5th Sept 2007

Sheer Luxury!.

Last week I missed making the usual comment because Angela and I were touring the central part of the North Island. We were fortunate enough to win a nights stay at Huka Lodge close to Lake Taupo and took the opportunity to see more of the territory spending time in Tauranga, Rotorua and Waitomo.

Wow!, what a luxurious place Huka Lodge is. Beyond our modest lifestyle, it is a real eye-opener to see how the rich and famous spend their leisure time. Guests are pampered from the moment of arrival and the staff (there seemed to be an abundance of them) are obviously schooled to smile and make conversation every time they pass by. The sumptuous 5 course meal is served to each couple in intimate settings scattered through the main Lodge, the red wines are decanted and warmed to room temperature.
Pre dinner drinks are served in a large room an hour before dining which allows the guests to mingle and after the meal everyone can re-gather and enjoy coffee and liqueurs. We were lucky enough to see the Lunar Eclipse during the latter part of our evening. The rooms are of a simple style designed to engender harmony and gentility. No radios or TVs which is wonderful and they all look out on to the Waikato river. If you have a spare couple of thousand dollars, go spoil yourself!!

A complete contrast was a night at the Waitomo Caves Hotel. OK it was off-season, but it is still supposed to have a good reputation. The few staff we saw looked as though they were not long out of school and the meal was awful. If you do stay there (and the room was quite comfortable), plan to eat elsewhere. The food was covered in rich sauce which totally overpowered everything on the plate. Angela had pork, I had venison. Different sauces, but the same effect on both meals. The soup, though not particularly hot, was plentiful. In fact it probably measured a couple of litres in quantity being served in an old fashioned soup plate filled to the brim.

Finally, if you are ever passing through Otorohanga, do call into Haddads menswear. You won't walk out of there without buying anything and they are all real characters in there. It was a joy to be parted with our money.

TC