Wharekauhau Country Estate

Wharekauhau (pronounced 'forry-ko-ho') spreads across thousands of acres of working sheep station where the Wairarapa's paddocks fall away to the black-sand sweep of Palliser Bay. The main lodge is built in the manner of an Edwardian country house—open fires, deep sofas, panelled walls—while guest cottages are scattered through the grounds so that each looks over farmland, native bush or the Southern Ocean without a neighbour in sight.

This is a lodge in the great New Zealand tradition: days are built from the estate itself. Guests join farm tours among thousands of Romney sheep, ride horses along the coast, shoot clays, walk to waterfalls in the hills, or drive out to the fur-seal colony and lighthouse at Cape Palliser. The Martinborough wine village and its pinot noir cellars lie half an hour north, a natural afternoon excursion.

Dining follows the estate-to-plate logic, with lamb, venison, vegetables and honey drawn largely from the property and set alongside Wairarapa and Martinborough wines. A conservatory-style pool, small spa and gym round out the facilities. For travellers wanting the classic luxury-lodge experience within reach of Wellington—rather than a flight to the Southern Lakes—Wharekauhau is the answer.