Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 364

Arthur's Pass Wilderness Lodge
is between the Waimakariri River
Valley and the Southern Alps

498 new Zealand's besT
wilderness lodges

and depending on the time of year you can help
out with the lambing, weaning or shearing.
Meals at both lodges make the most of New
Zealand's bounty of fresh fish, wild venison and
vegetables. Washed down with fine wines at the
end of a long day's hiking or kayaking, it makes
for a pretty perfect day. And to turn it into an
amazing week, it's easy to journey between
the two lodges either by car or on the coast-to-
coast Tranzalpine Express , considered one of
the world's great train journeys, which passes
through spectacular mountains, gorges and
rainforests.

Tucked away in the middle of the 27,000-square-
kilometre New Zealand World Heritage Area,
300km from Queenstown, Lake Moeraki Lodge
is one of the great places to get away from it
all. The light, airy rooms have views out to
the surrounding rainforest, while four more
luxurious suites overlook the churning rapids
of the Moeraki River. From here you can kayak
through orchid-filled rainforests, go on nocturnal
hikes to look for glow-worms or make the short
trek to Robinson Crusoe beach, a suitably
deserted stretch of tree-fringed sand.
The lodge is one of two established by the former
director of New Zealand's Royal Forest and Bird
Society - the other, Arthur's Pass Wilderness
Lodge, is 130km from Christchurch. Perched
between the Waimakariri River Valley and the
Southern Alps, the accommodation here has
panoramas that are hard to beat. During the day
guests can have a picnic on mountain meadows
carpeted in subalpine flowers, or trek to the many
waterfalls that cascade down Mount Arthur. The
lodge even has a working merino-wool sheep farm,

Need to know Both lodges are open Aug-May;
for rates, reservations and activities see W www.
wildernesslodge.co.nz; T [phone] (Lake
Moeraki) or T [phone] (Arthur's Pass).
Several activities are included in the price of a
stay, although half- and full-day excursions are
extra. You can reach Lake Moeraki by coach from
Queenstown, or driving from Greymouth (4hr),
from where the Tranzalpine train goes to Arthur's
Pass. From Christchurch you can get to Arthur's
Pass via the Tranzscenic train ( W www.tranzscenic.
co.nz).