It’s that time of year when we look back and reminisce about our top travel experiences in 2023: the highlights and special moments that just might inspire your next adventure in 2024. This article was one of the stories that our readers enjoyed the most in 2023.
Helicopter over the harbour for an artisan gin-tasting. Weekend among the vines, a grape’s throw from the cellar door, or sink into a hot pool on an island in a lake - the new experiences for “high net worth” folk tripping around Aotearoa and Australia.
Wai Ariki is a just-opened $60 million luxury hot springs and spa in Rotorua, combining the region’s healing waters with Ngāti Whakaue culture. It’s an oasis with mineral-rich, geothermal pools (hot, cold and herbal), saunas, mud room and wellness treatments.
There’s something magical about our air adventures – presenting our spectacular natural wonders and some more suited to gourmet tastes. Tarawera Falls Volcanic Heli-hike tour takes visitors to the volcano’s crater, and then on to a floatplane and Lake Rotoiti’s hot pools.
In Canterbury, Akaroa Craft Distillery and GCH Aviation pour their collective talents into their Banks Peninsula Heli Gin Experience; further down the motu, Mackenzie Helicopters’ bespoke flights take in the vast alpine landscape, while Southern Lakes Helicopters whirl wide-eyed passengers over glittering peaks and deep valleys to eyeball Aoraki Mt Cook.
Over The Top will fly you back in time to yesteryear New Zealand at our smallest high-country station for a glimpse into the pioneer mining lifestyle, while Altitude Tours and Glenorchy Air take travellers to bucket-list destinations like Milford Sound, Mt Cook or Stewart Island.
The beauty of wine and food experiences is that they often remove the need to drive, like staying in one of four luxury cabins among the vines at Matawhero Wines, only a 10-minute drive from Gisborne city and a grape’s throw from the cellar door. Indulge yourself in a boutique wine, food or craft beer tour with Kaewa Tours and you’ll be ferried about in style, seeing, supping and tasting the best of Wellington, Wairarapa and the Kāpiti Coast.
In the South Island, Kumiko’s Guest House and Russell’s Cabins are a short drive north of Christchurch, offering some serious seclusion and relaxation on a hillside overlooking Waipara’s wine country.
In the same neck of the woods, Matai Peak is a premium, remote hideaway on Te Mania, a working Angus stud farm in North Canterbury where you can tour the farm, shoot a clay bird or relax beside the large outdoor fire.
Glamp in luxury at Cheviot’s fifth-generation Tawanui Farm with a dash of jetboating, or sink into one of the country’s largest high-country farms - Mount White Station – to explore unspoilt wilderness in the heart of the Southern Alps.
Selwyn District’s Fable Terrace Downs is more charm than farm, one of the South Island’s most prestigious high-country resorts. Book Tee-Time at the 18-hole golf course with staggering views of the Alps.
Keen on meeting the locals? Heritage Expedition’s naturalists, botanists, historians and experts interpret natural and human history on voyages around our bays and coastal waters aboard their new ship, Heritage Adventurer. If you’re particularly enamoured by sea mammals you may prefer premium whale-watching over Kaikōura with South Pacific Helicopters, booking their marine biologist to come along for the explanation.
We do a rocky mountain high, too - Tekapo Adventures’ three-day private guided alpine hike, stopping for a dram at New Zealand’s most elevated whisky-tasting hut.
Across the Tasman, Brisbane’s (nearly) $4 billion Queen’s Wharf development opens in April as a major tourist, leisure and entertainment destination. Making the most of the subtropical climate, it features an open-air rooftop runway of restaurants and bars overlooking the Brisbane River, a three-level shopping gallery and two luxe hotels.
As the country prepares for its referendum on the Voice to Parliament, a host of new indigenous-based luxury experiences are coming on stream. One of the most exciting is, naturally, at Uluru: Wintjiri Wiru, a breathtaking story brought to life through choreographed drones, lasers and projections illuminating the night sky accompanied by top-end gourmet offerings.
Taribelang Bunda Cultural Tours offers more leisurely storytelling at Australia’s Galapagos, Lady Musgrave Island retreat in the Great Barrier Reef; Yagurli Tours has “Australia’s first indigenous-owned hot-air balloon tour over Queensland”; in Western Australia, Baiyungu Dreaming’s upmarket glamping, sunset campfires and 4WD tours reveal the Ningaloo region through the eyes of its first people.
Worth a mention too, are four new Aussie experiences. Fly over the Northern Territory’s Litchfield National Park waterfalls with Nautilus Aviation before landing for five-star dining; in WA, board a two-level houseboat with Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures for the ultimate in floating and airborne luxury or ditch the kids for the adults-only Willow Wood Glamping Retreat at Margaret River; or leave the whānau in the geothermal pools at Victoria’s wellness spot, Metung Hot Springs, while you share a bathing barrel with your significant other.
