When time or budgets are too tight for a long holiday, wrangle a gap in the diary, grab an overnight bag and take a mini-break.
When time or budgets are too tight for a long holiday, wrangle a gap in the diary, grab an overnight bag and take a mini-break. Here are five tips for making the most of your night away
1 Head somewhere different from home
Our getaway plan involves leaving town just before the worst of the weekend rush-hour traffic brings commuters to an exhaust-huffing halt. So with that and a road less travelled in mind, we waste no time in heading south on State Highway 27.
Live in the city? Pick an out-of-theway destination down a country byway. A country dweller by day? Spend a bit of time in the big smoke. Change, as they say, is as good as a week’s holiday lounging by the pool … or thereabouts.
En route we snack on Fairtrade bananas and a couple of chilled organic colas. We’re driving a Mini Cooper D Countryman – one of the first four-door Minis to arrive in the country. This model has racing strips, a sunroof, GPS and a black dashboard with loads of dials and switches. Our colas fit snugly in its dinky drink holders and soon we’re past the worst of the congestion and are able to wind up the dial a little.
2 Drive an eco-friendly car
By far the best way to take a road trip is in a car that’s fuel-efficient, clean-burning and no bigger than it needs to be. The Countryman is what you’d call a crossover utility vehicle, combining the Mini’s distinctive handling – whatever it is that makes it ‘go-cart-like’ to drive – with the traction of a sports vehicle. It’s certainly travelled some way from the super-basic, skinny-tyred Minis of old. The ample boot is big enough for our hastily packed (and overstuffed) suitcase. Best of all, it’s light on gas, with a fuel efficiency of just 4.4L/100km and a CO2 rating of 115g/km.
Dairying may not be the most eco of industries, but it’s green in the literal sense of the word. Some researchers claim that looking at greenery helps relieve stress, and gazing out the window as the Waikato’s verdant landscape flashes by, I feel the pressure of the working week slip away.
3 Stay somewhere a bit special
Playing with the on-board navigation system and cranking up the stereo keeps us sufficiently amused and pretty soon we’re pulling up at the gates of the Hamurana Lodge, just along the road from Ngongotaha, on Lake Rotorua’s western shore.
The lodge is set in large established grounds with clipped hedges, native gardens and a donkey paddock. One of its best features is its long and winding tree- and giant bamboo-lined driveway.
There’s a friendly welcome from lodge owners Fred and Alex as well as an old black lab, who pads slowly over to nuzzle my leg. Over a glass of wine and hors d’oeuvres, our hosts explain their vision for the lodge. The interior has recently been given a bit of a makeover and the couple have introduced a number of changes to reduce the estate’s carbon footprint. All fresh produce is sourced from the Bay of Plenty region or grown onsite in an organic vegetable and herb garden. Other food, such as ice cream, jams and chutneys, are carefully homemade by the lodge’s new chef, Charlie Brown. Local providers include Ciabatta Bakery, Rotorua-based boutique brewery Croucher Brewing and Magills Meat in Te Awamutu. The lodge has the Qualmark Silver Green accreditation, awarded to environmentally-conscious tourist operators.
During our scrumptious dinner Charlie pops out of the kitchen to explain how he’s incorporated his own cultural influences into the menu. His enthusiasm is infectious and he clearly gets a lot of satisfaction from working with fresh produce from the lodge’s garden, including native vegetables such as Te Maori and Huakororo potatoes. “It’s about getting back to basics, and spending quality time with the food,” says Charlie.
My entrée is a perfect combination of Kikorangi cheese, roasted beetroot and walnuts, and is followed by tender lamb and an ample helping of organic veggies. After too much pudding and possibly a little too much Hawkes Bay red, I make the short trip up the stairs, where the bed is wide and the sleep is deep.
4 Check out the local natural attractions
After waking next morning to the sound of birds, we indulge in a big breakfast and take a walk to see the lodge’s gardens and newly planted berry and fruit trees.
About ten minutes’ drive up the road is Hamurana Springs, the deepest natural freshwater spring in the North Island. Its source is in a rocky area of Department of Conservation land, which is also a wildlife sanctuary with birds such as the black teal, scaup, herons and the endangered dabchick. The Hamurana Springs Track takes about 20 minutes there and back – through native bush and a stand of massive Californian redwoods. Impossibly clear water flows downstream from the source to the northern end of Lake Rotorua about a kilometre away.
5 Make stops along the way
Reluctant to leave too soon, we dawdle for a while in the village of Ngongotaha, famous for its trout fishing. Finally homeward bound, we make another stop at the Kaimai Cheese factory in Waharoa, just north of Matamata. The distinctive red and grey Kaimai building is a replica of a historic New Zealand 1920s butter factory – though with a few modifications to accommodate the modern predilection for flat whites and alfresco dining. It sits about fifty metres from where the original Waharoa Dairy Factory once stood, and three of the four Oregon roof trusses are from the original building – the fourth is a replacement as the original was a casualty in a battle with borer beetles.
There’s a cafe there if you want lunch, or you can just grab a coffee and watch the cheese-making process through large glass windows before stocking up at the deli counter with delicious wedges of cheese and other goodies. It’s difficult to choose, but eventually we leave, our bags bulging with selected cheeses, factory bargain blue cheese offcuts, parcels of streaky free-range bacon and gourmet pork sausages from the Te Aroha-based Frank’s Sausages.
After a few more stops at roadside stalls along the way, we arrive home with fresh produce and a fresh perspective. We’ve been away for just a day but it seems longer.
Vital Statistics
Mini Cooper D Countryman
Purists might find the idea of an all-terrain, boat-hauling Mini a bit of a stretch – but that’s because it is. There are three seats across the back and the interior is longer, wider and taller than that of any Mini before it. Passengers no longer need to clamber head-first into the back seats, as it has four doors (five if you count the hatchback boot). A tow bar and four-wheel drive are optional extras. Mega Mini, maxi Mini … whatever you call it, this car still manages to be fun to drive in the way classic Minis are. Parked in downtown Matamata, it turns the heads of locals wandering past.
