Riverside log cabin on site of legendary Kiwi music festival hits the market

Seugnet Toweel admits her sprawling Waihi property isn’t your usual proposition: “Everything is a little bit quirky.”

She’s not wrong, as the 4.6 hectare section she co-owns contains a Douglas Fir log cabin that can sleep 12, a four-bedroom house, and an entire eco-campground waiting to be built. All while hugging the Waitawheta River and a stone’s throw from a heap of nature walk adventures.

Described as “off-the-beaten track”, it’s still just a 10-minute drive into Waihi.

Toweel owns it alongside her wife and another couple, and says what attracted her to the space was the “tranquillity”: “It really is a stunning piece of land. You sit at the river’s edge, and it is just something very, very tranquil and unique.”

“Unique” is also a word she uses to describe the imposing two-level log cabin. Built in the 1990s, the four-bedroom house has been recently renovated and is used as holiday accommodation: “You can't help but walk in and just fall in love with it.”

There’s plenty of room in the main living/dining room, which sits just off the kitchen. French doors open out to the deck and there’s a spa to while away the hours.

Toweel says the ceilings are a particular favourite of hers as none are straight: “They are all kind of sloping and have angles.”

The half-moon windows are “beautiful”, while she is also drawn to the balcony room: “You can look out and see the native bush and the river and the olive groves.”

The four-bedroom house nearby has been home to long-term tenants and was where Toweel and her wife were going to move into while they managed the potential eco-campground. But those plans changed.

At one stage the property was owned by three couples, all good friends. One of the couples, Rob and Caroline Harrell moved up north to open PhatHouse Brewing Company in Haruru, Northland, leaving the property with the other four.

They’d done all the hard work as consents had been approved for a campground for 100 holidaymakers, as well as space for an office, an accessible cabin, and an amenities block.

“It was a huge mission for us to get the consent,” admits Toweel. “It's always hard with those kind of things. But after Covid, it was really hard getting builders, and then all the building prices went up.”

In the end the decision was made to put the property up for sale, albeit reluctantly.

“We all are very busy within our own lives, and wear a lot of hats between us. So we just decided that maybe that wasn't for us to pursue.”

So now’s the chance for new owners to take up that opportunity, and there is more potential for three river-front blocks to be subdivided on another part of the land.

For those with perhaps one or two grey hairs, the location of the property may bring back some fond memories.

This is where the last Nambassa festival took place in 1981. Often cited as New Zealand’s answer to Woodstock, thousands of hippie revellers descended here for five days.

“We are all festival goers so it is very, very cool to think that the Nambassa Festival was on our property.”

As Toweel reflects on the many great events held here, she says moving on is a “little bit bitter sweet”.

“We've got so many incredible memories. So it's not easy letting go, but we are ready for it.”

The property at 209 Franklin Road, Waihi has an asking price of $2,950,000. The listing is with Ross Collins and Griff Cooke from Barfoot and Thompson.