Another golf resort is in the offing for the New Zealand region of Central Otago, which has enjoyed a boom in golf-related tourism in recent years.

High profile developments such the the Hills, Jack's Point and Millbrook have made the area around Queenstown, previously known for skiing and adventure tourism, a significant golf destination in the last decade. Now, local developer and golf designer John Darby – who also created Jack's Point and the Hills – plans another project on the 2,900 hectare Glendhu Station farm property on the shores of Lake Wanaka.

The Parkins Bay course, first announced seven years ago, was granted permission by the New Zealand Environmental Court earlier this year, and now Darby's firm, along with Glendhu Station owners Bob and Pam McRae, intends to file an application for permission to build the associated housing subdivision in the next few weeks. The project will occupy 180ha of the property: the rest will remain a working farm.

Project design manager Duane Te Paa of Darby Partners told the Otago Daily Times that he hoped the consent would be issued before the end of the year, but that it was likely to be six to twelve months before construction would start. The Environmental Court decision requires the golf course, along with clubhouse, some of the house sites and revegetation work, to be completed within 18 months of construction commencing.