Pristine beach in the heart of the Abel Tasman

Hello,

I'm an editor at Business Insider, a news website headquartered in New York City, and I'm writing a story about your successful campaign to buy Awaroa Beach. I'm hoping to talk to Duane and/or Adam — if you get this message, will you email me at dvarinsky@businessinsider.com?

Thanks so much,

Dana Varinsky

Hi, my name is Tessa Berger, trustee of the Mahurangi Costal Trail Trust. I would love to get in touch with Mr Major regarding a fundraising event my fellow trustees and I would love for him to attend. Happy to chat as soon as possible. I'm available for contact at anytime via berger@themerchandisecollective.com

Warm Regards,

Tessa Berger

My account was debited this morning, so does this mean the tender was accepted?

So what happens now..are we going to be updated on a daily basis on how the tender is going?

I also like Matthew Benge's suggestion of prioritising the bird life regeneration while still allowing managed access for people. It is a great idea. Best of both worlds!

Just wanted to respond to Matthew Benge's comment - best I've read here. That's a great idea. Matthew can be assured that the birds are returning but there are many people who walk across the spit with no regard for their habitat. When we see that happening we try to point it out to those concerned but get abused for the effort.

Yes please - give this place back to the birds!

I sold Awaroa to the present owner and spent my last 60 years enjoying this place.

Since the 1980's when the place became popular I tried and tried to protect the spit for the 2000 or so birds that used to nest. DOC would not do anything meaningfull to stop the interferring with the bird life by park users.. Having riparian rights was meaningless as a private citizen so the birds all went away eventually. Occasionally a pair or two would return and start nest building but then they would be interupted and would disapear. I believe the clear space on the spit is very important as there is no cover for stoats and that is where most of the nesting was right on the end, there was often no space between the nests of the Black capped terns. The dotterels have gone and the variable Oyster catchers and pied Oystercatcher number has diminished to almost none. Finnally after talking to the QE2 trust I found that they were able to support and add teeth to the protection of the nesting birds but I could not get the wider family to agree because some had the $ in sight.

I would hate to see this go to DOC as they have already failed the birdlife dispite protection of native species as being their job. I strongly believe that this piece of land should go to QE2 or a similar organisation that will protect the spit for the birds. QE2 and I had a plan drawn up for this .

Poersonally I think that if you look at the Park and it's popularity and growth that there is room for all. The park lacks a place for Kayakers , which is very popular, in advers weather. I think the base of this property (the area covered in Kanuka) could be a kayak base and in bad weather you have still 1000 acres of very interesting kayaking when the tide is in. No access should be allowed on the spit untill birds return .Once nesting bird numbers are high access could be allowed out of season. The kayaking base would give a permanant presence so the no go area could be inforced and the nesting birds would become an attraction of their own in time viewed from the sea not the land by kayak.

All anyone sees now is a beautifull beach, which it is,but the birdlife was unparalled anywhere else in this park and it is all gone, so no one can see that, so no one understands the true importance of this piece of land and why it should be protected, people and birds can' have their cake and eat it' here if the right plan is made. It would become even more special for both.

Matthew Benge

The tender documents state that a 10% deposit must accompany the tender offer documents. Who's paying that?

Hey Guys,

You know what..Ive been following this from the start with my two young boys, made a couple of pledges..hope like hell we are successful with the tender..BUT..the very best of this is the demonstration of people power, the way it has pulled us everyday kiwi's together in a common purpose to try our very best to achieve something for ALL of us and our future generations..and this alone has proven just how much

we as New Zealanders LOVE our beaches, our bush, our coastline, our wild and free places and more than anything it is at the very core of our values and being. So firstly THANK YOU guys for having the Xmas day chat that has bought this

about..NZ you have spoken about what is important!, it has been a pleasure to watch and read this site day after day..Gareth Morgan comments aside..in light of all the bad news that we are hammered with day after day we as NZer's have truly shone...Thank you so much for the journey so far!! Bring the tender on!! GO KIWI's

Hi it would be good for our Nelson TV Station to do an interview with you guys now the target has been met. Can you email them on news@mainlandtv.nz to organise a suitable time/day etc? :)

Any surplus money should look to go to Doc for upgrading amenities to the property so there is a place to cook, sleep and toilet for trampers/ visitors wanting to stay a night in my humble opinion. Good work guys!

