Explore New Zealand

A destination built for more than the water

New Zealand rewards those who explore beyond the anchorage — some of the world's most celebrated luxury lodges, championship golf courses, fabled trout rivers, and a network of great walks and cycle trails, all within easy reach of the coast.

Whether you're timing a stopover between passages or building a full season ashore, here's where our owners spend their time on land.

Luxury Lodges

Some of the world's finest, on your doorstep

New Zealand's lodges are consistently ranked among the best in the world — remote, understated, and often paired with their own golf course, fishing water, or private trails.

Blanket Bay lodge and its reflection at dusk, with the Humboldt Mountains behind, Glenorchy
Glenorchy, Lake Wakatipu

Blanket Bay

At the head of Lake Wakatipu, framed by the Humboldt Mountains, Blanket Bay pairs high-country luxury with some of the most dramatic scenery in the country — a short flight or drive from Queenstown, and widely considered New Zealand's benchmark for lodge hospitality.

Huka Lodge's riverside terrace and outdoor lounge areas, Taupō
Taupō

Huka Lodge

New Zealand's original luxury lodge, set on the banks of the Waikato River just above Huka Falls. Understated and exceptionally well run, and perfectly placed for a day on the Tongariro or Lake Taupō.

Kauri Cliffs' verandah overlooking the golf course and Cavalli Islands, Northland
Matauri Bay, Northland

Kauri Cliffs

A working farm turned five-star retreat above the cliffs of Matauri Bay, with its own championship golf course and uninterrupted views over the Cavalli Islands — a natural pairing with time spent cruising the Bay of Islands.

Golf

Championship golf, coast to coast

New Zealand punches well above its weight for golf, with several courses regularly ranked among the best in the world — many of them minutes from a luxury lodge or a marina.

Aerial view of a championship golf course green and bunkers in Central Otago, framed by the Southern Alps
  • Kauri Cliffs — Northland's clifftop course, with six holes played directly along the ocean.
  • Cape Kidnappers — Hawke's Bay — dramatic ridge-top fairways set high above the Pacific.
  • Jack's Point — Queenstown — alpine golf on the shores of Lake Wakatipu.
  • The Hills & Millbrook — Arrowtown / Queenstown — regular host venues for the New Zealand Open.
A fly fisherman casting on a clear native-bush-lined river, New Zealand backcountry
  • Tongariro River — Turangi — a legendary wild rainbow and brown trout fishery, especially in the winter run.
  • Lake Taupō — Trolling, jet boating, and fly fishing on New Zealand's largest lake.
  • Backcountry heli-fishing — Remote South Island rivers with guided helicopter access, often a single party per beat for the day.
Fly Fishing

World-class water, world-class trout

The central North Island is considered one of the great trout fisheries on earth, and the South Island's backcountry rivers — many accessible only by helicopter — offer some of the most private fishing left anywhere.

Great Walks

New Zealand's finest tracks

The Great Walks are New Zealand's premier network of multi-day tracks, several of them through Fiordland and the Southern Alps — with guided, lodge-based options for those who'd rather not carry a pack.

A tramper crossing a boardwalk beside an alpine lake, native bush and mountains beyond
  • Milford Track — Fiordland — often called "the finest walk in the world," through the backcountry behind Milford Sound.
  • Routeburn Track — Fiordland / Mount Aspiring — a high alpine crossing between two national parks.
  • Kepler Track — Te Anau — a spectacular high alpine loop above Lake Te Anau.
  • Abel Tasman Coast Track — Golden beaches and native bush at the top of the South Island — easily combined with time on the water.
Two cyclists riding a gravel trail across high-country farmland, mountains reflected in a roadside pool
  • Otago Central Rail Trail — Central Otago — a historic rail formation through high-country farmland.
  • Queenstown Trail — Queenstown / Arrowtown — lakeside and river trails through the region's wine country.
  • Alps 2 Ocean — From the Southern Alps to the Pacific — New Zealand's longest cycle trail.
  • Hauraki Rail Trail — Coromandel — an easy ride through farmland and river valleys.
Cycle Trails

The Great Rides

New Zealand's Great Rides network links some of the country's best scenery via well-formed, multi-day cycle trails — increasingly ridden on e-bikes, with luggage transfers and lodge-to-lodge stays making for an easy few days off the water.

Cuisine & Wine

Exceptional food, world-class wine

New Zealand's inaugural MICHELIN Guide landed in 2026, awarding 15 restaurants their first stars in one debut ceremony — a fitting arrival for a food and wine scene that has quietly punched above its weight for years, built on globally acclaimed Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc and a paddock-to-plate culture drawing on some of the best produce anywhere.

A chef plating a fine-dining dish with sauce, purée, and garden herbs
  • Essence, Queenstown — Oceania's first-ever two-MICHELIN-star restaurant, named in the guide's inaugural 2026 selection.
  • Waiheke Island — Auckland's "Island of Wine," dozens of vineyards and restaurants a short cruise from the Hauraki Gulf.
  • Central Otago — the world's southernmost wine region, celebrated for Pinot Noir and set against the Southern Alps.
  • Marlborough — New Zealand's largest wine region, and home of its internationally renowned Sauvignon Blanc.
  • Hawke's Bay — some of the country's oldest vineyards, paired with award-winning restaurants across the region.
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