Our Queenstown Stay - Kid Free, Cold and Completely Restored

There's a particular kind of holiday that puts you back together. Not the kind you come home from needing another week to recover - the kind where you land somewhere cold and quiet and remember who you are underneath the school runs, the shop floors and the mental to-do list that never actually ends.

This was that. (And somewhere in the middle of it I also ended up on a mechanical bull. But we'll get to that.)

A bit of context: between three businesses, three children at three different schools all under eleven, and Gus - our three-year-old, who runs the household like a tiny dictator with excellent hair - Jamie and I had been promising ourselves this trip for a long time celebrating our wedding anniversary and birthdays. We'd just spent seven days campervanning through northern New South Wales with all three kids, which is its own kind of holiday and a very particular kind of tired. So when we dropped them back in Brisbane and pointed ourselves at New Zealand for a mid-year, parents-only reset, we felt we'd earned it.

Where We Stayed

Hulbert House first, which is the sort of boutique accommodation that makes you think you've wandered into a Nancy Meyers film - cosy, grand, that good kind of grandmother-glamour. Philip was our host, and he's impeccable (ask him about his celebrity stories, they're enthralling), along with Sam, who I can only describe as a Spanish supermodel moonlighting in hospitality and making excellent coffee. We took full advantage of happy hour, sat by the fire and played chess - which is exactly what a fireplace and a glass of something are for.

Then Lindis Lodge - remote, romantic, and genuinely extraordinary. The drive alone earns its keep.

One night an astronomer walked us through the southern sky, which I'd recommend even to people who are certain they're not interested in stars. Another night we dined in the dark, fully immersed in the food and wine (get the wine flight, trust me). There was pool. There was chess. There was a hot tub we braced ourselves into around midnight in the freezing air, because when else are you going to. The rooms are exquisite, expansive and romantic, and the bagel breakfast deserves its own paragraph. The team - an international hospitality crew - were flawless, right down to quietly and very politely disagreeing about who was going to win the World Cup.

We also hiked. Properly, in the cold, with the whole valley laid out below us and not another soul in it. The colours were something else - browns, deep chocolates, blue rivers, snow-capped peaks - a feast for the eyes, and funnily enough almost exactly the palette we're leaning into in the women's boutique right now. There's also a gym looking straight out over the braided river, which I used far more than I expected to, largely because of the view. After a big first six months, this was the first time in ages that time seemed to properly stand still -long conversations, no small person yanking on my Shylee Rose gold hoops.

We finished at Rōki, which may be the most quietly luxurious place I've ever stayed. Understated in the way that costs more, not less. Champagne on arrival at the Terrace, with the Remarkables sitting right there in the window. The rooms felt like home - heated floors, freshly baked cookies topped up every day (we had no shame about this) - and we took full liberty with breakfast in bed. The beds were the kind you sink into and don't want to leave, and each morning we woke up over the Queenstown lake and the snow-capped mountains genuinely wondering if we were still dreaming.

Their spa is world class, and the rituals are the reason to go. I had a lymphatic energy ritual that I'd rank among the best massages of my life (ask for Leah). I've had a professional interest in being well looked after for some years now, and this cleared the bar comfortably.

The Detours

We stopped at Tarras on the way up to Lindis for coffee and a wander through the local stores. On the way back we somehow always end up in Cromwell, because Jamie physically cannot drive past Sanga's for a gourmet pie (trust me, you won't regret it). We gave Arrowtown a few hours too - shops, food, the whole thing - then took a slow detour through Dalefield, where we drove around solemnly selecting our next imaginary holiday house. Everyone does this. Not everyone admits it.

The Wine

For Jamie's birthday I booked a private day tour with Latitude 45, and we were collected in the latest Range Rover by a chauffeur-guide named Alan, who was lovely and did not once comment on how much we were enjoying ourselves. If you do one thing properly in Central Otago, make it this.

Shop Jamie's look here!

