A family affair in Mt Te Aroha

Retreating to an idyllic small-town lodge nestled at the foot of Mt Te Aroha provides a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of city living, as SUE HOFFART finds


We arrive unfairly early, just as host Greg Marshall is heading off to collect his son from his first day at kindergarten. Things have not gone well at pre-school and the poor man is torn between rescuing his wailing son and welcoming his guests. We wave him off with assurances that we are content to park the car and explore the town on foot. After all, the lodge is close to everything we need. It is immediately outside the gates to the charming Te Aroha Domain, while the town centre is a minute's walk downhill.

Apparently, it is also close to the kindergarten, as Greg returns within minutes to offer refreshments and, for the 3-year-old, a raspberry iceblock. We deposit bags on the long, covered verandah that links the three guest rooms and find our beds.

Ours is the country room, with its quirky-but-tasteful rural theme. Number eight fencing wire has been cleverly fashioned into a curtain tie-back, the linens feature hand-painted fabrics in muted tones, and someone has lit an oil burner to scent the room. White roses atop the oak bedside cabinet have obviously come from the standard rose bushes that provide a showy display outside our french doors.

Each of the rooms has an appealing ensuite that combines modern convenience with old-fashioned charm in a small space. Best of all, the roomy showers have fantastic water pressure.

The sunset room follows a loose African safari theme, while the beach room features brighter colours and a wardrobe painted to resemble a seaside changing hut.

In our room, the free-standing oak wardrobe and small dining set (large enough for my laptop and the tea and coffee tray) leaves just enough room for our baby and portacot at the foot of the bed.

The Marshalls are happy to cater for children on a single-party booking basis. However, most guests leave the children at home and come seeking a little romance and maybe a spa treatment, together with the pleasures of small-town New Zealand.

We encounter the latter when we stroll over a small bridge, past rambling old villas and a historic church, to the quiet, wide street that is downtown Te Aroha.

When my husband and I become separated, helpful locals - a painting contractor and a mother pushing a buggy - offer unsolicited advice on where to find him. This is a perfect escape from the traffic and bustle of city living.

Te Aroha is New Zealand's original spa town. It was a hot tourist spot decades before tour buses began flooding Rotorua. Even earlier, local Maori bathed in the thermal mineral water that really does leave your skin feeling silky.

The legacy of the spa and sanatorium era is the gorgeous, Edwardian-style domain, with its historic Cadman Bath House-turned-museum and 44ha of picturesque lawns, gardens, picnic and play areas.

More recent additions include the swanky new aromatherapy spa pools (www.tearohapools.co.nz) and a gleaming outdoor hot pool.

The domain is also home to Mokena - purportedly the world's only hot soda-water geyser - and it is the starting point for a series of well-maintained hiking and mountain-biking trails.

We skip the 1km summit ascent in favour of more leisurely pursuits. In these parts, that means poking around the town's antique and second-hand stores, visiting the excellent quilt gallery and ogling the big, old wooden homes.

Back at the lodge, we meet Linda, ace shortbread-baker and the other half of the lodge partnership. Linda is a former big-city accountant who teaches at the high school while her laidback husband takes care of the lodge and their two boys and plays in a band at the weekends.

They are good company and, because their renovated historic villa is attached to the purpose-built guest quarters, they are readily available to provide iced water or pyrethrum bug spray at bedtime.

Linda makes our dinner reservation at the wonderful Banco restaurant (less than five minutes walk), while Greg books us into one of the private soda spa pools (less than a minute's amble) next door.

Then we sit with Mt Te Aroha at our backs to watch the sunset cast its glow over the roofs and treetops of the town and into the Waikato Valley beyond.* Sue Hoffart was a guest of Aroha Mountain Lodge



CONTACT DETAILS

Aroha Mountain Lodge

Linda and Greg Marshall

5 Boundary St, Te Aroha

tel/fax (07)884-8134

email: greg.linda@xtra.co.nz

website: Te Aroha

TARIFF

$150 double, $110 single. Midweek specials and romantic packages available. That there is currently no facility for credit card or Eftpos transactions.

GETTING THERE

Te Aroha is on SH26, a 90-minute drive from central Auckland, 40 minutes from Hamilton and an hour from Rotorua. Intercity Coachlines stops in the town by way of Hamilton, Morrinsville (21km) or Paeroa (22km) connections.

ACCESS

While the lodge rooms are wheelchair accessible, the bathroom is not designed for people with physical disabilities. However, arrangements can be made for use of the wheelchair-friendly facilities at the hot pools next door.

FACILITIES

No smoking in rooms, though it's okay on the verandah.

The owners offer an elastic departure time, email and laundry facilities are available on request and there is no charge to guests who want to use the house phone to make local calls. There is also a portable television if you ask, while more serious addicts can watch the big screen in the hosts' lounge. The Marshalls have completed work on a self-contained, completely renovated goldminer's cottage with a tariff that ranges from $250 to $450.

WHAT'S GOOD?

Location, location, location. And the sunsets, wandering over to the spa pool in bare feet and a towel, the thoroughly pleasant and obliging hosts, Linda's shortbread and Greg's enthusiasm, local knowledge and real interest in the town's history. We liked the country-themed room best.

WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD?

The rooms are not soundproof - we could hear the person in the next room. If you have noisy romance in mind, turn the bedside radio up.

LOCAL INFORMATION

Te Aroha Information Centre, 102 Whitaker St, tel (07) 8848052, Fax (07) 8848259, Te Aroha

FOOD

Greg cooks a mean breakfast. We had individual bowls of cinnamon-scented home made fruit compote topped with yoghurt and accompanied by watermelon. The second course was a delicious corn fritter and bacon stack, which came with a grilled banana and was neither too oily nor drowned in syrup. We also had plunger coffee, fruit juice and green tea. Guests who stay for more than one night can expect to sample other offerings from his repertoire and he can normally provide cereal and other fruit if asked. Given some notice, he can also cater for special dietary needs.