Exclusive lodge comes with submarine-like observatory
An award-winning waterfront lodge and hospitality venue, which operates one of only two underwater aquatic observatories in New Zealand, is for sale.
Lochmara Lodge, on the shores of Queen Charlotte Sound at the top of the South Island, is a 14-room licenced accommodation and food and beverage business sitting on some 4.392ha of freehold land.
One of the lodge’s biggest attractions is its underwater observatory — a permanently moored, semisubmerged submarine-like structure with viewing windows looking out to an artificial reef teeming with carpet sharks, stingrays, crayfish, blue cod, terakihi and conga eels. The observatory is one of only two in New Zealand; the other is in Milford Sound.
Lochmara’s observatory business runs four 40-minute trips daily from the lodge to the sunken viewing facility, just a few minutes from the venue’s central operations hub.
The new aquatic attraction builds on Lochmara’s well-established eco tourism activities, working in conjunction with the Department of Conservation (DoC) to run wildlife rehabilitation and breeding programmes and supporting the Marlborough Sounds Wildlife Recovery Centre.
In 2010, the Lochmara lodge was awarded the DoC Department of Conservation in Action award recognising the venue’s on-going contribution to conservation and the environment.
Lochmara has opened a booking and reservations office on the Picton waterfront, leasing a new building from Port Marlborough.
The office drives customer traffic to not only the underwater viewing amenity and the lodge’s waterfront cafe, but other Picton attractions.
Day visitors and those staying at Lochmara are transferred on the lodge’s 15m catamaran, surveyed to carry up to 50 people.
Now the freehold lodge, land, building, and multiple going concerns are being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Marlborough, closing on February 12.
Salespeople Glen Dick and Kurt
Lindsay said Lochmara can accommodate up to 40 guests nightly.
“The accommodation inventory consists of seven chalets and seven studio and one-bedroom units,” said Dick. “All of the chalets have private bathrooms, balconies with views over the bay, while five of the seven units open on to a shared courtyard.
“Nightly rack rates at the chalets range from $245 to$280, while the units range from $100 to $198. Lochmara’s caf/restaurant encompasses a deck overlooking the bay and can accommodate up 70 people for breakfasts, lunches and dinner.”
Dick said Lochmara’s accommodation infrastructure ensured the business profited from good occupancy rates over summer.
“There are no cooking facilities within the guest rooms so all food and beverages are purchased from the licensed cafe and restaurant.
“The growing number of cruise liners visiting Picton has seen a consequential growth in business for Lochmara Lodge over the past few years.
“Already, in just two months of operation, guest visitor numbers to the lodge and the underwater observatory have gone through the roof, thanks to the presence of the Picton booking office.”
“All of the chalets have private bathrooms, balconies with views over the bay, while five of the seven units open on to a shared courtyard.”
Lochmara Lodge is just a short detour off the Queen Charlotte Track, which attracts thousands of users annually. Trading records for the lodge show that New Zealanders make up some 40 per cent of guests, followed by North Americans and Australians.
With a sandy beach and commercial wharf in front of the property, much of the Lochmara’s land is covered in native bush. Ancillary building infrastructure within the property includes:
• A 37sq m metre bath house with massage room, twin baths and open shower
• Manager’s residence
• An 89sq m staff quarters over two levels, each with its own private deck.
• A 28sq m boatshed used for storing aquatic sports equipment
• A replica musterer’s hut
• A replica Maori whare with punga log walls and a manuka bark thatch roof, and
• A 160sq m aviary, a hen house, bee apiary, and gecko shelter.
In addition to the 15m-long floating jetty, Lochmara Lodge has consent for 16 permanent moorings in the bay, for boaties to tie up for the day or overnight.
Lindsay said the lodge — which has a Gold enviro-rating under the Qualmark programme — draws its water from two spring-fed streams to tanks with a 120,000-litre capacity.
The lodge’s waste water and sewerage are connected to an inground tank system, while food waste is fed to animals and cooking oil is recycled for bio-fuel. The property is connected to mains power, with gas being used in the kitchen.
Cementing its place as a cultural window to the local community, Lochmara also has an arts centre within the restaurant and cafe, where local artists showcase their creations. A percentage of art sales goes to supporting Lochmara’s Marlborough Sounds Wildlife Recovery Centre.
Lochmara Lodge has a permanent staff of 10-15 employees, swelling to
22-26 over the summer. Several of Lochmara’s staff have been with the business for eight years.
The owners of Lochmara have chosen to trade only between midSeptember and May, with maintenance and refurbishment work during the shut-down period. The business has been trading for 22 years.