 

Our itinerary:

Felton Road first - one of Jamie's favourites. He went in a devoted Pinot man and came out converted by the Chardonnay, which he is still processing. We walked the vineyard, went down into the barrel tunnels, and were shown a 1997 Pinot Noir that he held with the reverence of a man meeting a childhood hero.

Mt Difficulty next, where the views do most of the work. We heard all about their wine and truffle degustation nights and were promptly told they were booked out — which is frankly the correct response to something that good.

Then lunch at Carrick, where Kerry looked after us and we had the most extraordinary warm haloumi and vegetable salad and a lamb shoulder to remember, surrounded by views and fireplaces. A come-back-with-the-children place, one day.

Last was Pyramid – fairly new and rugged off the beaten track family  run winery, with the lovely Adam showing us around a beautiful vineyard. We bought a few bottles to bring home. Some for us, some for friends. Obviously.

The Eating, the Drinking, and the Bull

Toast and Oak for Jamie's birthday eve - brilliant team, extensive list – amazing lamb. Walter's Sports Bar for a few AFL games, cheering on the Lions with the locals. And the Lodge Bar whenever all else failed, for Champagne, more oysters, and a vegetable ragu I'm still thinking about.

One night at Bardeaux we felt a 6.6 earthquake - 40km north of Te Anau, as we later worked out from a phone alert none of us knew how to read. It happened, it passed, everyone kept drinking. Very New Zealand.

And then there was Cowboys. After a few bar hops we ended up there with some other Australian tourists, and someone bet me I couldn't ride the bucking bull. Ladies, I lasted more than twenty seconds. I have absolutely no idea where it came from. Jamie has the footage, and I've asked him to think very carefully about who ever sees it.

And because no night like that ends responsibly - Fergburger, standing up, on the walk home.

One night we squeezed into The Cow - a tiny, centuries-old stone cottage of a pizza joint tucked down a Queenstown laneway, all low ceilings, open fire and elbow-to-elbow tables. The pizza and pasta were exactly the kind of unpretentious, garlicky comfort you want after a big day in the cold, and the whole thing felt like eating in someone's very cosy (very Italian) lounge room.

The Terrace at Roki was our final meal before the airport: Chef Paul's signature roast chicken with salad and polenta chips. A very good last supper, and one I'm already plotting to recreate.

What I Packed

I'm a chronic over-packer trying to reform, so this time I gave myself one rule: fewer things, but things I genuinely love and would wear on repeat. Here's what actually earned its place in the bag:

• Vince long chocolate wool-cashmere coat - the anchor of the whole trip

• Gianvito Rossi chocolate knee-high boots - worn everywhere, regretted nowhere

• Faliero Sarti Calexico-exclusive silk-modal leopard scarf - the piece that lifts everything

• AGOLDE pinch-waist jeans in Renew - a staple, and perfect for the plane

• Avant Toi gold cashmere V-neck - quietly the most-worn thing I brought (I like it in a medium)

• Philippe Model PGAL Kaki sneakers - new, and immediately essential for hiking days and long drives

• Soft Goat roll-neck cashmere knit in Greige – this colour goes with everything warm, lightweight, and ideal under coats

• Calexico Birkin belt - of course

• Shylee Rose Gold Hoops – make it country but make it glam

The lesson, as always: fewer pieces, better pieces, and a coat that does the heavy lifting. Shop the edit here.

Coming Home

We missed the children - enormously, constantly, in that way where you're having the best time and still can't wait to get home to them. But there was so much room on this trip to just talk, and laugh, and remind each other why we fell in love in the first place. Kid-free, uninterrupted, no small negotiator at the table.

We came back genuinely restored. Full of laughter, extraordinary food, very good wine, and the best memories. I know a trip like this is a real privilege, and I didn't take a single second of it for granted. But I came home rested enough to walk into the back half of the year with actual enthusiasm rather than grim determination - which, as any working parent knows, is worth its weight in gold.

First stop: home, for four very big kisses from our beautiful babes and our fur baby.

Second stop: Calexico. LFG.

Nicky xx

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