Rendered speechless _{by Madelaine Empson}

Mackenzie District (Summer 2024)

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Norman Vincent Peale.

On a Friday morning, my friend Alex and I shot for a sky full of stars. Leaving Welly on a drizzly, cloudy day, it was hard to fathom that on the other end of our flight to Te Waipounamu, a clear sky might be waiting for us. We were bound for the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, where the stargazing is second to none.

Touching down in Christchurch with a long drive stretching ahead of us, our first port of call was Apex Car Rentals. I’ve always found this company to offer reliable and affordable rental cars, but I didn’t know they could deliver the goods on the banter too! We had crack-up chats with our customer service officer Nick as he set us up in our shiny wheels. And with a smile on our speed dial, we were off.

Our first stop was Geraldine, a South Canterbury town I’d read about but never visited. We zoomed (responsibly!) from Christchurch – a two-hour drive – to make the last hour of The Harcourts Geraldine Festival, but alas! Aggressive rain foiled our plans and those of the hundreds of stallholders who had to pack up early, taking with them Alex’s dreams of procuring the perfect cowboy hat for the summer festival circuit. Not to worry: shopping on the quaint main street would yield three promising options for him to mull over as we wandered over to the Humdinger Gin Distillery and tasting room.

In their fourth year of operation, husband-and-wife team Andrew and Saskia are relatively new to the gin scene but have already made waves on the juniper sea. We enjoyed sampling and learning about their creations, starting with the classics: the light and easy-drinking Dry Gin by Andrew and the more juniper-forward, ginger-kissed Citrus Gin by Saskia. His and hers, if you will! Then we moved onto the dry-style Pink Gin, crafted with local raspberries and blackcurrants from Barker’s of Geraldine just up the road. I often find pink gins to taste a bit medicinal, which was not the case for this soft, sweet, silky drop of summer. In fact, it was my favourite for its subtlety. The Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin, a bouquet of vanilla and cinnamon that pairs perfectly with ginger ale, was Alex’s favourite, and we both loved Humdinger’s Sloe Gin, the only one in the country that’s made with 100-percent New Zealand-grown sloe berries – from Mum and Dad’s place up in North Canterbury, no less!

After saying our contented goodbyes to Andrew and Saskia, we couldn’t skip Barker’s Foodstore and Eatery, which was jam-packed (please relish the pun) with customers enjoying the fruits (okay, I’ll stop!) of this famous family farm. With a make-your-own-cordial station, heaps of preserves to spoon, a well-stocked cabinet brimming with goodies, an espresso machine steaming away all day, and gorgeous grounds out back, Barker’s is a major drawcard for Geraldine and an absolute must-visit.

Just as predicted, I was enamoured by the charm of this small town with a big heart and found it difficult to leave. But, we had another gorgeous destination ahead of us: Lake Tekapo. A cowboy-hatless Alex (who planned to check out every shop he could on our 600-kilometre round trip before committing to such a significant purchase) took the driving and, miraculously, the weather cleared on our way. One atmospheric shift later, from a windswept and battered brown landscape to fluoro-green plains bathed in yellow sunshine, the brilliant blue of Lake Tekapo unfolded before us.

We were beyond lucky to stay with Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes, who put us up in a pristine two-bedroom apartment right on the lake with luxe amenities and views to die for. Smack-bang in the middle of town and directly above the popular T.L.V Restaurant & Bar, the Lakefront Suite is so well designed that you can’t hear a peep out of the hundreds of people passing below. Rather than go out for dinner, we decided to wind down and catch the sunset over the lake from this peaceful and private nook, perfect for peoplewatching – never mind the birds!

After a refreshing sleep in plush king beds, more refreshments were in order. Crystal-clear waters, anyone? Even though it was four degrees outside, Alex went bowling out the front door straight into the lake for an early morning dip! I was only game enough to join him on the shore, rugged up amongst the iconic lupins, which had just started to bloom. For brekkie, we headed to the stylish Jack Rabbit, a café overlooking the lake and the instantly recognisable Church of the Good Shepherd, which is arguably one of New Zealand’s most-photographed buildings. Every photographer and influencer dreams of a morning like the one we had in Lake Tekapo, and I’ll certainly be dreaming about such a picturesque place for many years to come. The only gripe? No cowboy hats! 