The negative comments on Mr Morgan are unnecessary

Come on NZ rise above knocking people

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

to those who organised this and the 33,000 who made it happen WHOOP!!

Another piece of paradise for future generations

The negative comments on Mr Morgan are unneccessary

Come on NZ rise above knocking people

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

to those who organised this and the 33,000 who made it happen WHOOP!!

Another piece of paradise for future generations

There are a number of questions/concerns around what will be done with the surplus funds (if any). If you aren't able to refund it, one easy option would be for it to be donated to DoC, given the general theme of this fundraising:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/conservation-activities/make-a-donation/

Personally I don't think that the bid should be more than 2 Million. I pledged money on the understanding that that was the limit. I don't want to see my money used to drive up the price to the benefit of the vendor. A target was set, it looks like that will be achieved, but this isn't meant to be an open cheque.

Having said that, I think that getting 33000 people involved is a fantastic achievement, whatever the outcome.

Can GiveaLittle arrange it so that we can keep pledging past the $2M but so that the total stops going up? That way other tenderers won't know what total they're up against.

If we get over $2 million which it looks like we are going to do, and are successful with our bid, what happens to the surplus money. I have heard there in another larger piece of land for sale next to this one - just a thought

If the bid isn't successful can we use the money to buy Gareth a nice little bach far away from NZ? With no internet access?

Overseas Investment Office may well decline foreign buyers, as foreign lock up clearly not in the public interest.

Public Works Act if seller is being greedy.

Hi, I can confirm what Sharon is saying, the amount when from about 1899 thousands to 1886 thousands, so about 13 thousands backward. Haven't checked the time exactly but must have been around 11pm NZDT yesterday.

Two questions

1. I desperately want to donate $100 and have tried multiple times but it won't accept my credit card - I am a Kiwi living abroad and it is a Turkish credit card. But I can't see what the problem is? Any ideas? There is money on the card ready to go... but no go! Will ask a family member to donate for me...

2. I have been following the amount closely and today it went down quite a lot. The total was almost 2 million about 6 hours ago, and now it is the same amount - it went down considerably although the number of donors kept going up. Any ideas why this is?

IF WE GET THE 2MILLION WILL BE GREAT. BUT THE RACE ISN'T OVER. WHO IS GOING TO COME UP WITH THE REST WHEN ONE OF THE DONALD TRUMPS OF THIS WORLD BUY IT? WE NEED PEOPLE TO COMMIT TO PLEDGING MORE. DO YOU THINK THAT AFTER THE DEADLINE THAT THE ALREADY DONATING CAN UP THEIR PLEDGES PRE AUCTION???

Well what we already knew is out there now. Garnham is the owner. He'll take every penny he can get and every penny we pledge is worth it. Duane, Adam we're nearly there! Fingers crossed!

This is not a question but a statement:

I join with Daune and Adam and other people who have pledged (us included) that Morgan's pitch is not in the spirit of this campaign. I'd add that he has been destructive to its intent - talked up the price and completely missed the point about taking this land out of private ownership and back into the public realm. Communitas have made that clear as well and I applaud them.

I know this piece of land well. Commentators say it'll shortly disappear under the rising sea levels. I disagree, it has better natural defenses than many human made systems and if anything the sand build up on the spit and out to sea is increasing, not eroding. Time will tell but in recent years the spit has strengthened not weakened.

The buildings on the land are shacks - one (or two) is barely habitable. Bayleys video makes them look otherwise but it ain't so. If DoC gain ownership they should be demolished and removed.

The current owner is going to take whatever he can get - he doesn't care about this place. His first actions as the new owner completely abused the environment, he was caught out by locals, stopped and then he disappeared. He (and his family) never go there as far as we can tell.

Morgan's "gift" of ongoing public access to the beach is a complete crock. No owner could stop access. It isn't an issue. The only way to do so would be to place goons at 20 metre centres all along the beach and beat up anyone who went above MHWS - the notional boundary. That's going to take a very dedicated, very rich and very nasty person. And what'd be the point? You can't build a fence. Yeah you could put up signs - but the tides and the locals will quickly have their way with those...

DoC's claim that it has no ecological values astounds me. The bird life on the spit (part of the land) is prolific. And they are breeding here. Isn't that ecologically valuable?

