| 41 Bold leap into agri-tourism rewarded Each site is ten minutes from the homestead on patches of the 1330ha farm. Hugh de Lacy The Burgess family’s bold leap into agri-tourism in 2019 on its Beresford Farm in the beautiful setting of South Otago’s Catlins has been rewarded with more than just another source of revenue: it’s been a key element during the protracted process of succession planning. And revenue-wise, their building a remote 60m2 tourist lodge in a scenic setting on the farm has been successful enough to justify repeating the exercise. The second lodge, to be called Beresford Rise, is of similar size and design to the original one which was built six years ago and called Beresford Heights, and it’s set to open for business in July this year. Each site is ten minutes from the homestead on patches of the 1330ha farm, 200ha of it in native bush, that back onto the Catlins Forest Park. “The remoteness, the silence, the scenery, the nearby beaches and the way we run our sheep and cattle farm have proved a magnet to both domestic and overseas tourists, to the degree that Beresford Heights enjoyed an 80% occupancy rate between September 2023 and May 2024,” Steph Burgess says. “That fell to 50% over the winter months, but occupancy rates have been improving every year – hence the new lodge.” Steph and Warren Burgess own the farm which is managed by their son Cameron and his partner Annabel Shadbolt, though Steph and Warren remain actively involved in the day-to-day operations. “About 50% of our guests are Kiwi and the rest are made up of mainly Europeans: Dutch, German, French and Swiss,” Steph says. “For the foreign visitors the main interest is definitely the one-on-one personal aspect of their stay, farm tours – which are also available to the public for day-visits - and the farm experience: they’re baffled at the amount of land and stock we have, and the total seclusion from everything. “Guests love the lack of people, the native walks, the empty beaches and just how easy it is to get around. MEAT & WOOL » Beresford Heights “For the Kiwis it’s often the same: the total seclusion and the getaway from the hustle and bustle.” The main difference between the two lodges is that the second one will be exclusively for adults, with guests able to drive themselves to it, while the older lodge requires all-terrain-vehicle access. Beresford Heights has gained the Gold New Zealand Farm Assurance certification as well as the Silver Qualmark accreditation, Tourism New Zealand’s official quality assurance programme. The farm runs 4000 Romney ewes, including 650 Texel/Romney crosses and 1150 hoggets, and it’s lately added a small Southdown stud with rams sold privately. Also included is a Simmental stud with 240 breeding cows, wintering 30 bulls and 55 heifers, whose 2024 on-farm sale saw 13 of 15 bulls sold LICENSED BUILDING PRACTITIONERS Building confidence New Zealand Certi ed Builders Association CB 027 408 7217 glenn@gwb.co.nz | gwb.co.nz Luxury custom home builds, designs & renovations Proud to be associated with Warren and Steph Burgess and their ventures with Beresford Heights and Beresford Rise Buying or selling a new Business, Home or Farm or require legal advice about Leases, Subdivisions, Shareholder Agreements, Contracts,Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Wills, Estates or Succession Planning? For all your legal advice contact our friendly team of professionalsin Balclutha and Milton w w w. o m a l l e y a n d c o . c o . n z Brigid Clinton | Director Phone: 03 419 0025 | Email: brigid@sho.co.nz 20 James Street, Balclutha Annie Soper | Director Phone: 03 4177355 | Email: annie@sho.co.nz 94 Union Street, Milton CluthaNZ.com at a top price of $12,250 and an average of $6200. And in April this year Beresford Farm’s 100 Simmental and Simmental / Angus crosses topped the annual Owaka/Clutha calf sale, the steers selling for an average $1585 / hd and the heifers $1290 / hd for an average of $1400 / hd.
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