PQs:
stand anywhere in this buoyant country, and it is like being on the deck of a nation-size oceangoing vessel moving through time and great seas.
The Details
Staying There
New Zealand, both North Island and South, has a fairly wide range of accommodations, from hostels to sumptuous lodges. At Russell, on the Bay of Islands, I recommend Kimberley Lodge (Pitt Street; 011-64-9-403-7090; lodges.co.nz; from $349) for its comfort, its views, its hospitality, and its dining room. A short distance across the bay, in Kerikeri, is The Summer House (424 Kerikeri Road; 011-64-9-407-4294, thesummerhouse.co.nz; from $124), a sweet bed-and-breakfast set in a lovely subtropical garden. Downtown Wellington’s modern Duxton Hotel (170 Wakefield Street; 011-64-4-473-3900; duxton.com; from $181) has sweeping views of the harbor.
For the antipodean summer—December to March—you’ll need to book fairly well in advance. Especially in Fox Glacier, which is remote, with only a few accommodations and heavy tourist traffic. Try the serviceable Te Weheka Inn (011-64-3-751-0730; teweheka. co.nz; from $189), on the main road. On the trout-filled Maruia River, anglers and ordinary travelers in search of solitude can enjoy tranquillity and wonderful meals at the Maruia River Lodge (State Highway 65; 011-64-3-523-9323; maruiariverlodge.co.nz; from $659). In Queenstown, which sees a lot of tourists in winter, stay outside of town on Lake Wakatipu and marvel at the otherworldly beauty (and prices) of the elegantly rustic Blanket Bay resort (011-64-3-442-9442; blanketbay.co.nz; from $817). Or tarry on the way to Arrowtown at lovely White Shadows Country Inn (58 Hunter Road; 011-64-3-442-0871; whiteshadows.co.nz; $411), a small B&B owned by two Americans.
Eating There
Ironically, in the land of pure water and organic farming, the only bad meals we had were at “organic” restaurants. Otherwise, we ate our way from North Island to South with great pleasure. Wellington’s Logan Brown Restaurant & Bar (192 Cuba Street; 04-801-5114), co-run by U.S.-trained Alister Brown, is among the finest restaurants in the country. At Kamakura (The Strand, Russell, Bay of Islands; 09-403-7771), the chef adds Pacific Rim flair to fresh seafood. A couple of places in Arrowtown—Saffron (18 Buckingham Street; 03-442-0131) and The Postmaster’s House Restaurant (54 Buckingham Street; 03-442-0991)—are also excellent. In remote Fox Glacier, Café Neve (03-751-0110), on the main road, makes delicious sandwiches and main dishes.
Being There
Outdoors enthusiasts will find that New Zealand is always a game or sport ahead of them, with saltwater and lake activities everywhere. Walkers will discover a paradise of great trails, both along the ocean, as at Cape Brett, on the Bay of Islands (09-403-8823; capebrettwalks.co.nz); on the Abel Tasman Track; on the Queen Charlotte Track, along sublime Marlborough Sounds at the northern tip of the South Island; and through forest and over steep inclines on the world-famousMilford Track, beginning at Lake Te Anau and ending at Milford Sound. The New Zealand Department of Conservation (doc.govt.nz/explore) will help you arrange multiple-day hikes, or tramps, as they’re called in New Zealand, and Real Journeys (realjourneys.co.nz), a South Island tour company, will assist with boat cruises.
If you’d rather fly than tramp or drive, it’s only an hour by jet from Auckland, the country’s largest city, to Wellington. There, you can stroll the gentle incline up Cuba Street, with its ethnic lunch places and impressive bookstores and health foods outlets, and return to the harbor area to visit the national museum, Te Papa (Cable Street; 04-381-7000; tepapa.govt.nz), and see, among other treasures, a carved Maori meetinghouse that looks like Chagall’s Maori Dream and touch a jadestone the size of a cow. A three-hour ferry ride across the sometimes volatile Cook Strait gets you to the quaint little port of Picton, at the top of the South Island. Rent a car there, and you can practice your left-side-of-the-road driving while others in your party take in views of the sublime west coast and gaze up at the splendid waterfalls on the winding drive through the Southern Alps to the Otago plateau.
The Maori term for the South Island translates as “Water of Jade.” In the old 19th-century gold rush town of Hokitika (wonderfully depicted in Rose Tremain’s recent novel The Colour), today there’s more jade in the stores than gold. And the color of the sea and the lakes and rivers—you’ll see jade there, too. —A.C.
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