The price tag of $2M will have to please the current owner - he paid less. Morgan's suggestion that it'll go for much more is ignorant and inflationary. Anyone who does due diligence will find that aside from returning it to the park, where it belongs, it cannot be developed. You can stay there as it is but it wouldn't be very comfortable. It has been on the market for well over a year at this asking price and the wisdom in the inlet is that it is worth less than $2M not more. But if this campaign gets it for $2M and we all chipped in what we could spare - what the hell - we got it for everyone! That makes me smile.

I'm totally for this campaign just as Duane and Adam have made it happen. They're an inspiration to follow. It's a statement of people power and we've personally given as much as we can afford. Let's win this tender and sod off Morgan. It is a small gesture among all the land and landscapes that should be returned to the public realm but as a gesture it is huge! It is a start and one that, by drops in a bucket, we can fill!

No questions...we hope that GaL win this without a turkey like Morgan stuffing it all up.

Thanks Duane and Adam - you are an inspiration for us!

Q1. The team at Givealittle have agreed that they will ensure that the money will not be paid out until we have won the Tender. This is good but I was wondering

Communitas is a private company and has no public reporting requirements. If Givealittle pays the funds on the basis Communitas wins the tender. What measures are in place preventing Communitas dealing as it wishes with the all the funds or the surplus of the funds?

Q2. There is no specified receiver of the gift. So what security do doners have that the resulting "or any other trust" is not a trust controlled by parties involved with Communitas.

Q3. Does Communitas get a tax deduction for the Gift to a registered charity should a gift of property and cash be made?

Q4. Did the creators consider creating a bare trust placing the funds with a solicitors trust account on the conditions of the givealittle offer rather than having the funds paid to a company controlled by Communitas?

Since so many people are doing their bit for New Zealand AND the vendors will be recovering the money they spent on this land some years ago, couldn't we get their commitment that if their asking price of $2m is reached they too will do their bit and accept this offer, regardless of what other offers there may be? I hope they have been touched by this campaign and do their bit to preserve their legacy. The vendor also stands to benefit from the public purchase with guaranteed future access. This could be a win win for everyone and wouldn't it be great to know it was a done deal before the funding period closes on Sunday night.

Has anyone talked to the local iwi about this? I feel they should be involved in some way

Hi, I made a pledge and I am just wondering if this is considered a purchase or a cash withdrawal when I use a credit card? with a purchase it is interest free because I pay my balance in full every month, but if it is a cash withdrawal it immediately costs me interest. Thanks

Hi, I made a pledge and I am just wondering if this is considered a purchase or a cash withdrawal when I use a credit card? with a purchase it is interest free because I pay my balance in full every month, but if it is a cash withdrawl it immediately costs me interest. Thanks

DOC should not only be caretaker of this land but also contribute towards its purchase. If they match the givealittle funds then they still get to own it for half price and should secure it for our future generations. It's a bit lame to say they haven't budgeted for it - tell Winston Peters that in parliament on Monday after this gets sold to an international investor.

Hi my parents made a donation in the name of the Coull family but I am not sure if this has come to you as the system crashed just after. They have not had an email for conformation. Can you please confirm if this has been received or not. Thank you

I think it's great if DOC can manage the land as part of the national park, however I would like to see an additional covenant in place to prevent anything "untoward" happening to it. I still remember marching down Queen St five years ago to protest against mining on conservation land. The Milford sound tunnel was mentioned by others.

It's an unfortunate fact that at times DOC seems to come under immense pressure from their political masters of the day. I would find it incredibly galling to have chipped in money to save this land for the public, only to have it exploited again by private interests through the back door at a later stage.

What about asking more companies to donate larger sums too :)

To David and others

I do not understand why people think Gareth Morgan wants other people to pay for his use of this property - he has hundreds of millions of dollars of his own and does not need any of ours to buy this. There is nothing preventing him from placing a private tender which he may well do. However I believe he is trying to be helpfull to this campaign, with a catch (because he is an estute businessman). The reality is that by Sunday this property will be sold - period. All other tenders will know how much give-a-little has raised and adjust their bids accordingly - so without some serious financial backing, this bid by 26 thousand plus kind spirited Kiwis is likely to fail.

