Exploring the Big Sky Country

Kye is too busy looking for a comfortable lap to take any notice of Smudge, the portly cat who has laid claim to her dog basket. The large, comfy lounge in the Crutchley farmhouse is toasty and the pets are close family. Outside, a chill spring air has clamped down over the Maniototo Plains. Behind us the Kakanui Mountains, still dusted lightly in snow, are towering silhouettes.

We are replete after Dave and Glenis Crutchley, in pair precision, cooked a delicious meal of steak (their cattle, of course), fresh vegetables, salads and a scrumptious cheesecake.

Now as we sip after-dinner drinks they have the photo albums out at our request so we can grasp the magnitude of their 6007ha property where Dave runs 10,000 merino/romney sheep and 800 head of cross-bred cattle.

It's impressive country with sweeping, tussock-covered hills, plains, escarpments rising from the Kyeburn River and mountains that turn purple, depending on the lie of the sun.

It's easy to see why renowned landscape artist Grahame Sydney is captivated by this raw pocket of Central Otago colloquially known as Big Sky Country. It's one of those special places where no amount of superlatives truly captures its essence.

Four-wheel-drive tour companies and cycle companies from Christchurch have targeted the Crutchley property for adventure touring. The terrain is challenging.

Glenis - a fine singer by all accounts - is also a trained nurse as well as the local ambulance driver. She had picked us up earlier from Ranfurly, 25km away, after our second day of cycling the Rail Trail.

This increasingly popular track (it traverses a 150km picturesque stretch that was formerly the railway route between Middlemarch and Clyde) looks set to increase demand for homestays like theirs.

The double-storey farmhouse is reminiscent of a Cape Cod boathouse. It's neat, modern and spacious and sits amid sweeping lawns and a pretty cottage garden.

Gardening is another of Glenis' specialities. In summer guests admire her blooms as they walk across to the tennis court or the pool for a cooling dip when legendary "Central" temperatures frequently top the charts on the telly weather map.

Glenis and Dave are born and bred locals. Dave has been on the station all his life and has won and judged many sheepdog championships. His father and grandfather farmed the area before him.

The house has one bedroom downstairs with an ensuite (and an interesting gallery of family photos along the hallway). There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs.

My upstairs bed was comfort plus and sleep won over before I had a chance to browse through a stack of magazines on a bookcase by the door.

As we head back to Ranfurly the following day to get our bikes, Dave, a quietly spoken man who knows this region inside out, regales us with yarns. We detour through forests to see postcard gems, learn some history and of pending developments and get the good oil on local politics.

We drive through toy town Naseby and around art deco Ranfurly, ending at the ambulance hall where Glenis has stored our bikes overnight. Buoyed by warm hospitality, we wished we could linger longer but we had a trail to finish.

Where to find it

Shortlands Station Farmstay is at the foot of the Danseys Pass, which links Central Otago to North Otago. Ph toll free (0800) 375 247 or (03) 444 9621, fax (03) 444 9610 or email.
Getting there

From Queenstown it is a two hour 20 minute drive via Alexandra and Ranfurly. From Dunedin it is an hour-and-a-half drive on what is known as the Pig Route.

What it costs

Double $120 a night for bed and breakfast. Single, $70 B&B. There is also a fully self-contained lodge on the property with four bedrooms which costs $140 a night plus a $10 linen charge. Dinner price on application.

Wheelchair access

Yes. Downstairs bedroom.

Activities

Check out the Central Otago Tourism website and the Rail Trail