Follow the White Wabbit - Blenheim

Down the Rabbit Hole

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


With its Alice in Wonderland references the small hump shaped caravan is the first inhabitant in a world of magic its Blenheim owners are seeking to create. The caravan is sited in a secret garden - tucked into the midst of several back sections - an unsuspected oasis virtually in the centre of a busy town.

The secret garden is is essentially a large green lawn surrounded by tall trees. A second place to stay is almost complete - this being a tiny cottage perfectly dressed, romantic and charming.

The caravan - entitled Follow the White Wabbit, - is small, - yes. But it does manage to hold all the essentials. The double bed takes up the whole of the caravan  itself. But cunningly tucked into a fold-out portion at the back is a mini-kitchen with its utensils, pots, pans, cooking facilities, kettle, et cetera.

The caravan is colourful and charming. The bedding is polka-dotted and cheerful. There was a small tin of delicious bunny-shaped biscuits. There were all the teacups and saucers necessary for an Alice in Wonderland tea-party.

This is a nice place to stay. It cries out for some croquet hoops and mallets. I expect a flamingo or two is too much to hope for.

Wai Hou Oma Lodge - Kai Iwi Lakes Accommodation

The Water's Edge Chalet

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/

http://italtyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html

Imagine yourself in a luxury chalet, suspended delicately on low stilts over a lagoon, a haven for bird and wildlife, a mirror for the magic of sunrise and sunset, reeds gently swaying. From your private extensive deck you look out not only over the waters, but also towards the manicured gardens on the waters edge filled with the vibrant colour of subtropical flowers and the owner's collection of garden art. The chalet itself is beautifully appointed, comfortable, modern, sleek and sophisticated.

Wai Hou Oma Lodge is an exceptional place.  This is a place to enjoy peace and relaxation; to soak in the pleasures of nature. Walk around the water's edge a little further and find your way to the spa pool on the edge of the lagoon. Tire of relaxation and step into the gymnasium where floor to ceiling windows provide viewing out over the ever-changing scenery
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A low boardwalk out over the lake takes you back to your chalet when you are ready. As night falls the pathway is lit by soft blue lights sparkling in the water below. Sunset reflections turn the lagoon a fiery red. Sunrise is a golden mirror.

Far from busy highways and other holiday makers, this is a place of escape and rejuvenation in the most alluring of settings. In the middle of the lake there is a helipad. What a way to arrive at a truly luxury getaway as you drop down from the skies to land at your own private waterlodge retreat.

Underhill Earth House - Waikato Accommodation

A Night in a Cave

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/

http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


Nothing can ever quite compare to staying in a cave. To begin with , its something that you just don't get to do every day  - unless perhaps you live in Cappadoccia. This particular cave is memorable in so many ways. It is buried into the hillside and yet it is open to the landscape with its enormous hewn timber doors. It is megalithic, with stones set into the wide arched roof and furs on the bed, yet it is warm and enclosing, no sign of dampness, no hint of gloom. The cave is hand crafted with a great round table and curved timber bench seats. Everything in this dwelling feels hand made and much loved. There is time and craftsmanship invested in every aspect of Underhill.

 Outside there is a small lake with a wonderful arched bridge crossing it., - handmade of course. The small raft-like platform in the lake is set just at the edge of the shore with a table and chairs,  - and a vase of fresh flowers to add to that perfect setting.

There is no electricity at Underhill but there are candles and lanterns everywhere, waiting to spread that romantic glow over the scenery as dusk falls.

The outdoor bath at Underhill is a few steps up on a stone platform, making you feel just that touch special as you recline in the great outdoors and look out over this idyllic setting. There is hot water, a shower, and cooking facilities both indoors and out, at Underhill. It may be another world, but the essentials are not forgotten.  There are sheep and llama on the nearby hillside. There are weeping willows; water -lilies,frogs; birds flying in to roost in the surrounding trees. Underhill is an adventure not to  be missed.

Bethells Beach Cottages on Auckland's Wild West Coast

The Cottages at Bethells Beach

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


Some places just sing with creativity. They set the ideas flowing. They make you yearn to put pen to paper; to paint a wonderful picture; to write a song. At Bethells Beach there is just such a place. Bethells Beach cottages are charming; they are romantic. Sitting high on a hillside overlooking the pounding waves of the beach below the view is awe-inspiring. Sunsets are spectacular.

The cottages themselves sit in the midst of gardens which are a mass of colour and flowers. The lawns may be carefully manicured, but the gardens are wild and free. They are true cottage garden style - informal and abundant, with plants tumbling over each other. Cottage gardens are for me. I was won over before I even set foot in the cottage itself.