If you have a better offer than Gareth - then please step forward before it's too late. Once this land goes to overseas buyers, you can expect to see the "Kiwis keep off" signs erected on the beach.

Marcus wrote: "but he [Gareth Morgan] wants something for it - fair enough!"

Either Gareth Morgan should buy it for himself, or decide to do what everyone is doing here and straight out donate. Getting others to pay for most of it so that he can "bags" it for as long as he and his family likes is not "fair enough."

Great project, but I have some reservations about gifting it to DOC, as highlighted below it is suggested that there has been past cases where, at a bureaucratic level DOC has shown little regard to local communities voices and hides behind a complex and potentially restrictive public submission process, this initiative is great but to be truly all for the people and the publics benefit it needs direct democracy behind it, so if successful in the initial bid will there be a transparent vote to determine the path that this campaign will take? Or will the founders or an exclusive group have the final say? Kind regards.

You mentioned that the property was bought in 2008 for 1.9million. By whom? Do you have any contact/relationship with the owner?

Marcus - the average Chinese investor in NZ does buy not a remote beach (+ remember the biggest overseas property investors in are Canadians, not Chinese).

Gareth Morgan's offer defeats the purpose of the exercise - let him pay $2m for the property if he wants it for his use and not have his purchase subsidised by all the people donating.

Gareth Morgan seams to have caused a wee stir here however people we need to remember that he is a very experienced businessman and that the sale of this property is by tender. That means there could be 100 other tenderers out there, some with very fat wallets from China. So please lets just accept that Gareths offer may be exactly what is needed to win this tender - expect a sale price closer to $3Million than $2M and understand that Gareth is doing us a favour - but he wants something for it - fair enough!

If the total is reached and the tender were successful how exactly would the dwellings be managed? Presumably they would become property of DOC and be governed by the existing conditions that are in place for all other DOC huts/lodges? Surely their would need to be some fair use policy in play?

Because this is a private sale, that would mean the owner now pays rates? Who pays the rates in the future?

Gareth Morgan seams to have caused a wee stir here however people we need to remember that he is a very experienced businessman and that the sale of this property is by tender. That means there could be 100 other tenderers out there, some with very fat wallets from China. So please lets just accept that Gareths offer may be exactly what is needed to win this tender - expect a sale price closer to $3Million than $2M and understand that Gareth is doing us a favour - but he wants something for it - fair enough!

I think this needs some serious attention. In an effort to do the right thing many NZers have donated. In an effort to be greedy Gareth Morgan has tried to hijack it and keep it for himself. GREED GREED GREED. Maybe I need to deliver 1000 cats to the area....that would keep Gareth out :-) Better cats than Gareth any day. Oh My Question ??? Shall we start a page to pay to get Gareth to leave the country ?

I will be withdrawing my offer of support if Gareth Morgan is donating on terms more favourable than myself and others who have already donated.

Yep, I agree, will be withdrawing my pledge if Gareth Morgan gate crashes everyone elses good work. Gareth if you want to buy a beach Mururoa is available. PISS OF AND STOP FREELOADING. JESUS EVERYONE IS SICK OF YOU

Yep, I agree, will be withdrawing my pledge if Gareth Morgan gate crashes everyone elses good work. Gareth if you want to buy a beach Mururoa is available. PISS OF AND STOP FREELOADING. JESUS EVERYONE IS SICK OF YOU

If Gareth Morgan is contributing to the purchase on his terms I will be withdrawing my pledge. I am not prepared to fund someone else for their own selfish purposes. I may never visit this beautiful place but my children , grandchildren and friends may like this opportunity.

What you are doing is amazing but people donating and demanding terms to their donations is wrong.

Why should I SUBSIDISE Morgan in his attempt to buy land that should be part of the national park anyway?

Haven't we all pledged to keep all of this piece of land available for all New Zealanders?. Therefore it is available for Mr Morgan and his family to use too. Why does he need to have a portion exclusively for himself...I don't think this 'deal' is in keeping with the spirit of your idea Communitas.

Despite Gareth Morgan's cynical and greedy attempt to hijack this campaign for his personal benefit, I urge everyone to keep donating so that his cynical offer becomes redundant. Let's get to $2m without him and he can build his family bach elsewhere.

