Christchurch and Otahuna Lodge

 Had there been train service from Queenstown to Christchurch, we would have taken it. Instead, we flew about 40 minutes on a commuter turboprop. No security check was necessary. Imagine that!

    Once landed, we were picked up by our driver and taken to the Otahuna Lodge. Between the four of us, we have stayed at some of the finest hotels and lodges around the world. We all agreed that this was perhaps the finest.

    From the start, the place had the feel of Downton Abbey without the pomp. Upon our arrival, we traveled the long driveway, and were greeted by a staff of five who already knew all our names. And it only got better. We were to stay only two nights. We would have preferred two years.

    From the moment we landed in Queenstown three days earlier, we had been seriously over programmed with activities. This stay was an opportunity to unwind with a vacation from our vacation. I took very few pictures. Here is a picture that one of our hosts took of us at the dinner table.

Here are additional pictures that I pulled off the web sites.

They claim that there are one million daffodils on the property.

Dignitary visitors to the lodge include King Charles and Camilla while they were still Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. Although the late Queen Elizabeth II never visited Otahuna Lodge, her parents, the Duke and Duchess of York did visit. QE II did visit the Huka lodge; more on that in a later post.

For a far more detailed description of the Lodge, please check out

https://www.otahuna.co.nz/getattachment/7012d000-4a58-48cf-8cba-c67ed8c5e43d/SeaSpray-Magazine.aspx