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»THE DEALGetting there: Pacific Blue, Air NewZealand, Qantas and Jetstar fly dailyto Christchurch. Pacific Blue fliesdirect from Melbourne. Fares startfrom $189 one way. The airport is 25minutes by car from Otahunawww.flypacificblue.comStaying: Otahuna Lodge, 224 RhodesRd, Tai Tapu, Christchurch. Doublerooms from $NZ700 a person pernight in peak season (from $NZ1100for singles). Includes degustationdinner with wine, pre-dinner drinks,breakfast and use of all lodgefacilities and equipment.www.otahuna.co.nzNearby: Otahuna Lodge is an idealbase for exploring Christchurch andthe Canterbury region, touringAlpine peaks and glaciers or fly-fishing in the Waimakariri Gorge.

more > www.christchurchnz.com

Impressive: Otahuna Lodge, Christchurch, ahaven for the decadent diner.

South Island suiteJust out of Christchurchthere’s a homesteaddream, writes Zoe Skewes

Opulence:fireplaces warmeven Otahuna’srestoredbathrooms.

Seasonal:Otahuna’s hugeorganic vegetablegarden inspireschef JimmyMcIntyre’s menus.

DINNER at Otahuna Lodge is a littlelike New Zealand’s weather —impossible to predict and full ofsurprises.

Even chef Jimmy McIntyre rarelyknows what his daily five-coursedegustation dinner will feature until eachafternoon when he wanders Otahuna’ssprawling organic vegetable garden andfruit-and-nut orchard.

In the summer months guests could findthemselves dining on a sorbet of freshlypicked summer berries; in autumn it couldbe Otahuna’s own porcini mushrooms inMcIntyre’s ravioli; with winter comes fivevarieties of potato for homemade gnocchi;and in spring McIntyre is spoilt with a cropof new asparagus popping up from the richSouth Island soil.

With 95 different varieties of vegetablesin Otahuna’s garden, the only limit toMcIntyre’s ever-changing menu is hisimagination.

‘‘Today for example I thought I’d go outand get leeks and fennel from the garden,’’McIntyre says as he takes a break fromOtahuna’s kitchen.

‘‘But I found some baby peas instead, soI picked as many as I needed to go with themain course.

‘‘And yesterday I picked chillies and I hadno idea what I was going to do with them.I ended up stuffing them with prawn andsalmon and serving them with a salsa madewith the last of the summer tomatoes andavocado. The dish was the perfect blend ofsummer and autumn.

‘‘That’s the way it works around here. Asa chef it’s a wonderful way to operate.’’

A wonderful way to operate is in fact theperfect description for what life becomesfor guests of Otahuna Lodge.

The opulent 1890s homestead is a20-minute drive from ChristchurchAirport. With ease, it redefines the notionof luxury accommodation.

Seven suites — including the 110sq m,four-room master suite — mean there is amaximum of only 14 guests at any one time.

And from the moment guests arrive upthe sweeping driveway, it’s clear the mosttaxing decision during their stay will bewhether to dine with other guests in the

formal dining room or to opt for a moreprivate dining experience in one of thelodge’s many rooms such as the library, thedrawing-room turret or the spectacularsunken wine cellar.

All options provide a decadent diningexperience, thanks in part to McIntyre’scooking (with five courses each night,guests staying for four nights sample 20 ofMcIntyre’s creations, including his owncured meats) and also to Otahuna’sstunning renovation, completed in 2007under the watchful eyes of owners HallCannon and Miles Refo.

Americans Cannon and Refo, both 32,traded their Manhattan lifestyles threeyears ago for the quiet of New Zealand.

They spent months in New Zealandlooking for the right fit before falling inlove with Otahuna.

Cannon and Refo couldn’t wait toembrace their new life and, with the help of40 tradesmen on-site each day and an$8 million budget, the renovations werefinished in four months before OtahunaLodge reopened to guests in May, 2007.

‘‘We love sharing Otahuna with ourguests,’’ Cannon says as he sits in front of acrackling fire in one of the two drawingrooms. ‘‘And we were so pleased to be ableto bring this place back to life.’’

With 14 fireplaces, 35 commissioned

artworks by New Zealand artists and viewsof New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Otahunahas most certainly been restored to itsformer glory.

Built in 1895 for high-profile Canterburypioneer Sir Heaton Rhodes, the three-storey homestead is considered one of thebest examples of unspoiled Queen Annearchitecture in Australasia.

As luxurious as the interior of Otahuna is,the surrounding gardens are as impressive— particularly given the property was bare,unimproved land before Rhodes’ time.

Now the 110-year-old, 12ha gardens areblessed with a breathtaking feature savedfor guests lucky enough to visit in spring.

More than 10,000 daffodil bulbs arehidden beneath the grass on the property’smain lawn, which becomes a sea of yellowevery September as the bulbs bloom.

Rhodes was the first to grow daffodils inNew Zealand in the early 1900s and thetradition is something Cannon and Refo aremore than happy to continue, openingOtahuna and its daffodils to the public onthe first Sunday in September each year.

As is the case with McIntyre’s menu,surprises are around every corner.

The writer stayed courtesy of Otahuna Lodgeand Virgin Atlantic.

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