Kaikoura Accommodation - Wacky Stays Covered Wagon

Westward Ho!

Pippy McCurdy

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


Choose the slow wagon for your accommodation when you travel near Kaikoura in the South Island of New Zealand and you will not be disappointed.

The covered wagon at Wacky Stays Farm Park is an amazing, custom built wagon - a tribute to craft, intricacy and skill. It is in every way an early settlers wagon. However the elongated wheel base and the touches of luxury are indications that your stay will be a good deal  more comfortable than the travels of the early American settlers who originally used wagons such as these.

The wagon is double skinned canvas. The bed linen is luxurious and comfortable. The facilities are within the wagon. There is wool insulation. There is double glazing. There is  a pot belly stove. There is underfloor heating. There are fabulous views of the Southern Alps.



Included with your overnight stay is entry to the farm park linked to your accommodation. You will see llamas, wallabies,  peacocks, donkeys ...   Sometimes the llamas hang out outside your wagon.

At the farm park there are other places to stay - a yurt. a train carriage, a tepee.  Wacky Stays have worked hard to create a unique and fascinating environment for your stay.
To one side of the wagon there is a camp kitchen to cook in. Almost complete is an outdoor bath to relax in. Wacky Stays is essentially a step back into the simple life but with no element of luxury missing. It is a fabulous place to stay. You should go there!

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.

Hotel Spirit, Bratislava, Slovakia

Next Stop Bratislava

Pippy McCurdy

http://www.unusualstays.com/
facebook - stay somewhere strange -
 https://www.facebook.com/Stay-Somewhere-Strange-273777766054597/

In Slovakia there is a sedate city, the capital city, the city of Bratislava. The architecture of Bratislava bears many reminders of the Soviet domination of its past. It is practical rather than decorative; structured rather than expressionist. In this somewhat austere environment Hotel Spirit is so different from its surroundings that one might wonder whether it was spirited there from another part of the continent - if not another planet.

Hotel Spirit is a miraculous creation of colour, shape and texture both inside and out. On the exterior the colours and forms crash into one another in what is literally an explosion of architecture. Amongst its conservative neighbours Hotel Spirit is nothing short of astonishing.

Inside, Hotel Spirit is one giant canvas. Bedrooms are decorated with the artwork of previous guests; - stairways too. Bathrooms are tiled in geometrically idiosyncratic, half completed multicoloured forms The cafe/bar has an easel with a large blank canvas in the center of the room, waiting for the next talented guest to leave his or her creative mark.

On the exterior the angled panels rise to catch the sun, pulling the eye from one unexpected feature to the next. Always the eye is caught by something new; words, faces, signs of the zodiac, musical notes ...

Hotel Spirit is a fabulous place to stay. There is nothing like it - anywhere in the world! Take a trip to Bratislava - your night at Hotel Spirit will surely be a highlight.