Perhaps we’d have better luck in our next destination: Twizel. 45 minutes later and we were pulling into High Country Salmon farm for the Catch-A-Fish Experience. A keen fisherman, Alex took the reins and the rod on this one. He wrestled a 3.5-kilo Chinook (or king) salmon while I snapped photos, squawked, and squealed, much to the amusement of our knowledgeable guide Phil. I might be a little squeamish, sure, but I had an excellent experience at this renowned salmon farm, shop, and café that floats on the glacial waters of Wairepo Arm. High Country Salmon was one of Alex’s trip highlights – mine was eating the spoils afterwards!

On that note, we had arranged a choice stopover and salmon swap-over with John at Rata Smokehouse, who kindly took our fish in exchange for so much mouthwatering smoked salmon that we nearly turned pink trying to eat it all over the next few days. No regrets. This locally owned and operated smokehouse smokes your fish and game for you and is clearly a Twizel institution, evidenced by their extensive gallery of happy hunters proudly showcasing their catches at John and Helen’s place. The reviews of his service and smoking call John “a master at what he does” and speak for themselves!

Car packed with one salmon and one very happy Alex, who had forgotten all about his hat mission at this point, we set off to visit one final attraction before we would settle into our accommodation for two nights of spectacular stargazing.

While NZ Alpine Lavender had only just opened for the season and so didn’t have any lavender to wake up and smell yet, it was still well worth visiting the largest organic lavender farm in the Southern Hemisphere. After all, who could go past a cute store filled with lavender treats and fresh lavender ice cream? I demolished a velvety smooth lavender and raw honeycomb ice cream and was promptly hit by a sugar high that made me cry with laughter – just like a little kid again! Alex, who initially thought I had lost my marbles, soon realised he had a heck of a lot of fizzy energy to burn from his ice cream too, and so we found ourselves cackling and skimming stones on the shores of the alpine Lake Pukaki until we felt sane enough to drive again. This would be the last time we’d hop in the car until it was time to go home… once we got to SkyScape, we simply couldn’t bring ourselves to leave – and not just because of the gourmet breakfasts and platters they provided! I’ll do my best to try to explain why, but words and pictures alone can’t do justice to the beauty of this place. Forgive the cliché, but it’s genuinely something that has to be seen to be believed. I’m even tempted to print blank space to express how it rendered me speechless!

SkyScape offers three SkyBeds nestled into the native scrubs and tussocks of Mackenzie District – specifically, Omahau Hill Station. Immaculately appointed inside and out, with a two-metre-long stainless steel-cedar bathtub to soak in the stunning surrounds, this inimitable, family-owned accommodation is made of glass so that you can watch the sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and stars from the remarkably comfortable, crisp king bed. With each hidden SkyBed camouflaging into the landscape, you cannot see another building nor soul, but you can see for miles and miles and more, all the way across the expansive countryside to a horizon fringed by rolling hills and gleaming snowcapped mountains. It was from here that a golden supermoon came careening out to greet us on the first night, so blindingly bright that it dimmed the stars. It didn’t matter one bit: what a spectacular sight to behold. The second night, we were blessed with not only clear skies, but a shier moon – one not so bright, nor so early to rise – and got to experience hours of stars the likes of which neither of us had ever seen before. Standing under these stars and taking it all in, alpine air filling my lungs as my breath caught in my chest, I shed a tear. I felt so small in such a vast universe, and there is so much beauty in that. Staying at SkyScape was nothing short of life changing. The kind of experience that alters your perspective for the better and forever.

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging on the cowboy front! Our road trip back to Christchurch Airport was punctuated by one very important stop in Fairlie, where Alex finally found the one hat to rule them all and happily wore it all the way back home to Wellington.