies feeding into Pomahaka River.

“The red deer stag bloodlines running within the block have been proliferating for generations, with only the occasional invited guest of the owners ever having the privilege of hunting on the block,” Mr Scurrrah said.

“This has ensured red deer stock numbers have remained ‘bountiful’ – with animals moving between Miners Creek and the neighbouring DOC conservation land which is open to public access. Over the decades hunters have also brought down the occasional fallow deer and wild boar.

“In addition to rifle hunting opportunities, the farm is located at the headwaters of the Pomahaka River which runs deep with brown trout. The remoteness and inaccessibility of the river’s upper reaches means it’s a rarely fished location…. the ultimate scenario for a keen angler who wants to be the only person on a stretch of water.”

Each $285,000 shareholding entitles the owner to a minimum of four weeks on the block – with usage bookings made through the farm management company on a

pre-booking rostered basis.

Existing accommodation infrastructure at the Mt Benger Road property consists of a very comfortable rustic generator-powered back country cabin recently fully refurbished with bunks, wood-fired stove for cooking, and toilet and bathroom facilities sustained from a tank-fed water system. The other four cabins being built on Miners Creek station will operate as smaller ‘satellite’ chalets offering ample additional accommodation for owners and their guests.

In addition to access to the accommodation and recreational activities on offer at Miners Creek, shareholders will also receive a portion of the lease payments from the farm management company. Mr Scurrah said this lease payment per 10 percent shareholding would be fixed at $6,000 per annum for the initial lease period.

Mr Scurrah said that for any new owner flying into the region for their recreational activities, the Miners Creek block was located virtually equi’-distant between Queenstown and Dunedin airports. Numerous natural flat landing pads within the high-country station meant that charter helicopter flights could land directly into the hunting park.

“The terrain of Miners Creek also has numerous four-wheel drive tracks running through its lower reaches and part-way up into the steeper ranges. There is the opportunity for a shareholder to have an all-terrain vehicle garaged permanently on site in an implement shed/hay barn,” Mr Scurrah said.

The nearby township of Ettrick has several ‘claims to fame’ – including being one of the first places in New Zealand where gold-mining pioneers grew apples in the 1860s, and where the biggest collection of McDonalds paraphernalia is on display in a public museum, featuring 40-years’ worth of burger boxes, cups, hats, toys, watches, badges, dolls and uniforms.