Ticket-holders to the Wanaka House and Garden Tour spent the past weekend exploring some of Wanaka’s most interesting properties. 

The tour, organised by the Wanaka Community Hub and Aspiring Rotary, gave one-off access to some of the town’s most exciting homes and loveliest gardens. 

No wonder then that the 500 tickets available for the event sold out within 48 hours. 

Visitors had the opportunity to see a spectacular six-acre garden, many decades in the making; New Zealand’s first certified passive house; a new three-storey property, complete with wine cellar and spectacular lakes views; and a heritage-listed rural cottage, tastefully resorted and decorated.

“What felt really cool is we weren’t just looking at big flash houses and gardens,” hub manager Gina Treadwell said. 

Organisers were careful to incorporate a real variety of properties across the Upper Clutha: gardens, from estates to small homes, and from old to new.

While they hoped it would be popular, organisers didn’t expect the level of demand the tour generated. 

This architecturally-designed family home made the most of expansive views.

Even the waiting list was “huge”, said Gina. “It seems people really love these sorts of things.” 

Feedback from the event, which ran on both Saturday and Sunday, had been really positive, and the same went for the sell-out Saturday night garden party. 

The event was a fundraiser for the Wanaka Community Hub, with all proceeds from the tour going towards reducing the remaining debt on the hub’s build. 

Gina said the final count on money raised would take place later in the week but she hoped the event had brought in a good figure.  

She thanked the host of people that helped make the tour possible: the people behind the scenes like the committee that met every week for months to help plan it, the 120 volunteers who gave their time over the weekend, and the homeowners who opened up their properties for the weekend. 

PHOTOS: Supplied