The cottages are on the outside, simple in form and unpretentious. Ply lined with splashes of paint adding definition they sit well, surrounded by their clustered gardens. Inside they are rich in decoration and style. Every comfort is there, but character is not lost. Cut flowers, dried flowers, stained glass windows, colourful furnishings, a soaring timbered ceiling, an extensive deck . Indoor spaces - outdoor spaces, sweeping views, - they are all there. No amount of time could be too long in this spot.

With black sands and surfers below, a hammock on the cliff edge, a hot tub with the best of views, this is a place that is romantic above all else. It is rustic, natural, unpretentious yet also luxurious. Close to an ideal combination, I suspect.

Blackmore's Bach - Welcome Rock Trails, Garston

The Mud Hut

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/

http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html

Garston is a small country town just a little south from the southmost end of Lake Wakatipu. To stay at Blackmore's Bach there are two options. The first option for the intrepid tramper is to hike in and up through the hill paths of the Slate Ranges, to a point high up in the hills. The second option is for those who are attracted to the romance of the back country and the high hills but seek their romance without the pain. In other words pay the extra dollars and be driven to your cabin in the four wheel drive farm truck, dogs barking on the back, bags hanging on precariously who knows how,  along with the dogs. Yes - we took the farm truck in... 

Blackmore's Bach is an original and historic cabin  protected by the Historic Places Trust, and virtually unchanged from the days when it was first built in the 1890s. With sod walls and flagstone floors it is rudimentary and unadorned. This is where you bring your own bedding and all food; - there are no houses, no people, and certainly no shops for many many kilometers. In fact you are probably nearer to the clouds than to the nearest shops. 

The cabin has no electricity. It i is heated by the open fire that you will make yourself. Outside there is a bath which you can heat with a gas bottle provided; - the one you will also cook with. There is little in terms of comfort at Blackmore's Bach and there is an accompaniment of small furry animals which may or may not be of concern to those who stay.

But the pluses in the end outweigh the negatives,. You will never see the milky way so clear or so close. The silence is pure. The views stretch out far into the steep sided valleys below. You will be told about the history of goldmining in the area by a knowledgeable and interesting host. The little cabin stands like a monument to the miners who lived and died there. This is what it was like to be a miner living in fearsome isolation more than a century ago.

I may not wish to go back to Blackmore's Bach but I am surely glad I have been there. And just a heads up - baths are just as suited to sleeping in as to bathing in.

Is it a bath or is it a bed?

One word of warning for the faint hearted - small rodents ....

The Funky Bunker

The Funky Bunker

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


Once it was high up a mountain - part of a film-set for an action movie set in the Himalayas. It may have only been an ammunition store but this bunker made it to the silver screen. You may have seen it - the movie was called Vertical Limits. Now you can stay in the bunker and maybe even live a little movie history for yourself.

 

Somewhere between a container and a bunk house, there is something about the Funky Bunker. It has angled down corners, - to let the snow slide off of course. You will know as soon as you set eyes on it,  that here is something unusual. This is not your usual tourist town accommodation.

 The bunker and the caravan sit together across a timbered deck. Is it a summer spot or a winter spot? Even though our visit was on a chilly late autumn night, something tells me it would work just as well either way. The outside deck, the deck chairs, the half fire-drum ready to go  -  well you can just imagine the sparks floating up over the big private section into the clear night sky.

But on a cold crisp night such as the one we encountered, the bunker turns into a snug nest with warm plywood walls and a pot belly stove pumping out the heat. Lots of bedding options - we never left the bunker for the sleeping caravan. It was a night of story telling and yarns. My how the time spins by...


The Funky Bunker is in Glenorchy by beautiful Lake Wakatipu. There are some great spots in Glenorchy for a meal or a beer but we couldn't tear ourselves away from the Funky Bunker. It was unpretentious, intimate and exceptionally likable.

The Silos at Little River

The Silos - Little River

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


On tall pod legs with a hint of dalek in their demeanour, the Silos at Little River stand clustered together on the side of the road in all their eye-catching glory.

On a grey day they stand out in their uniqueness. On a clear day they truly gleam. Row upon row of corrugation catch the sun in curious ways. Ripples of reflection and colour from the surrounding countryside bounce off the towers. Cars speed by then brakes go on; cars back up; passers-by step out; cellphones snap photos. Some even wander along the board-walks. Only the fortunate few who have booked a pod will see inside.

The interiors of the Silos at Little River are the pinnacle of bespoke design. Every detail has been investigated, considered, and usually reinvented. New and original design has provided the solution. Industrial objects have been taken, adapted and given fascinating new purpose.  Light switches, kitchen benches, bicycle stackers, window openers,  toilet fixtures, folded metal staircases, bathroom fittings   - all absolutely original and unique. When you are paving the way, off the shelf does not exist as an option.


