It’s Like 1987 All Over Again

It's back!

What a historic day for New Zealand Rugby! 

Down here in New Zealand, its been a busy month for most of the HCP member properties.  Cities around the country have been hosting the world and it’s our belief that our owner/operators have succeeded in showing the world just how friendly and professional service in New Zealand can be!

This past Sunday the mighty All Blacks succeeded in bringing the cup back home for the first time since the rugby World Cup began here in 1987!

It has been an amazing World Cup and an amazing labor day weekend.  Now, it’s back to reality as all of our properties get ready to receive the many guests that will find themselves in New Zealand for our summer high season.

Congratulations to the All blacks, from all of us here At HCP!

And just for good measure, here is a dose of true Kiwi and Maori culture.  This is, in our opinion, the best All Blacks Haka ever performed.  From their game against South Africa in 2005!

Culture and Heritage

Maori Performing a Haka in Christchurch

New Zealand is said to have the shortest history of human settlement of any country in the world, with the first residents arriving only in the 13th Century. Though this history is indeed quite short, there is more to the history of New Zealand than just the story of human settlement. In fact, that same remoteness that caused New Zealand to be the last major landmass on Earth to be inhabited also led to a unique set of flora and fauna, much of which still remains to this day, and that never fails to impress visitors.

The land itself is of course famously breathtaking, with countless vistas of beautiful mountains, green hills, and stunning seascapes. And because New Zealand is not densely populated, you can often feel as though you yourself are one of those early settlers, discovering this beautiful land that seems untouched by human hands. Throughout the country there are signs of the ancientness of the land, from fossils that were left when the landmass was still under the Pacific Ocean, to “living fossils” like the tuatara, the last living member of the dinosaur clan, with all its near relatives having died out 65 million years ago.

But not all of New Zealand’s history is of the prehistoric variety. The Maori who first populated the country have left a legacy in the form of their rock paintings and in their culture itself, which is still very much alive even after the incursions of Europeans in the 19th Century. Throughout the country, but especially on the North Island, there are Maori maraes (community centres, for lack of a better translation) that invite visitors to experience the Maori culture for themselves. Such a visit is an unforgettable introduction to the ways of the Maori, as it begins with a “powhiri” or formal welcome, which begins with a challenge by a warrior after which a group of woman will sing a welcome chant, signaling that you may enter.

The history of European settlement is also easily experienced, whether in the northern town of Russell, site of New Zealand’s first European settlement (and the first capital of colonial New Zealand), or in Wellington, the national capital (and for you trivia freaks, the southernmost capital in the world), with its incredible Te Papa museum, which covers every conceivable aspect of New Zealand’s history. On the South Island, you can visit the town of Oamaru, one of the country’s best-preserved historic towns, where the streetscape of intricately designed Greco-Roman banks and shops remain as they were in the town’s heyday in the late 19th Century, when the town’s population exceeded that of San Francisco. Back on the North End, the town of Napier is considered by many to be New Zealand’s Art Deco capital, as the town was completely rebuilt in the style of the day after the devastating earthquake of 1931.

Throughout New Zealand there are also gardens, museums, historic monuments and other cultural sights to capture the imagination, so why not add some of these stops on your next visit to our beautiful country? Here are some of our member properties that offer cultural and heritage sights nearby:

• Wharewaka Lodge: Maori Culture
• The Lake House: Maori Culture
• Titore Lodge: Heritage Attractions
• Awatuna Homestead: Heritage Attractions
• Bed of Roses: Heritage Attractions
• Tairoa Lodge: Gardens
• Pen-y-bryn Lodge: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Endsleigh Cottages: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Hillington: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• The Summit Lodge: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Briarwood: Heritage Attractions
• McCormick House: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• The Peppertree: Gardens
• Old St Mary’s Convent: Heritage Attractions
• Wairepo House: Gardens
• Miharotia House: Wildlife
• Muritai Manor: Gardens
• Stoneleigh Lodge: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Clearview Lodge: Gardens
• Balleymoney: Gardens
• Stuart Manor: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Five Rivers Retreat: Gardens
• Fletcher Lodge: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Highland Peaks: Heritage Attractions
• Safari Lodge: Heritage Attractions, Gardens
• Sails Ashore: Heritage Attractions, Gardens

Wineries and Wine Tourism

Ostler Vineyard, Waitaki Valley

It may be hard to imagine today, but as recently as the 1980s, there was hardly any wine produced in New Zealand, and certainly no wine of export quality. But around that time, industrious New Zealanders began to realise that the climate, the soil and the terrain in several regions of the country were highly suited to viticulture, and before long, vines began to be planted, and to thrive, in places like Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa in the North Island, and Marlborough and Central Otago in the South Island, and in a very short time, the wines that emerged from this distant wine making outpost began to win awards and compete actively with wines from the more established vineyards of Europe, North America and Australia.

Today, visitors from around the world come to New Zealand to visit the wineries that dot the landscape, many of which have cellar doors, where you can not only taste, but also buy the wines that catch your fancy, and where you can also experience some varietals other than Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, which so dominate New Zealand’s wine export trade.

Many of the Heritage & Character NZ Portfolio members are in close proximity to vineyards–and some even have their own!–so if you’re interested in incorporating wine tourism during your New Zealand holiday, our owner/hosts will be happy to see to it that you experience the best that their areas have to offer.

Click on the links below to learn about some of the H&C properties that are located in wine-making regions:

• Titore Lodge, Bay of Islands
• Bed of Roses, Kerikeri
• Waipoua Lodge, Kauri Coast, Northland
• Bronte at Prospect Hill, Auckland
• Wharewaka Lodge, Taupo
• Endsleigh Cottages, Havelock North
• Hillington, Havelock North
• The Summit Lodge, Gladstone
• Briarwood, Greytown
• McCormick House, Picton
• The Peppertree, Blenheim
• Old St. Mary’s Convent, Blenheim
• Miharotia House, Kaikoura
• Muritai Manor, Nelson
• Shelbourne Villa, Nelson
• Wairepo House, Nelson
• Stoneleigh Lodge, Christchurch
• Clearview Lodge, Christchurch
• Balleymoney Homestay, Christchurch
• Stuart Manor, Christchurch
• Five Rivers, Southern Lakes
• Pen-y-bryn Lodge, Oamaru

Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the blog of Heritage and Character New Zealand Portfolio (you can call us HCP for short)! We are a group of some of New Zealand’s finest owner-operated bed and breakfasts, lodges, and small inns, located throughout the beautiful land of New Zealand. Perhaps you have seen us in such films as “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, or have seen the incredible scenery during coverage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Whatever your reason for finding us, please consider yourself very welcome, and enjoy a browse as we bring to you some of what we think makes New Zealand the world’s most beautiful country!