Review: A luxury experience in the mild west

Review: A luxury experience in the mild west
Waimauku's Hunting Lodge vineyard and restaurant started life as an actual hunting lodge.
Helen van Berkel
Waimauku’s Hunting Lodge has long had a reputation as a fine-dining destination, and as the summer begins to unspool with the promise of hot, dry, lazy days and Sunday drives into the country, I set out to find out if it still deserved it. The journey out west seems to get longer every year as Auckland's growth continues to outstrip the new roads built to keep the population moving. We hit the traffic almost as soon as the Northwestern Motorway ended and crawled until we could turn off to take the backroads through Riverhead...

More The Life

Likuliku Lagoon Resort: Where even cynics unwind – instantly
The Life Free

Likuliku Lagoon Resort: Where even cynics unwind – instantly

Luxury, calm, and Fijian charm in the Mamanuca Islands.

Riley Kennedy 20 Jul 2025
GWM Cannon Alpha Lux PHEV review: Eco-crusher
The Life Review

GWM Cannon Alpha Lux PHEV review: Eco-crusher

The three plug-in utes now in NZ are all quite different in design and intent.

David Linklater 20 Jul 2025
You should get health insurance when travelling
The Life

You should get health insurance when travelling

Don’t assume emergency medical care is covered in a foreign country.

Is a floral dress a political statement?
The Life

Is a floral dress a political statement?

Is the floral dress now the uniform of the conservative “it” girl?