This is a glorious place to pound the soft turf. I don’t just want to enjoy a great view, I want to put on my running shoes and pace it. There is a great range of walks through forest, along the cliffs above the sea and down by the water itself, which most guests only observe from a distance.
I also ran along an absolutely amazing GOLF COURSE, where you tee off on waves of emerald green, velvety hills that come right down to the cliffs as a jagged edge. It’s so perfect; it’s like a pile carpet. US golfers rate it as one of the best non-US courses in the world - who knew? I’m no golfer. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful! New Zealand’s lawn-to-ocean lushness is famous and this is one of the most spectacular examples that I have seen. I hope you experience it live someday (if you do, tell me about it on our YOU SAID page. Did I get it right?). Sheep are literally nibbling around the fringes of the golf course and the land becomes sharply rippled down by the cliff edge, way above the Pacific; in aerial shots it looks like the inside of an oyster shell. You pay for a round of golf but it’s a chance to tee off as if you were a member. I hit a few balls into the ocean! The architectural impact of the golf club house is right up there with the lodge.
There are a lot of layers to the Cape Kidnappers experience. The cliffside setting would be enough to keep plenty of guests at the lodge quite happily. If so, you can indulge at the SPA with lots of pampering involving local products, like the ‘Kiwi Wrap’ where you are slathered in minerals from the nearby ocean or rubbed down and massaged with lavender - along with the usual core things. It is really well equipped, with a suite for couples. I am too outdoorsy to be a spa person but it is great to know that they are there for Sheira if she is in the mood to rejuvenate. She runs the whole (mad) house at home so she really deserves it! Many people will also like the idea that you can do yoga with a personal trainer.
GOLF (see MORNING RUN)
Cape Kidnappers is also on the bird-watching map: it is home to the GANNET RESERVE with the largest mainland colony in the world. It’s an unusual chance to get close and observe the gannets. You don’t need to be an ornithologist to enjoy seeing them swoop like kites from enormous distances down into the ocean to hunt fish. Nature lovers will be happy to take in the beauty of this 6000 acres but there are plenty of activities for the ADVENTURERS: like windsurfing, jet boating, hot air ballooning, para gliding and fishing charters.
Day-trippers can take advantage of being in the HAWKES BAY area, which is an International Wine Region and premier food destination in itself. The lodge can easily organize your tour through the wineries and gourmet food producers nearby.
You are also in pretty gorgeous countryside for sightseeing: there are the TARAWERA HOT SPRINGS at the Waipunga River and a lookout over the twin WAIARUA WATERFALLS. The nearest town, NAPIER is worth visiting for its man-made sights: it has the best ART DECO architectural heritage in the world. When the city was unlucky enough to be flattened by an earthquake there was a silver lining: it was 1931. The whole town went Deco, getting rebuilt in that brilliant era of residential and civic design, full of jazz-era character. To this day the gorgeous buildings are intact, with gardens to match, and fans of the period can take walking tours. In February you can even go to fancy dress balls on the annual celebration weekend that attracts Deco freaks from around the world. If you want to venture beyond the Kidnappers kitchen there are plenty of restaurants in Napier too.
I had already warmed to Eichardt’s Private Hotel when speaking in advance ..
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