Couple sell haven on earth

One of NZ’s most stunning lodges on market for first time

One of the nation’s most beautiful lodges featuring coastal forestry, private beaches and breathtaking views is up for sale for the first time. The lodge at the top of the South Island offers views of the surrounding areas including the Whanganui Inlet, Westhaven Bay, and Kahurangi National Park.

The 2732sq m Westhaven Lodge has five lodge rooms with two suites for guests as well as an owner’s wing and manager’s apartment.

There are also staff quarters and a holiday retreat.

Owners Monika and Bruno Stompe, of Austria, bought the property on the Westhaven Peninsula 27 years ago when there was only a small hut and a woodshed there.

“When we bought it we were completely smitten because we’d never seen anything like it in our lives,” Monika Stompe said.

“We were fascinated by how beautiful it was and never thought we could own a property like this.

“For about the first 10 years we ran a small B&B but we could see that people were looking for more quality accommodation than we offered. “We’d been in the building game all our lives, so that’s how we came to build Westhaven Lodge, an extraordinary building in an extraordinary part of New Zealand.”

Finished in 2013, the lodge was built with recycled rimu and teak, as well as over 100 tonnes of hand-split Otago schist.

It also has a hydrotherapy spa, massage room, infrared sauna and a heated 24m swimming pool.

Visitors can pay up to $1250 per person a night for a single lodge suite during the high season.

The family are sad to let the property go but are selling for health reasons.

“Out on the property I have to say our favourite family place would have to be Turtle Bay, where you walk down a private track we built to a [very] private beach.

“Words can’t describe how beautiful it is,” Stompe said.

The area is well known for hunting wild deer and boar as well as great fishing around the coast.

The Westhaven Lodge is on the market with Luxury Real Estate and is expected to fetch about $24 million.

The 2732sq m Westhaven Lodge, situated in the South Island’s northwest, boasts a wealth of luxury features as well as breathtaking views and private beaches.