The ground has literally been moving at Millbrook over the past few months as Queenstown's Millbrook West development proceeds, stunning even the designers with the results so far.
The half-billion-dollar development is the largest building site in the Wakatipu Basin, with up to 100 contractors on site at any one time and hundreds of tonnes of heavyduty machinery working on the luxury development.
Millbrook property and development manager Ben O'Malley said Horrell Contracting, an earth moving firm, had brought in a 65-tonne digger from Dunedin's Collis Murdoch, one of the largest machines of its kind working in the region.
The 91ha section to the west of the existing five-star Millbrook Resort will, on completion, comprise 200 house sites and ‘‘Coronet Nine'', a new nine-hole golf course, designed by New Zealand golfer Greg Turner.
Contractors had already bulldozed, dug and redistributed about 200,000cu m of earth around the total site and were in the process of building 10km of roads and pathways.
Twenty local artisans were also constructing 3km of handstacked schist walls, Mr O'Malley said.
Coronet Nine was also well under way, with four fairways and greens - holes 1, 2, 3 and 8 - already built and under management by the ‘‘grow-in team''.
The fourth hole had just been sown; holes 5, 6 and 7 were being shaped with irrigation and drainage installed and ready to be sown by mid-autumn.
On completion, the Coronet Nine would integrate with the existing Sir Bob Charles designed 18-hole championship course, to offer three interchangeable nine-hole courses.
Additionally, building platforms for the first 25 Millbrook West sites to sell have already taken shape - site services and access roads were being constructed and work had started on platforms for the next stage to be released.
‘‘Even though you can't really see much happening from the road, or from most of the existing resort, when you drive into the site even I have to admit it's impressive to see the scale of the development and the work that's been completed.
‘‘To see the views that we envisaged when we were designing this project actually come to life is extremely satisfying, especially when they're beyond our own expectations,'' Mr O'Malley said.
The building sites are all on sunny, elevated north-facing sites with golf course outlooks and panoramic, 360-degree views to Coronet Peak, Cecil Peak, Walter Peak, Bowen Peak, the Crown Range or The Remarkables mountain ranges.
Mr O'Malley said the first 25 Millbrook West sites were snapped up in less than three months for a total of just over $31 million.
‘‘Even in these challenging times, with uncertainties in the property market, people are still keen to live the dream in a world-class golf course and lifestyle community,'' he said.
Work on Millbrook West stage one began in September and is scheduled for completion by this spring.
