Hopefuls still have mountain to climb

The number of hopefuls wanting to get their hands on the Stratford Mountain House for free is down to 37.

More than 320 submissions were received since German businessman Karl Reipen announced his plan to give away the historic lodge on the slopes of Mt Taranaki in December.

Since then Department of Conservation staff have been working to shortlist the most promising submissions.

They've managed to cull almost 90 per cent of the applicants.

There were 37 contenders left, who would now be offered the opportunity to forward a detailed business plan and to expand on their proposal.

DOC Taranaki area manager Phil Mohi said staff were working through a process to select a small number of submissions that best suited Mr Reipen's criteria.

The successful proposals would then be put in front of a working party including DOC, Venture Taranaki, iwi representatives, Mr Reipen's representative Rob Tucker and mayors Peter Tennent and Neil Volzke on March 9.

"Pretty quickly after that we will be going through that shortlist of applicants and engaging with Mr Reipen," Mr Mohi said.

It was hoped this part of the process would have been finished this month, but it was taking longer because of the wide variety of applicants.

"It is an unusual situation or opportunity, so I'm not surprised," Mr Mohi said.

Following the process would ensure the most deserving applicant would receive the 10-bedroom hotel that appeared on real estate listings last year with an asking price of $1.8 million. "Hopefully we are going to get a good result for Mr Reipen and Taranaki," Mr Mohi said.

Mr Tucker said the successful applicants had to satisfy three criteria – a commercial business plan, a charitable component and DOC's lease standards to occupy the site and operate a commercial enterprise in a national park.

Applications had come from people of all cultures and backgrounds, including Pakeha, Maori, Hindu and Buddhist.

"It has got to have an outcome that is satisfactory to all cultural considerations," Mr Tucker said.

The process so far had been an interesting one, he said. "It shows how diverse our society is now, at one time it would have been quite simple.

"The outcome is going to interest a lot of people," Mr Tucker said.

Mr Reipen bought the business for more than $1 million in 2008 and is understood to have spent a further $1 million refurbishing it.

At the time, he said he hoped to attract wealthy Europeans and Asians to the pristine alpine environment.

- © Fairfax NZ News