In a setting of silver corrugation and ply, the colours used are strikingly pure. The subtle use of coloured lighting adds one more layer of surprise as patches of reds, blues, and purples bounce around the interior walls.

 The bedroom is unforgettable with its overhead opening skylight, its beautiful linen, its spacious bed. The ensuite is the piece de resistance as glass meets stainless steel meets corrugated metal. The end result is breathtaking.

These silos are an ultra-modern state of the art excellence. You will never stay anywhere like this. Anywhere.

Ruapuke Log Chalet

The Log Cabin at Ruapuke

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/

http://italyoffthebeatentrack.blogspot.co.nz/2016/01/italy-off-beaten-track.html


In the American Midwest the pioneers and the frontiersmen of the New World once made their homes in hardy one room cabins. Milled from local timber these simple log cabins became iconic symbols of that rugged way of life. And high on a hilltop looking out over  Kawhia Inlet stands just such a  log cabin.

This little beauty is small but perfectly formed. Spotlessly clean it is homely and comfortable. The brass bed takes up much of the cabin yet there is also space for a fridge and somewhere to cook, - plus a barbecue outside.  A separate cabin reached via the veranda contains the bathroom, toilet and shower.

In the bedroom with one whole wall made of glass the views reach out forever across the hills to the harbour far below. Sunsets are spectacular. Nearby farm animals graze. Peacocks wander by. A couple of old iron wagon wheels lean against the outside of the cabin.  On the walls are posters - was it Johnny Walker, maybe Jack Daniels? The CDs supplied come straight from the 70s - and the sound system plays through to the bathroom also. What an excellent idea.


Out on the front porch layer upon layer of hills stretch away into the blue gray distance. I pull up my rocker, take out my pen knife and commence whittling, while I drink my moonshine and watch the sunset fade into night.

Wairua Lodge - Whitianga on the Coromandel

The Hidden River Valley

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.easterneuropetravelguide.net

Wairua Lodge is all about nature and beautiful outdoor spaces. It is comfortable accommodation folded into bush covered hills, with a river valley winding through the forest. There is a  gentle river widening out into tempting pools for swimming and playing. This place is simple, lush, green, eco- aware,  and welcoming. It celebrates the outdoors in all its spaces and is quite simply a regenerative and appealing place to be. 

As soon as you realise that here you can enjoy a starlight spa and also a bush bath you will know that you are in for something special;  add to this a fire pit where you can gather of an evening, Fabulous. There is also a semi-outdoor kitchen which is almost a camp kitchen, yet still has all the elements of a more sophisticated setup. Sit outside when the weather is kind, or sit under cover but without walls to separate you from that rich scenery all around.

The starlight spa is a soothing private space where you will not be disturbed and the only sounds are the sounds of the night. The tree-tops bathhouse is a decadent retreat filled with music and candles, opening out over the forest and river valley below.

The chance to gather around the fire pit and enjoy good company and maybe a little music is something that is not all that common in NZ unless you are camping far from civilization and creature comforts. At Wairua Lodge this is a pleasure you can indulge in and enjoy. Flickering flames, frogs croaking, chirping crickets,  a morepork or two, - maybe even a kiwi. What a place.

The Bus Stop - Waimarama

The Bus Stop - Waimarama

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.easterneuropetravelguide.net

Sometimes it's those crazy little touches which help promote a place to stay from regular to memorable. The Bus Stop at Waimarama is a conventional apartment, - nice enough. Comfortable, Close to a glorious beach, with a small private sun filled courtyard at the back. But it is the large blue bus (also part of your accommodation package) which makes the Bus Stop more than just your standard overnight stopover.

The Blue Bus is well and truly parked up - probably at least for the foreseeable future, in the front garden of this Waimarama property. The bus is large, comfortable and agreeable. It is essentially your quirky second sitting room and kitchen. It is beachy, casual, relaxed, and a great hang out space. It is unpretentious, full of a crazy mismatch of furniture and easy to kick back in, The bus is a great place to be. The Big Blue Bus is surrounded by shrubs, trees and colorful flowering plants. Who would have thought a large blue bus could blend in so well?

There is another interesting feature about the Bus Stop at Waimarama, and that is the ducks. In every unexpected corner of the bus, the apartment, and the garden, you will find ducks. These ducks are not live. They are sometimes stuffed, sometimes painted, always inanimate. They are a multitude of colors and sizes, and if you were of a single digit age, counting ducks could certainly be an agreeable pastime.

Waimarama is a long sandy attractive beach  on a popular area of holiday coast. It is a sought after holiday destination and  a favoured spot for sea fishing and boat launching. You will enjoy your stay in this appealing little spot, -  especially the delicious welcoming snacks provided by your hosts.