But I want to emphasize to the organisers of this campaign: I pledged a 4-figure amount under the terms that you set out. (And you've done a great job, I admire you for doing this.) I did not however sign up to subsidize Gareth Morgan's latest bach. His son can keep doing that. My offer is withdrawn (and I will take necessary legal actions to ensure this) if Gareth Morgan's offer is accepted. Please confirm you accept this!

And if you do consider his cynical offer, to have part of this property for personal use, for a price of $2m minus all the money pledged, then I will better that offer and build my own batch! Seriously. Please confirm that if somehow you did consider Gareth Morgan's cynical offer you would at least set out to obtain competing offers under the same terms.

Hello

I think this is a terrific idea and I have made a pledge. However I did this before Mr Morgan tried to gate crash.

My question is can I withdraw my pledge if Mr Morgan does become the owner because I do not support his proposal and the terms would have changed from the original proposal.

Thank you

Hello

I think this is a terrific idea and I have made a pledge. However I did this before Mr Morgan tried to gate crash.

My question is can I withdraw my pledge if Mr Morgan does become the owner because I do not support his proposal and the terms would have changed from the original proposal.

Thank you

Can I assume if public funds reached $2 million, then Mr Gareth Morgan won't have to pay the balance and get his exclusive rights of the beach?

Thanks for the response guys but by "support" I meant I hope the real estate agent and seller show some generosity too. For instance by taking a smaller cut and refusing to sell to anyone else. That would make this deal truly exceptional.

I think it is really great that so many people are supporting this cause. It shows how many people care about this kind of thing. It shows people can make a difference. Even if I never visit this beach I will be glad that I contributed (assuming that you guys win and get to buy it) and it becomes part of the National Park and by the way I personally would not want to donate to any 1080 drops anywhere in NZ..there has to be a better way than that.

I just wanted people to know that this isn't just a beach - I've emailed Maggie Barry about this. It is a nesting ground for black oyster catchers, southern pied oyster catchers, red billed gulls, black backed gulls and (this year!) NZ dotterel. It is also a roost for shags and vagrant little terns. DoC says it has no particular ecological values - hence no support. That's weird because they erect signs on the spit telling people that these are nesting grounds. All of the birds that nest there are at risk or threatened species. C'mon DoC and c'mon NZ. This is more than just a beach.

Well done for all your hard work on this Duane.

Great also to see the power of community coming through.

It could also be that other potential buyers are warned off by the 20,922 families that have backed this initiative. The people have spoken decisively, and no wealthy individual should trump this.

Should a potential buyer challenge this, they could end up holding a very hot potato.

Good luck with the negotiations.

What an exciting act of goodwill New Zealand! Before I contribute I'd like to know if there is support from the seller and real estate agent?

This was my grandfathers place until a few years ago, no fuss was made when it was sold then. What's the big deal now?

Hi there, I pledged $20.00 and my bank was debited straight away. I was under the impression that I would not be debited till tender was matched. Feeling a bit confused.

Hi, What happens to the money if you don't win the tender, but have exceeded the $2mil?

Hi regarding the awaroa property, just wanted to let you know there is also another 10 acre block for sale the owner wanting 1.5 mill for it , all flat mowed grass perfect to gift to doc this could be used by many to camp on etc . My grandad previously owned all the land there and sold on 3 private blocks which have since been split up, the spit being one of the blocks. Anyway it's just a thought maybe if you don't reach your target you could look at buying that. Thanks Justine

Justine

Hi. I wasn't expecting the money I pledged to be taken out of my bank account until you had $2 million of pledges made. If the bid for the "property is not successful how will i get my money back?

Kia ora! Is there an 'official' hash tag for this campaign? I just shared it on twitter using #BuyBackNZ. Could be good to encourage people to use the same one for extra twitter reach, particularly in the last week or so :)

Hi, what is the height above sea level of the highest point of the parcel of land? Cheers.

Hi Do you know about the Wilderness Land Company? I was there at the start of that, it was put together around 20 - 25 years ago to buy land at Thompsons Flat, Lake Daniels over by Maruia. These guys did a share each and have a company set up to run it properly. This was to make sure access to the Flat would continue, at the time there were overseas interests wanting to buy it and stop public access. Might be worth talking to people on that company. I'd suggest Thad, Graeme or Bruce as being the best and most business/philanthropist minded ones to talk to. Look up the companies office and get their details, thought it might be a good structure for this? Good on you and good luck!

