The farm backs onto large areas of native bush providing abundance of sika, red and fallow deer.

Rocky Hill farm at Puketitiri some 57-kilometres north-west of Napier is a 429-hectare farm which has traditionally been run as a sheep and bull beef finishing operation. Some 145 hectares of land has been deer fenced.

Building Infrastructure on Rocky Hill consists of:

• A four-stand woolshed, with 500-animal night pen capacity

• A five-bay implement shed and workshop

• A 120-square metre helicopter hangar with a concrete landing pad outside, concreted floor inside, and a walk-in chiller/freezer unit used for storing on-site butchered livestock carcasses and

• Separate sheep and cattle yards.

Meanwhile, accommodation on the farm encompasses two dwellings:

• A large four-bedroom/two-bathroom single-storey homestead with expansive courtyard and spa pool and

• A three bedroom/two-bathroom farm manager’s cottage set in established gardens.

The freehold property at 5227 Puketitiri Road is now being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Napier, with tenders closing at 4pm on March 13. Bayleys Napier salespeople Tony Rasmussen and Gavin Franklin said any new owner of Rocky Hill could continue to operate the farm in its current livestock and sheep-focused configuration, expand the deer management operations, or even look at creating a hunting park.

“This is not only a productive farming unit in its current configuration, but is also a hunters’ paradise or deer farming operation,” said Mr Rasmussen.

“Should the hunting park option be explored, the existing helicopter hangar would allow for guests to fly in from Taupo or Napier, with the potential to turn the farm manager’s dwelling into supporting accommodation for overnight stays.”

The bulk of the property was contoured in easy topography – with 18-hectares covenanted as QEII native bush reserve predominantly planted in native bush. Mr Rasmussen said the bushland area provided a perfect habitat for resident sika, red, and fallow deer – all of which were regularly sourced for recreational hunting by the farm’s current owner.

Mr Franklin said Rocky Hill was pastured on free-draining ash soils suited to intensive farming throughout the winter months. Water to the property was drawn from a mixture of both bore pumping, and several spring-fed dams and creeks.

“The property is subdivided into 52 paddocks with a combination of post and wire and electric fencing – all benefitting from excellent vehicle and stock movement access off a spinal laneway leading to the central stock yards. There is potential to expand the property’s reticulated water system to improve pasture growth even further,” Mr Franklin said.

“Situated between 600 - 690 metres above sea level, Rocky Hills farm generally winters 550 bulls, alongside 1100 ewes and 350 hoggets, and has a recorded lambing ratio of between 125 – 140 percent.”