Two fat ducks waddle away slowly in the distance while fat droplets of rain fall. The seemingly never-ending green lawn goes for as long as the eye can see and the manicured trees and pink blossomed trees sway in the wind. Two stone lions sit guard outside the entrance to the lodge and look straight past me ignoring my rush inside.

I rush up the soft blue carpeted stairs, hearing the ladies clinking glasses and china and I can imagine their hats bobbing in conversation. I open the double doors at room number one and enter the room and plop down on the king sized bed, limbs tired. I’m not in a fairytale, I’m at Sarnia Park, Cambridge in the Waikato region and I’ve just entered my room, the Kotuku Room, or the Bridal Suite.

The king bed is enormous, much like the room and on one side is a spacious balcony which looks out onto the freshly mowed lawns. On the adjoining side there is a long window seat with another spectacular view and large painting and bride worthy sized mirrors cover another wall.

The bathroom, about the size of some hotel rooms nowadays has a free standing claw foot bath with a handy rack in the centre, a bidet, two sinks and a separate shower as well as a large soft rug under my feet as well. And if I need to recline or find somewhere to towel off, there is also a chaise lounge in the bathroom. The amenities kit is deluxe and includes, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, make up remover towelettes, shower cap, shaving kit, swing kit and soap. And you can adjust the temperature of the hot water in the shower-or your butler can!

But please excuse me for a while, while I cut off a sliver of black truffle brie…

Over the Moon Dairy

Now where did I get that black truffle brie? A most wondrous gift it was from Over the Moon dairy which is based in Putaruru in the Waikato area of New Zealand which is known for its lush greenery and dairy industry. Here, owner Sue Arthur built up a multi award winning artisan cheese making business. She started it three and a half years ago built on the fact that she simply loved eating cheese.

Sue Arthur from Over The Moon

Sue recruited the help from Australian cheese master Neil Willman who helped her set up the operation and develop recipes for the cheeses which are soon to become available in Australia. Neil later bought into the business and then became her live in partner (she tells us they’re both similarly obsessed with cheese!).

Over the Moon dairy specialises in blends of cheeses and creating unusual cheese. Sue uses cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk either by itself or in combination with others with one cheese, the Southern Cross as a combination of all four milks (and it is divine, with each milk coming to the fore at different stages on the tongue).

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I’m gutted. Truly, madly, deeply. If I could wish anything it could be to wish Mr NQN by my side because I’ve finally found a win win place for both f us to visit and that is Rotorua in New Zealand. I’m all about spa and he is all about adventure and quite honestly we end up doing my sort of holiday because I am small, opinionated and bossy and the planner he is easy going and doesn’t plan anything. See what a good match we make Dear Reader?

The Regent

Rotorua is a town of 70,000 residents but their top industry is tourism so there are plenty of places to eat out. And one of these places is The Regent. When we designed our apartment I was so smitten by the black and white rooms that I had seen on various design blogs that I decided that we would decorate our bedroom in the black and white colour scheme as I love its classic elegance. And when I step into The Regent the room is decorated in this chic combination of colours. Owned by the same owners of the new Black Swan Hotel their aim was to make it a hotel that they wanted to stay in. There is an outdoor area with a pool and even though it isn’t chilly we take a seat indoors.

The Regent Room houses the restaurant and cocktail bar and there are bone china fixtures on the walls,  French style sofas and an indoor/outdoor fireplace. The hotel adjoins it and it is made up of a renovated area and a newer area.

We’re having problems deciding what to eat. I want to try anything local so after a while Kathy and I choose a few things keeping an eye out for the rocky road pavlova on the dessert menu. I know that servings in New Zealand tend to be on the generous side but you can’t help but taste a few things can you dahlinks?

Crispy fried squid, coriander, mint with palm sugar dressing $15

The crispy fried squid is very lightly coated and deep fried and is tender and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The salad that it is sitting on is made up up coriander, mint and salad leaves with a chilli and palm sugar dressing that is a little too much on the sweet side for me although I’m really liking the fact that there is a good punch of spicy chilli there.

New Zealand mussels with coriander and spiced coconut broth $16.50

The mussels are plentiful, not too chewy and come with a creamy, rich and well spiced coconut broth that is mild on the heat.

Mushroom and potato croquettes with aioli $9

The croquettes are very soft and barely survive the transport from serving plate to share plate. They are part of the tapas menu which ranges from edamame beans, garlic prawns, braised chickpeas with chorizo and stuffed mussels. The croquettes are quite different to the tapas ones you find in Sydney with the fine breadcrumbs and tightly packed filling. The outside is made up of very crispy panko breadcrumbs and the filling reminds me of mushroom soup with pieces of mushroom and a thick mushroom sauce.

Regent antipasto platter for 2 people $29

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“Trust the Chef”. How many out there would? Would you leave the selection of your dining up to a complete stranger? For me, nothing delights me more than leaving the decision of what to eat to the chef and luckily my fellow dining companions all food journalists are of the same thinking. We are at Amisfield Wine Company in Queenstown, New Zealand for their popular Trust the Chef menu. Somehow we innately know that we’ll end up with the best of the menu but just to be on the safe side, I make a special request for the Bluff Oysters. Just because some things shouldn’t be left to chance

When you visit a winery it would be remiss not to do a wine tasting. A few of us give the wines a try before heading into the restaurant area which is full on this Saturday afternoon. I’ve had quite a bit to drink so far on this trip so I try with a restrained hand but that doesn’t stop me from admiring the pretty bottles.

A limited edition bottle of their Lake Hayes pinot gris

Bluff oysters, aged balsamic and shallots $22

We sit down to eat curious to see what the chef will pick for us. The bluffs here are slightly smaller than the ones at Whare Kea and they’re served with a shallot and red wine vinaigrette sauce although to be honest I prefer bluffs with a simple squeeze of lemon to bring out the brininess to them as an aged balsamic although gorgeous is a bit too sweet for the oysters.

Prosciutto, marinated tomatoes, NZ buffalo mozzarella and rocket $17

There were some changes to the menu as this dish was originally supposed to have prosciutto in it. Nevertheless, this is a really pleasant, refreshing dish for the warm sunny weather with some local buffalo mozzarella and marinated tomatoes with a variety of flavoursome tomatoes.

Fresh fig, beetroot, radicchio and roquefort $17

As this dish was set down there was a chorus of ooohs and aaahs. There’s nothing prettier than the colour palette of figs and prosciutto. Again this dish was supposed to have a few components like radicchio, beetroot and roquefort but instead there are fresh white figs, prosciutto and reggiano shavings and peppery watercress which went superbly together covering sweet, salty and peppery flavours.

Fried salmon with French green lentils $28.50

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