A normal person’s first reaction to a lodge such as Matakauri Lodge in Queenstown, New Zealand is usually that of unbridled bliss and happiness. Truthfully this was my first reaction. But then my second one came swiftly. It was the urge to work. And by the urge to work I mean the urge to work and then in turn earn Bill Gates or Oprah type of money so that I could live here permanently and I could take my friends and family along on trips with me.
Matakauri Lodge is the last lodge of our luxury NZ lodge tour with Relais & Chateaux and what a tour it has been! Bordering on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and owned by New York Hedge fund multi billionaire Julian Robertson it is one of three luxury lodges that he owns. The other lodge, Kauri Cliffs recently hosted a dinner with Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller and Neil Perry which understandably sold out in record time.
We’ve just arrived at Matakauri and barely have enough time to breeze through the doors when we are hit with the view. Yep see that mountain? It’s a stunner and part of the aptly named “Remarkables” and the whole of Matakauri lodge is followed by this beauteous mountain view. We walk through the common areas and check out the library which is where guests can dine privately if they choose to.
The library
The common rooms are breathtaking with a warm colour scheme designed by the incredible luxury lodge interior decorator Virginia Fisher. The warm oranges and reds give it a warmth and the floor to ceiling windows contrast against that just to keep your mouth gaping.
The outdoor area on the way to the rooms
The lounge area in the room
Private patio
I’m shown to my suite and the colour scheme follows through. Again the view. There’s a steamer far off in the distance that has been shipping people back and forth for about a century now but no-one is going to see me do my happy dance from that distance.
See this painting in the lounge room above the fireplace? Guess what’s behind it?
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| October 27th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
One of my long held fantasies is to stay overnight in a department store with friends. We would raid the food and chocolate counters, try on makeup without getting pressure sold and try on dresses and shoes all night. I’ve held this fantasy since childhood. But what about a little twist? Instead of staying in a department store, how about staying in the house of a department store owner?
Whare Kea (pronounced far-eh-kee-ah) Lodge is named after the world’s only alpine parrot, the cheeky Kea and is owned by the Myer family (of the Australian Department store). Whare Kea was originally built as their holiday home as the Myers are keen heli skiers and they would bring friends along to stay who in turn encouraged them to open their doors to the public. The 70 acre location couldn’t be more spectacular. On the edge of Lake Wanaka near a glacier there’s nothing between your balcony door and the grass which leads to the lake edge.
The main lobby resembles someone’s living room-well if that someone was a department store mogul (it certainly doesn’t look like my living room!). It’s the corner of the lodge facing the lake and there are floor to ceiling windows and very high ceilings. After our trip travelling from Mollies in Auckland we are offered refreshments of tea and coffee and a cheese platter and something a bit more substantial as we’ve missed lunch. They bring us a cheese platter with a Talbot Forest Vintage Cheddar and brie from Geraldine, and a Fiddler’s Hill Goat’s cheese from Puhoi Valley. Splendid!
As we’re still a bit peckish we get another plate this time with gorgeous quartered fresh figs which are lusciously good, serrano jam, Clevedon Buffalo ricotta with manuka honey drizzled on top.
Come along with me and see what a department store mogul’s bedroom looks like!
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| August 19th, 2011 by Not Quite Nigella
“It’s the details that count” I find myself saying to Mr NQN. We’re at our second destination on our New Zealand holiday and staying at the Otahuna Lodge, a 5 star luxury resort just 30 minutes out of Christchurch. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of New Zealand Lodges, grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in. Lodges in New Zealand are heavenly places and this is a place I find myself nodding and clucking with approval at a lot. You see I could be called a pedant when it comes to hotels but a nicer way to describe me is as “detail oriented” and the thing I love the most about places is the little details (and it’s what I find distinguishes 4 star places from 5 star). When we pull up behind another car of visitors, each party of guests in this seven suite hotel is greeted by one of the owners. Co-owner Miles greets us with Jimmy the chef and our bags magically disappear to our room and we are taken on a short tour of the Queen Anne style building.
Formerly a house built in 1895 for Sir Heaton Rhodes it’s had a rich and varied history and among the numerous owners, it also served as a commune where six families lived until it was recently purchased by owners Miles Refo and Hall Cannon. Miles shows us the library where guests can enjoy their dinner (or you can dine in the sunken wine cellar or turret room).
Bedroom
Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major is playing on the Bose system when we walk into our room (the Verandah Suite) and I’m so delighted and smile (although I doubt the details went so far as to researching the music that I walked down the aisle to 
). It’s huge, at 1000 square feet and there are two fireplaces, one in the bedroom and one in the bathroom.
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| April 30th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
After our rather adventurous day, we have dinner at Cafe de Paris, a restaurant that is said to serve classic French dishes. It has cooled down considerably and all I can think of is a nice warm soup and I’m hoping that if they do classics, that French Onion Soup will be on the menu. We rush in out of the cold and sit down and I’m relieved, there is French Onion Soup! Because it is the Wild Foods Weekend, there is a special menu that features some wild foods mixed among more regular dishes. Me, I’m just glad that I don’t have to face another Huhu Grub!
French Onion Soup $9.50
The food arrives quickly and the French Onion Soup is rich in wine and very warming and just what I needed. There is one piece of gruyere topped bread (admittedly I always hope for a bit more as that’s my favourite bit) and the serve is deceptively large.
Petite salad $6.50
The petite salad is a colourful mix of salad leaves, capsicum, carrot, red cabbage and snow pea shoots and is well dressed in an oil and vinegar dressing.
Beef Short Ribs
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| March 27th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
Warning: this post contains some graphic food!
” Get your Mountain Oysters!”
“And what is your purpose for visiting New Zealand today?” the Christchurch immigration officer asks me when checking my immigration form. “To visit the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival” I answer. She laughs “Ahh okaaay. Well good luck! I wouldn’t eat half that stuff” and waves us through.
The Startled Worm Cafe-featuring earthworms among others!
The Stream Larvae stall
Shark anyone?
Our trip to New Zealand was almost a year in the making which is a long time for a person like me who has very little patience. Mr NQN and I were being hosted by the lovely people at Tourism New Zealand and the event that I really wanted to go to was the Wild Food Festival held in March each year thereby necessitating the year long wait. It was something that we had heard of on our last visit where we had heard that all sorts of weird and wonderful things were being served there. A few days before I find myself looking up their website to see what I am to face. I find myself googling “What is punga?” and “What are huhu grubs?”. There are also larvae, worm truffles, mountain oysters (aka sheep’s testicles), moonshine, stag meat patties, mutton birds, paua, locusts and grasshoppers but then there is “safer” fare like shark, venison, wild boar and whitebait.
The bugs on offer
From 10am-5:30pm this sunny Saturday, the small town of Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island, they will welcome just under 15,000 visitors to this one spot. Parties are encouraged with posters advertising “bring your party to our party” and dressing up is encouraged as we discover. The festival has attracted a lot of media attention in the past and has been featured in Playboy magazine (who claimed that the emu shells sold there were an aphrodisiac), The Amazing Race and features in Frommers Top 300 events in the world snaring second place 2 years ago (only pipped by Italy’s Slow food Festival). It pumps $2 million into the local economy and serves up an enormous range of food. One year they served up 10,000 Whitebait patties which is a South Island speciality and this year 300kg of whitebait was caught for the festival.
Pukeko (swamp hen) skewer
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| March 25th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
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