Our first Mead!
August 14, 2017
We're very happy with our first brew of mead!
Our bees produce some of the nicest honey that we've ever tasted, so we knew that our mead would be good. But it has surpassed all our expectations! Usually, mead is made from the scrapings that are left over when the honey is harvested and some or all of the yeast is derived from the natural yeast that's on the wax or on bits of debris. We didn't have access to our scrapings, so we used our actual harvested honey and added champagne yeast. This meant that we had a very pure honey and some extremely active yeast! The result is a very dry and fairly potent mead.
And if we feel like...[Read More...]
Birds Eye View of The Hokianga Harbour
June 30, 2017
Here's a fabulous shot of the Hokianga Harbour taken from our place. Our very clever friend, Csilla Ford from My Little Eye Photography took this pic with her drone flying more or less directly above The Lodge and it simply took our breath away.
We love the fact that it shows our road, pointing straight out the mouth of the harbour. This is where Kupe arrived from Hawaiiki a thousand years ago and where some of New Zealand's earliest European travellers arrived also. Fast forward to Victorian times and the harbour was the centre of the Kauri trade. Kauri was so sought after that ships were prepared to risk the treacherous bar that guards the harbour. Also guarding the harbour are the two taniwha of legend, Arai Te Uru and Niua.
Today...[Read More...]
Our Amazing View Is Back!
May 24, 2017
Yesss! - our amazing view is back! When we bought our property, we enjoyed an incredible view of the harbour, the sand dunes and the ocean beyond, but sadly, little by little, our neighbour's pines and eucalyptuses grew to the point that the view from our house was seriously compromised. Luckily the Lodge is higher up the hill and always maintained its view.
Now the view is better than before, because we had never been able to see North Head from our house and now its pretty much the focal point. Naturally, we waste lots of time just soaking it all in, but we think that's time well spent!
[Read More...]
Hokianga Heritage
February 28, 2017
One of the great things about running a business like Kokohuia Lodge is that we get to meet some really interesting people. None more so than our recent guests, Leigh and Nickie Overton from Wanaka. Leigh is the great great grandson of Mary Bumby, the sister of John Bumby, who was the Wesleyan Superintendent at The Mangungu Mission House at the time of the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi.
Both John and Mary were present (and hosted some 2000 to 3000 guests) at the second signing of The Treaty at Mangungu on February 12th 1840. It is interesting to note that more Rangatira signed The Treaty at Mangungu, than had signed it six days previously at Waitangi.
Another interesting fact about Mary is that, in 1838, on her way out ...[Read More...]
Its been a great season at Kokohuia Lodge!
May 1, 2016
As we head into May, its a good time for us to look back on our season, which is only now starting to wind down.
Each year that we've been open, our season has started earlier and ended later, which is extremely gratifying. This season was no exception - to our great pleasure, we were heavily booked from the beginning of October, right through to the end of April. We've also started to get some solid bookings for next summer, so the omens are good.
We now have beehives and recently had our first honey harvest. It has been great fun learning about bees - they're very cool animals! Apart from producing some of the nicest honey we've ever tasted (but we would say that) the bees also helped us to have a bumper fruit crop this summer.
Aft...[Read More...]
Kokohuia Lodge receives great review in Conde Nast Traveller
March 3, 2015
We're thrilled to bits that Kokohuia Lodge has a had a great review in Conde Nast Traveller, the world's leading travel magazine. Its a real coup for us and follows a stay in the Lodge by freelance journalist Ralph Bestic, who also writes for The Tatler and The Australian Financial Review.
Articles like this are great for us because they generate a profile for us in many ways.
In addition to appearing in the March 2015 edition of the magazine, a link to the article was included in Conde Nast's email newsletter to its international database and also appears on the CNTraveller.com website. ...[Read More...]
Kokohuia Lodge is now 5 Star!
July 29, 2014
We're delighted to announce that Qualmark visited us last week and have awarded us a 5 Star rating in the Boutique and Lodge category! (We were previously 4+ Star in the Guest and Hosted category). We're particularly pleased as this has been a major goal for us. In addition, Qualmark has reconfirmed our Enviro Gold Award.
Gaining a 5 Star rating also has a broader significance, as Kokohuia Lodge is now the first 5 Star accommodation on The Hokianga.
The visit from the Assessor is of course only a snapshot in time - we've actually got a whole list of further improvements planned. The first of these is scheduled for next month and involves...[Read More...]
Romantic Getaway Package
July 14, 2014
Winter Breaks At Kokohuia Lodge
ecostore Australia Promotion With Kokohuia Lodge
November 29, 2013
Over the past year Kokohuia Lodge and ecostore NZ have done some fabulous promotions together. And now, we're pleased to announce that this is spreading across the Tasman!
ecostore is a fast growing business in Australia, bringing environmentally friendly cleaning and household products to the massive Australian marketplace. Naturally Kokohuia Lodge is delighted to be involved with this.
ecostore have just gone live with a fabulous on-line promotion giving one lucky couple a prize of a 3 night stay at Kokohuia Lodge, including airfares, car hire and a romantic meal for two served to them in the Lodge. ([Read More...]
A Fantastic Promotion With ecostore and Huckleberry Harvest!
August 19, 2013
Our friends at ecostore continue to do very cool things with us.
Before we moved up to The Hokianga, we were regular shoppers at Harvest Wholefoods on Richmond Road in Grey Lynn, which is part of the group that includes Huckleberry Farms. We like their food and their values. So we were really pleased when ecostore suggested a cross-promotion with the Huckleberry Harvest stores.
Check it out - couldn't be a better fit for us really.
...[Read More...]
