Peppers adds the special touch to romance and relaxation

It took a while to work it out. We had unpacked and settled into our accommodation at Peppers On The Point, a luxury lodge on Kawaha Pt, Lake Rotorua.
We may even have had a glass of wine as we took in the view of Mokoia Island.
Outside, a brisk easterly scuttled off Lake Rotorua and bullied the treetops.
Slumped in a leather armchair in our luxurious refurbished Lockwood cottage, I finally put my finger on it.
There were several guests and staff members at Peppers, yet we felt secluded, like we were the only ones there.
Cocooned in luxury, we gazed out over the calming expanse of Lake Rotorua to Mokoia Island - a central player in the love story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.
Being on a point, we enjoyed not just 180-degree water views, but possibly 250- and 260-degree views.
It's ridiculously romantic - even more so when you stand in the stone chapel built at Peppers by the late Ron Main.
The chapel's quiet sanctity serves only to amplify the glorious view.
Peppers is a 5ha property that slopes down to a private beach.
Owned by Ron and Jamie Main since 1976, the property was the Main family home until 2002 when, with the children having left home, a two-year project began to convert it into a luxury lodge. The Mains built a new home behind the lodge.
A cottage was added, and an existing cottage refurbished.
We visited the chapel on what was our second stroll around Peppers - earlier we walked down to the private beach and talked to the animals, which included three miniature horses, two donkeys and an alpaca. I avoided the alpaca, only because my jumbled mental Google wrongly suggested it would spit at me if I annoyed it.
Down on the beach, we crunched across the pumice sand, and then explored inland to a cave where Maori chief Tunohopu once sheltered while his village was under attack. The nearby jetty offers another perspective of Lake Rotorua.
Earlier in the day, we had visited the world-famous Polynesian Spa and relaxed in hot pools that offer a view from the southern end of the lake.
There is another icon Rotorua is famous for - Sir Howard Morrison.
I only met him once, briefly, at his sister's tangi. I was editor of Rotorua's daily newspaper at the time, and had been told before we met that he wasn't that impressed with me.
It seems he blamed me for the spat he found himself in after venturing the opinion that a NZ Idol contestant was overweight. In the world of daily newspaper headlines where brevity is king, overweight became "fat".
And there ensued a national controversy.
I deliberately neglected to mention this to Riki - our maitre'd and Sir Howard's nephew - why spoil chef Mirai Sato's magnificent meal?
With a day's trout-fishing in front of us, we passed on the tea-smoked salmon entree, but still opted for the seared hapuka on a herb risotto and a trio of lamb enhanced by a kumara puree and spiced sweetbread.
We indulged in dessert and ended the night on a high note, looking forward to the next day's trip on Lake Tarawera.
THERE ARE several differences between fishing for freshwater trout and saltwater species, the water you are fishing upon being the most obvious.
But I hadn't expected to encounter such a clash between saltwater and freshwater fishing fashions.
Five of us were on the boat - I was wearing an old, brushed-cotton, checked shirt and a pair of denim shorts that should have been confiscated by the fashion police several years ago. Forensic examination of both items would result in the identification of fish and human blood. My wife was dressed similarly, although she had the style and grace to not don denim shorts.
Everyone else looked like they were heading out to a cafe for a short black - at least one of my co-fishers was wearing what I strongly suspected to be merino or cashmere.
Our charter skipper, John Hamill, was kind enough to not say anything. He made us coffee, briefed us on where we were going and what we were doing, and we were off.
We'd struck a gorgeous day on Lake Tarawera and soon, engines still idling, we were jigging for trout using three wet flies on a nylon trace attached to a braid mainline.
There were five rods on board John's boat Elusive that day - he hooked a fish on each before handing the rod to his charter customers.
After the first fish was landed, I realised why one can wear merino or cashmere on a trout-fishing charter.
We were in the hands of an expert.
There was no need for the angler to touch the fish at any stage, other than holding it for the obligatory photo. John hooked, netted, killed, gutted, cleaned and packaged our trout. Yep, fishing with John was like fishing with the best dad in the world.
Lake Tarawera is beautiful - but to truly appreciate its beauty, you need to get out on it.
Our best fishing was near Hot Water beach, in Te Rata Bay. There, you can plunge your hand into hot water on the lake's surface, or lie in a natural hot pool and wonder about the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption that destroyed the Pink and White Terraces and caused the lake's level to rise about 12m.
In summer, boats anchor off Hot Water Beach's Department of Conservation camping ground, jostling for position in anticipation of grabbing a coveted camping spot.
Thankfully, we didn't have to jostle. And our trout, eaten a few days later after being driven 500km home on ice, were delicious.
Craig Cooper stayed two nights and dined in Rotorua courtesy of Peppers on the Point - www.onthepoint.co.nz
He fished courtesy of Cruise and Fish, Lake Tarawera - www.cruiseandfish.co.nz, and relaxed at the Polynesian Spa - www.polynesianspa.co.nz