Aotearoa has long been renowned for its lodges and spas, and there’s been movement at those stations, too. With four bedrooms, private outdoor decks and swimming pool, the Residences at Kauri Cliffs, Northland, are big enough to accommodate larger groups. Some meals, access to facilities and experiences are included.
In the tranquil Orinoco Valley in the Nelson–Tasman region, Edenhouse sits amid more than 20ha of exquisite gardens. Its new Folly garden cottage is one of three private suites at the country retreat, offering spacious, understated luxury for two.
The mirrored Pods at The Lindis, in Canterbury’s Ahuriri Valley, reveal the landscape through floor-to-ceiling glass walls on three sides. Make the most of star-filled southern skies, the private hot tub or the facilities and services of the famed Lindis Lodge.
From one natural wonder to another, although you’ll have to jump the ditch. Take the short heli ride from Hamilton Island before kicking off your shoes and going off-grid at Elysian Retreat, Whitsundays. There are only 10 adults-only oceanfront bungalows with daily yoga sessions, spa treatments, outdoor activities and all-inclusive gourmet dining. Bliss!
How about a floating house? A quick seaplane flight from Sydney’s city to its northern beaches, and you’ll spot Lilypad at Palm Beach – a solar-powered, private floating villa for two. With all the comforts of home, like a fireplace, entertainment systems and wrap-around outdoor decking, Lilypad also has a small boat to explore the waterways.
In rural Victoria, the multi-award-winning food and wine offering at the Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, is also blessed with a stunning mountain location. Home to Australia’s largest working restaurant kitchen-garden, the hotel in Mt Sturgeon Biodiversity Reserve has a selection of new accommodation options.
Fancy a spot among South Australia’s McLaren Vale vines? Beresford Estate Luxury Suites and Villas has just opened and it’s already claimed Best Accommodation in the 2023 Best of Wine Tourism Awards. Fifteen suites rest among the lush vineyards for privacy and tranquillity; two villas with four-poster beds promise added romance.
For an end-of-the-earth escape, the state’s Eyre Peninsula is all about blissful isolation. Yambara, the newest beachfront tiny abode, means “out of sight” in the local Barngarla language. Sustainable and well-appointed – think handmade Moroccan tiles, indulgent linens and eco-friendly mattresses – the cabin is all about living off the grid, with a private beach only 100m from the deck, and gobsmacking views of Sleaford Bay, Whalers Way and Port Lincoln National Park.
If you thought you’d checked out – or checked in – to all our brand-spanking high-end hotels, have another think. Opening towards the end of the year is the striking Te Arikinui Pullman at Auckland International Airport. The 311-room hotel infuses distinctive Waikato Tainui cultural elements into its design, drawing the connection between land, sea and sky – as is obvious from the top-floor restaurant and bar with spectacular views across the runway and out to Manukau Heads.
If you can’t wait that long, hightail it to The Mayfair, Christchurch – a modern, boutique hotel with 67 guest rooms promising “elegance, luxury and intrigue”. It’s located on the doorstep of the city’s bustling hospitality precinct.
Another for the must-do list is the Hyde Queenstown, due to open in spring. Offering 63 rooms, it’s pegged to be less “traditional hotel” and more “entertainment venue” with a restaurant and bar appealing to visitors and locals to neighbouring restaurants, bars and shopping along Shotover St.
In Australia, new builds are out and revamped heritage buildings are in. The $120 million transformation of the landmark InterContinental Sydney has overtaken the former 1851 Treasury Building, softened by opulent interiors in green and blue, with custom lighting, and marble and brass finishes.
The 1930s facade of Hotel Morris has been carefully restored with each of its 82 guest rooms redesigned with bespoke furniture, bold brass detailing and stone finishes. The city’s former Water Board (and sewerage services) headquarters is now The Kimpton, art-deco grandeur with 172 art-filled rooms and suites and an irresistible rooftop swimming pool and bar.
Up the coast, Newcastle’s 113-year-old David Jones department store has been recast into the latest QT hotel. Retaining its elegant bones, it includes a contemporary bar and grill and rooftop izakaya-style bar.
In Melbourne, the 170-year-old Pentridge Prison site is being transformed into a billion-dollar dining and entertainment precinct including The Interlude, a 19-room urban retreat where guests stay in converted cells. Just the place to channel your inner Ned Kelly who, er, hung out here.
They don’t do heritage on the Goldie, but the new Langham Gold Coast is beachfront luxury at its best with 169 hotel rooms and 170 residences overlooking Surfers Paradise sand. With a towering exterior said to resemble quartz crystals, and interior exuding a “coast meets city” vibe, you’ll be literally living the high life.
If you’d rather EU over GC, the Sofitel Adelaide’s 251 lavish guest rooms and suites are designed with a French-colonial-meets-contemporary aesthetic. Modern and sleek on the outside; inside there’s a gourmet French-inspired restaurant and champagne bar. Cin cin!
This story was originally published on June 30, 2023
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