I'm concerned about the following points.

1) The beach in question is temporary real estate; given sea level rise, it is likely to be affected in the next few decades.

2) This bid seems likely to jack up the price of the real estate.

3) Because of the temporary nature of the land, it's unlikely that the buyer would get permission to build on it; also unlikely that they would take measures to exclude people from the beach (fences, security guards).

4) The permanent course of the Abel-Tasman runs well away from this beach.

So it seems like a waste of money to bid for it. 2016 is probably going to be a mast year, and our native species are in danger. DOC has not yet secured funds to pay for the 1080 drops that will be necessary to protect them. The $2 million being raised here could make a valuable contribution to saving the natives this year.

Hi,

Not sue if I am missing something, but my query is:

Understand that no money is drawn down on the credit card until the pledges reach $2,000,000. Understand that the money is not released my Givealittle unless the tender is won. However what happens if (when) the fund reaches/exceeds $2,000,000, but the offer is refused and another buyer buys the place, what happens to the money, which is now not just a pledge but actual cash).

Is there a possibility of you negotiating to buy outside the tender process, once the limit is reached/exceeded.

Hi, I really like the project and totally support it, but could you please give more details on how you plan to "give it to New Zealand?". Still unclear to me.

Thanks.

Are you planning on doing this elsewhere, Id support it, I'm sure others would too.

Buy Back NZ.

Hi I may have understood incorrectly, but I thought the funds would only be taken if the tender was successful? Or will the funds be taken now, and refunded if necessary... based on the comments that credit card won't be charged unless the tender is successful, I wasn't expecting the funds I pledge to be taken yet.

I did the pledge/donate thing last evening and when submitting it got some sort of error that told me I had to refresh the page to complete the thing. Refreshing the page just renewed the error message telling me to refresh. After 4 refreshes it sort of crashed out. I thought I saw something about a receipt being emailed or some acknowledgement so I have been checking my email for something. But received nothing. Does this mean I haven't been successful? How can I be sure either way?

I am very excited by this project and hope we can raise the necessary funds. I have sent it to all my address book and to all our MPs to encourage them to participate. It would be brilliant to add it to the Abel Tasman Park.

However, I do have some misgivings as to it's future if owned privately. I do not know who the vendors are and whether there is a possibility of development on this site.

It should not be given any consent to develop in my opinion because of the nature of the area, and therefore one would hope that the price will not attract rich people to build an exclusive domain there.

Do we have any information as to the status of the site?

Can we trust the environment consents organisation to prevent development?

alikiwifruit

First, congratulations on getting this underway, what a fantastic idea! I'm from the north island and don't know much about the mana whenua of this area but I'd love to understand this a bit more, including any local stories around Maori use/'ownership' of this land in particular. Is there be a possibility of gifting this to the iwi or hapu with mana whenua and heal some broken hearts that way? That could be a different sort of contribution from NZer's in advance of Waiting Day next week and something that I would definitely contribute funds to. I'm sure that reasonable public access could be maintained but I'm not sure about yours or different groups of NZer's views on this. Would love to know as I'm sure there are a diverse range of thoughts. With thanks

My view is that if successful the area should be gifted to the National Park and managed by DOC. Although many of us has concerns about the direction of DOC - at the end of the day the land it manages belongs to us. Ultimately they are accountable to the public and voters. DOC seeks public input into park plans, conservation management strategies and on some concession applications. If held in some sort of private trust there is a risk that it will over time it will be less accountable than DOC. I think not adding the area to the park is a vote of no confidence in National Parks and public lands which would be a sad state of affairs and may help to erode the status of these lands nation wide.

DOC said purchasing the land outright is not in their ballpark. Are you in a conversation with them about contributing whatever is in their ball park? Surely they'd be a willing participant, particularly given the clear message NZers value retaining ownership and access to all foreshore/seabed land.

Maybe it would be cool to have a little sign that lists the names of those who pledged any amount big or small to say that we were a part of saving the beach. Imagine future generations visiting the beach and being proud to see their relatives names amongst the thousands and hopefully inspiring to protect our beautiful country even more... although now I think about it... haha that could be a pretty big sign...

This campaign is so great ?

