Lodged in lush Kiwi lairs

HAWKES Bay and Lake Taupo are destinations that rightly deserve decadently luxe lodges to match the great scenery. Lorraine Ironside reports.

Kiwi calm ... Chalet Eiger on Lake Taupo

THE Land of the Long White Cloud bulges with snaggle-toothed mountains, boisterous rivers and scenery which demands the adjective "spectacular".

Our next-door neighbour bristles with attractions which are worth leaving home for – and that includes its accommodation.

For a small country, it thinks big, and is justly lauded for some of the most handsome lodges in the southern hemisphere.

The Black Barn brand stands tall in this company, an award-winning retreat in a Hawke's Bay vineyard in the heart of the North Island's food and wine district.

Its just-completed, super-slick sisters, commanding a dress circle location on a ridge with views of the Tuki Tuki River, promise more top-notch hideaways in the Black Barn portfolio.

Elegant, understated and dressed in cafe colours – mocha, latte and chocolate with coffee-bean accents – each of the villas is completely self-contained, with heated lap pool, every 21st century technological must-have and picture windows which allow wraparound views of the pastoral comings and going.

Privacy is pivotal: each lodge is positioned so its neighbours are invisible, and a deck running the length of the property is a sunny perch for reading or snoozing.

Original artwork decorates the walls; sofas and beds are plump and squashy; the kitchen is a foodie's dream come true; and the bathrooms promise opulence aplenty.

The Hawke's Bay Food and Wine Trail takes gourmets on a journey of discovery from breads and wines to locally roasted coffee, meats and cheeses, oils and organic vegetables, so self-catering at Black Barn is a joy.

Or you can simply take the hands-off option, open a bottle of the excellent local wine to enjoy in this stylish sanctuary, then shuffle next door to the standout Craggy Range cellar door and restaurant.

An hour or so's drive north-west is the 300,000-year-old freshwater Lake Taupo – the largest in the southern hemisphere – which bills itself as New Zealand's favourite holiday destination.

Certainly, if you're a fisherman there's no contest: local folklore has it the muscular trout which live there are sufficiently hefty that should you catch one the water level drops.

But Lake Taupo has a lot more than titan trout – the alpine-inclined Chalet Eiger for a start.

The stone and timber property has a top spot overlooking the lake, with the sacred Mount Tauhara as a backdrop.

Owners Emil and Hea Min Horvarth-Gerber retired to the shores of Lake Taupo a little over a decade ago; the charismatic multi-lingual couple are outstanding chefs and wine connoisseurs who worked and travelled the world before settling in New Zealand.

Chalet Eiger is a paean to their passions of food, wine and good company and their guests are the recipients of outstanding care and cosseting. The four en suite rooms within the main house were designed by these frequent travellers. And it shows.

Nothing is superfluous; every facility is at hand in these spacious rooms, from underfloor heating and power shower in the bathroom to a 21st century lighting and sound system. A bulging minibar caters for late-night snack-attacks, while a tea and coffee tray bears bone china crockery and home-made biscuits.

A Swiss-designed bed renders insomnia obsolete, while the sleek bathroom and generous supply of toiletries extends to a five-star amenities pack which includes a pack of Panadol – handy if you've overindulged in the property's stellar cellar.

Tariffs at Chalet Eiger include breakfast, and four-course meals are cooked on request, using organic produce from the extensive garden. Foolish is the guest who refuses the opportunity to dine here, since the kitchen creations would put many starred restaurants to shame.

Chalet Eiger offers a hands-on hospitality that's increasingly rare in upmarket properties: a nothing's-too-much-trouble attitude which encompasses everything from personal recommendations to local winemakers to cooking your catch from the lake.

Taupo offers a welter of diversions, from jet-boating, para-sailing, white-water rafting, tandem skydiving and bungy jumping to less adrenalin-inducing activities such as golf, horse-riding, trekking, mountain-biking, helicopter flightseeing and scenic flights.

A more scenic route is aboard swashbuckling Errol Flynn's one-time yacht Barbary, cruising the cobalt waters of Lake Taupo, while the truly laid-back simply curl up with a good book in front of Chalet Eiger's toasty fire, glass in hand, and gaze out of floor-to-ceiling windows at more of that boring New Zealand scenery.

The Sunday Telegraph