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58 <strong>Magazine</strong> | Travel<br />
“Martinborough looks exactly<br />
like I imagined – swathes<br />
of green, rolling hills, neat<br />
rows of vines, characterful<br />
buildings both historic and<br />
contemporary. It’s a delight<br />
from the outset.”<br />
It’s hard to pry ourselves away, but for me a decadent massage at<br />
the Hauora Spa (set behind the magnificent glass-encased heated pool)<br />
beckons, for him it’s a tour of the impressively vast, richly stocked wine<br />
cellar and the incredible gardens that executive chef Norka Mella Munoz<br />
has access to when creating her menus, followed by a bubble bath.<br />
Both refreshed and rejuvenated, it’s time to begin eating and drinking once<br />
again, starting with moreish canapes and a seriously fabulous fizz before<br />
sitting down to a private multi-course dinner of vibrant dishes showcasing<br />
the aforementioned onsite produce, paired with some very special wines.<br />
Adventure awaits us in the morning (along with some suitably wild<br />
weather), as we gear up in head-to-toe waterproofs before taking to the<br />
trails in one of the lodge’s ATVs (that’s ‘all-terrain vehicles’ for those like<br />
me not in the know).<br />
Wharekauhau sits on 3000 acres of private land including working sheep<br />
farm, ancient forest, tranquil lakes, less tranquil rivers and a not-tranquilat-all<br />
but romantically rugged coastline, and hooning across it all on a quad<br />
bike is a ridiculously fun, occasionally adrenaline-inducing, way to see it.<br />
After hot showers, coffee and homemade cookies we say fond<br />
farewells, including to my beloved baby lamb friends in the front field, still<br />
grinning like little kids, and promising to return to this magical region ASAP.
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