Hi. What you guys are doing is awesome! We have been in NZ since 2008, and have just received Citizenship. I am quite emotionall about it, strange as it sounds... but when I saw this on the news last night, It choked me up - immediately thought, you know, what a better way of thanking NZ for making us part of this beautiful Counrty. We love it here. I wish this project all the best. Well done to you and your team!!

Just an idea to raise some money... what so people think about getting schools involved? Since schools are back next week we could organise a mufti day for kids and a gold coin donation. This worked well when I was in school and kids love coming to school in mufti.

QE2 or DoC (perhaps with an extra covenant over the land) would be excellent owners.

It's just possible the market price is less than $2m, given that it's only 7.37 hectares and much of it will be covered by the sea in the next 100 years. What would the remainder be used for?

Maybe it could it go towards Project Janszoon with the expectation they will undertake pest control and trapping?

How does the tender process work? Does the vendor have discretion to sell to any buyer or do they have to go to the highest bidder? Because any buyer could easily just check out the total raised here and outbid it.

I wonder how much DoC is willing to front, and if this money could be used to help them purchase directly, even if the final goal isn't reached?

Hey, my mum will donate $500 but she doesn't trust entering her credit card details on a website, so she'd rather do it through private banking. Please give me your Facebook / email or something and I'll contact you. We'll chip in that $500 a day or so before you need to use it. :)

Great idea, btw!

Hi guys... What a brilliant idea... I'm more than happy to donate for such a wonderful cause, but ( there's always that "but")... Will global warming make that $2 mil beach non existent & I worry about DoC being a trustee. I say this because it wasn't so long ago that we had to fight a multinational corporation that wanted to drill a tunnel through a Fiordland, (DoC entrusted), mountain for private use. DoC was willing to let it go ahead. This is a world heritage site I'm talking about, but DoC had been bought. Dr Nick Smith, had the final say in the matter & thank goodness he listened to the majority of New Zealanders....

Surely http://www.janszoon.org/ is as good a place as any to start looking for a suitable Trust?

hiya---for all of us who have donated---please email us all with an appropriate date for us all to meet for an awesum bbg/swim fun filled day on our very own beach.

Hi guys- awesome idea- behind it- however what's not clear is what you mean by 'a suitable trust'. I'd only be happy to get involved where I knew this was going to Doc to be responsibly managed and incorporated into a national park. Peoples ideas of a suitable trust will differ and the last thing I'd want to do is donate money and see this being given to destiny church (or any other church for that matter). Any way you can tighten up what happens to this land? Who's responsible for ensuring it gets handed over to DoC and in what timeframe? What (if any) guarantees can you give the donating public? Don't get me wrong- I'm all for it, and I'm complicating the idea, but necessary to do so. Maybe a big law firm can get some publicity by drawing up a trust deed, nominate a trustee with powers only to organise and hand over the land to the gov under agreement it gets national parked?! Just an idea- top marks for putting this up though but important to be transparent too!

One question.

If we do this, can we have a beach party with everyone who donated before its handed over to doc...

Compulsory clean-up in the morning of course..!

Again, as above I like this idea & the concept. I'm interested in the answers to the questions posed & also how this may be managed if successful, ie access rights, title and decisions regarding the land in future. Chers

Hi team,

What a fantastic idea. I love how passionate we New Zealanders are when it comes to preserving beach front land so it is accessible for all. I'm all for contributing to this great cause, but I just want to know what happens to the funds if someone purchases it before you reach the target, or if for some other reason the purchase can't be made?

Thanks

Hi Guys,

I heard about this on RNZ yesterday. It just about brought me to tears. What a great idea!

This piece of land was brought by my Great Grandparents and enjoyed by 4 generations...I spent every summer there from when I was 1 year old until I was 17. It was sold in 2008 due to family disagreement. Those of us that knew it for what it was, a priceless gem, have been heartbroken ever since.

We're not millionaires, just your average Kiwi that had the luck to enjoy this lovely place in the world...it is like no other.

I wanted to contact you to let you know what a great idea this is, and if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Sephrah.

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Hi, my name is Anand Hira, i'm Karyn Hay's producer on RadioLIVE. we saw your givealittle story and have been talking about it all night.

we were wondering if you were free this evening or an evening this week to have a chat on-air about it.

you are interested you can get me at ahira@mediaworks.co.nz

kindest regards

Anand

RadioLIVE Producer