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Best Itineraries in New Zealand

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Indagare Matchmaker: New Zealand’s Best Hotels

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Just Back from New Zealand

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Top Tables: Best Restaurants in New Zealand

Witnessing the Northern Lights at Tordrillo Mountain Lodge in Alaska

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Member Postcard: Adventures at Minaret Station

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A New Zealand Adventure

Exteriors - Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown, New Zealand

Super Lodges: New Zealand

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Into the Wild: New Zealand

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New Zealand - Ten to Know

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Wellness Retreat in New Zealand

Queenstown

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New Zealand’s smallest national park is also its most popular thanks to incredibly special scenery, including water the color of the Caribbean Sea. The park can only be accessed by boat, helicopter or on foot – the 51 kilometer (32 mile) Coast Track is the most beautiful of New Zealand's Great Walks. Accommodations inside the park are generally simple huts that still have to be reserved well in advance by hikers eager to walk the entire trek. The best option for day trippers is to charter a boat (contact <a href="/contact">Indagare's Bookings Team </a>for recommendations) and spend a day exploring Abel Tasman along the coast, with the option of stopping for a short hike.

Indagare recommends a charter company headed by a local captain who grew up in the Tasman area and is incredibly invested in the protection of this eco dreamscape. A day charter includes lunch on the boat and such activities as kayaking into small bays where you might spot seals. Abel Tasman is an "only in New Zealand" experience and a fantastic way to spend a day when you're staying in the Nelson-Tasman area (preferably at Edenhouse).

Beautiful Landscape at Abel Tasman National Park, South Island, New Zealand

Abel Tasman National Park

The whaling capital of Kaikoura, on the South Island’s east coast, has been called the “Serengeti of the South Pacific” due to the range of animals that can be seen here, from Albatross to sperm whale. A stunningly scenic, 2.5-hour drive north of Christchurch (break it up by lunching at <a title="Pegasus Winery &amp; Restaurant" href="https://www.indagare.com/destinations/oceania-pacific/new-zealand/nz_southisland/restaurants/pegasus-winery-restaurant/">Pegasus Winery</a>), Kaikoura is a former whaling town that today draws sealife enthusiasts, especially between October and March. Much like <a href="/destinations/oceania-pacific/new-zealand/queenstown/">Queenstown</a> has a package tour for seemingly every adventure sports you can think of, Kaikoura has outfitters for such nature-focused activities as swimming with seals or dolphins, whale watching aboard a helicopter, sea kayaking, fishing and albatross encounters.

But the most popular excursion is Kaikoura Whale Watch (www.whalewatch.co.nz), whose headquarters are in a former train station. If you’re used to the more lackadaisical whale tours of the American Northeast, you are going to encounter the Switzerland of New Zealand in terms of organization. There’s a strict number of people on the boasts, everyone has to be seated when the boat is in motion (ie, almost always) and tours book well in advance and should be reserved. Whale watching is also a time commitment: the tours include a generous hour for check-in and a brief safety video, so if you are booked on the 10 a.m. tour, you won’t even leave the station until 11 a.m. It is suggested you check in an hour in advance, but there is little to do at the whaling station except browse the gift shop (which is probably the point), so don’t be fooled: you don’t need to be there more than 20 minutes before the tour.

When the season is right and you see an abundance of whales, dolphins and other sea life, this is absolutely worthwhile. Those prone to motion sickness should bring Dramamine – the Pacific can get rough even on sunny, nice days.

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Kaikoura Sealife

Oenophiles grumble that there is no place really nice to stay in Marlborough, one of New Zealand’s flagship wine regions (they are the largest exporter of Sauvignon Blanc in the world). And indeed the central town of Blenheim is as charmless as it gets, with barely a single cute restaurant but every imaginable fast food label. However, once you get into the Wairau valley, set against the Mount Richmond Forest Park and with glorious rolling hills, these drawbacks are fast forgotten.

There are numerous wineries, many of which have excellent restaurants. Some of the best ones to visit include: Seresin, a boutique label that also produces a beautiful olive oil; Hans Herzog, a quirky winemaker who also dabbles in Grüner Veltliner and Montepulciano; and Cloudy Bay, where a Raw Bar keeps guest well-fed during the summer months.

Getting There / Where to Stay:
<ul>
<li>30 minutes: Picton (from which ferries travel to the <a title="Bay of Many Coves" href="https://www.indagare.com/destinations/oceania-pacific/new-zealand/nz_southisland/hotels/bay-of-many-coves/">Bay of Many Coves</a>)</li>
<li>1.5 hours: Kaikoura (home of <a title="Hapuku Lodge" href="https://www.indagare.com/destinations/oceania-pacific/new-zealand/nz_southisland/hotels/hapuku-lodge/">Hapuku Lodge</a>)</li>
<li>1.5 hours: Tasman (home of Edenhouse)</li>
</ul>

Fields at Marlborough Winery Tour , South Island, New Zealand

Marlborough Winery Tour

See & Do

In driving distance to Queenstown, but set on a gloriously serene perch overlooking Lake Wakatipu, Matakauri Lodge is a New Zealand showstopper.

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Matakauri Lodge

Set in the rolling hills outside Christchurch, Otahuna is an elegant country house retreat. When Americans Hall Cannon and Miles Refo purchased the property, the largest historic house in all of New Zealand, they kept many of the period details, but updated rooms with modern comforts like iPod docks and oversized bathrooms with soaking tubs. With only seven suites, each unique, Otahuna feels very much like a private home.

