Luxe Guide to a Next-Level New Zealand Getaway

“New Zealand gives good VIP and VIO (very important occasion) treatment. At the top end, the pristine landscape is matched by impeccable service,” Anna McCooe writes in a travel piece for Marie Claire Australia. “From hotels and luxury lodges to restaurants, wine producers and hip neighbourhood bars and cafes, our antipodean neighbours love taking things up a notch.”

“The country is a famous testing ground for new ideas – a tech incubator, political frontier and luxury honeypot. In the 19th century, it was the first country to allow women to vote. Now, it’s Jacinda Ardern territory – the world’s youngest female leader and one of the most progressive,” McCooe writes.

“There is no shortage of bar-raising accommodation and innovative food to fuel the adventure.”

The magazine recommends a helicopter trip over the glaciers and icy lakes of Mount Aspiring National Park, lunch at Minaret Station and a night at Eichardt’s – “the best spot on Lake Wakatipu in an apartment-sized room that nails cosy chic”.

Also suggested on the South Island is The Elms on Lake Hayes, and on the North Island, Wharekauhau Lodge in the Wairarapa, “embedded between water and mountainside on a working farm, the lodge is all about bliss – super special but also relaxed – where guests are treated as family”.

Original article by Anna McCooe, Marie Claire Australia, September 27, 2019.