The lodge is blessed with an extraordinary chef and he and his team spend their days dreaming up new delights: freshly baked rosemary focaccia, house cured prosciutto, hand rolled pasta. One reason everything is so delicious is that so many of the ingredients come from the orchard and potager behind the lodge, where they grow more than 120 varieties of fruits, vegetables, nuts and mushrooms, including heirloom tomatoes, kaffir limes, mulberries and porcinis. Meals are eaten family style in the light-filled modern kitchen or the formal dining room. The staff is very attentive, and guests feel wonderfully spoiled.



Daffodils at Otahuna Lodge, South Island, New Zealand

Otahuna Lodge

What is difficult to picture before you’ve been to Annandale is that the “working farm” part is neither gimmick, petting zoo nor tourist attraction. Owner Mark Palmer dreamed of owning a farm first and foremost, and that is what drives the revenue. Depending on the season, there are some 7,000 sheep and 700 cattle here, which are bred for wool and meat sales. Wherever you go—either hiking or four-wheel driving—you encounter herds of animals dotting the Annandale pasture, located high above the ocean, with large rolling hills and dramatic cliffs that plummet into the sparkling water below.

Guests arrive at the Homestead, a lavishly restored manor house that is surrounded by glorious gardens and overlooks Pigeon Bay. This was the original villa that Palmer, a Kiwi who is based in Texas, restored and outfitted for his family. It’s a sumptuous centerpiece, complete with an infinity pool, gym, tennis courts and several massive gardens—all accessible only to guests renting this four-bedroom villa. Instead of placing the three additional Annandale villas alongside one another on the same bluff however—that would have been too easy—Palmer added two of them in utterly secluded coves and the third, a romantic charmer for two, on top of a hillside surrounded by pastures.

The latter, called Shepherd’s Cottage, occupies a restored, historic home, and its single bedroom has beautiful views towards the sea. It’s as quiet as can be—after all, even this villa is a 30-minute drive from the Homestead.

The true showstoppers on property, however, are Scrubby Bay and Seascape, both designed by award-winning Auckland architect Andrew Patterson. Scrubby, about a 45-minute drive from Homestead, is a low-lying, cabin-style villa with three master bedrooms and a bunk room for the kids, as well as a pool, hot tub, massive living room and fully outfitted kitchen. The wood-paneled doors all slide open so that interiors and exteriors blend into one continuous place.

Seascape, a cove over but seemingly worlds removed, is a couples-only haven. With its mix of slate, concrete, pine and an abundance of glass, it looks like something James Bond and Sir Norman Foster co-designed. The open-floor living room-kitchen-bedroom is framed by massive, floor-to-ceiling windows, leading to a terrace that fronts a bay that is entirely yours for your stay. The rectangular gas fireplace—opened by the push of a button —separates a comfortable, al fresco sitting area on one side from the sunken hot tub on the other, and every inch has uninterrupted views. It’s a stunning, contemporary hideaway, but once the care taker's car that dropped you here has disappeared up the steep rocky driveway, you are keenly aware just how far from “civilization” you are —staying here is almost like high-end back-country camping.

Make that very high-end back-country camping. When guests arrive, the stainless steel fridge is stocked with dinner, the next day’s breakfast and a nice selection of wine. This is how Annandale has, for now, solved the logistical challenge of distance and in-villa dining. Chef Paul Jobin pre-prepares multi-course meals and labels them with preparation directions. If this sounds like airplane food, it isn’t. On the night we visited, we dined on Moroccan chicken pie dressed in wild watercress oil. Next up was a 30-hour-cooked lamb shoulder with a smoked kumara puree, seasonal vegetables and a crisp salad (homegrown, of course). And for dessert, chocolate pecan pie with an avocado ice cream and rhubarb coulis.

The best addition to dinner, however, are the views and feeling of complete seclusion and privacy – the coves of Seaside and Scrubby Bay and the hillside of theShepherd’s Cottage are yours alone for the time you stay there. **Indagare Tip**: The “we cook, you serve” concept is innovative, chef Paul’s cuisine is absolutely delicious and the directions are as straightforward as an be – but people who do not cook at all back home might still find executing the meals a bit challenging. At Scrubby Bay, Seaside and the Homestead, having the chef come to your villa to prepare the food sur-place is also possible.


View from Room - Annandale, South Island, New Zealand

Annandale

Stay

Exterior View : Pegasus Winery & Restaurant, South Island, New Zealand

First Time Musts

Exterior View - Nin's Bin, South Island, New Zealand

Alfresco

One of the most unspoiled places on earth, Fiji is an island nation whose tranquil beauty casts a spell. With lavish retreats and stunning natural landscapes, the heartbeat of the country remains its soulful, community-focused culture.

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Fiji

Queenstown, the self-dubbed adventure capital of New Zealand, has a slew of activities, but, above all, it is surrounded by some of the country’s most glorious countryside, so hikers, fishermen, and outdoorsmen and women will be happiest here. Three nights should be the minimum for exploring.

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Dramatically different from New Zealand’s South Island, the North Island stretches from windy Wellington, the capital, on the southwestern tip to the beautiful Bay of Islands in the northeast. Highlights in between include massive Lake Taupo (the size of Singapore) and Rotorua, an epicenter of geothermal activity.

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New Zealand - North Island

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Leslie & Ben Smith, members since 2015

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