Were it not for the breathtaking yet recognisable view of Lake Hāwea to our right, the scenery as we approach The Lindis Group’s Mt Isthmus Villa could be mistaken for the Scottish Highlands. Serrated, snow-capped hills are splattered and slashed by light from the setting sun. A flock of sheep has escaped through an open gate and is nervously running away from our slowly moving car. There’s a sense of remoteness here, of rural isolation, despite being a mere 15 minutes from Wānaka and a couple of kilometres from the nearest town.
Although the surroundings lend themselves to rugged outdoor pursuits (all of which can be arranged by the villa’s staff — hiking, trail running, kayaking, fishing), the accommodation is an entirely comfort-driven affair that places the emphasis on relaxation. That much becomes apparent as we walk through the door and are welcomed by lodge manager Jonathan Mazzucco, and front of house, cocktail master and certified philosopher (I kid you not) Lizzie Howell with champagne and a cheese board.
The interior is faithful to The Lindis Group’s signature brand of relaxed luxury. Warm timber, brass accents, pendant lighting, soft textures and lush fibres are combined with artworks and sculptures that abstractly complement the environment and the award-winning architecture that has become synonymous with the hotelier’s sister property across the lake —The Lindis, in the Ahuriri Valley. Unlike that property, which offers lodge accommodation in individual suites — the Mt Isthmus Villa is hired out as a whole. Up to eight guests have at their disposal a concierge and a front-of-house staff member, as well as a private chef to prepare breakfast and dinner.
The villa has four generously sized bedrooms (each with its own impressive bathroom), a media room, a games room and a main social space that would be the envy of any entertainer. In here is the piéce de rèsistance — a pyramid-shaped, glass and steel gas fire set into the concrete floor and surrounded by sofas. This bonfire-like detail creates a connection to the elements outside while keeping you cosy and warm as you settle in with one of the many intelligently selected page-turners available. I lose myself in one of them while stealing glimpses at the changing moods of the lake and hills, from stormy and foreboding to reflecting the last embers of the wintery Otago sun.
Dinner time is approaching and Howell mentions the magic word: ‘cocktail’. She forages the property for ingredients for her drinks, which include delicacies like snowberries — a local offering similar to elderflower — and rosehips, which she uses to make daiquiris. She recommends a Lindis gimlet concocted using Little Biddy Gin, elderflower liqueur, lime juice and mint leaves from the on-site herb garden, shaken over ice and served with foam and a mint garnish in an elegant coupette glass.
We’re introduced to head chef Dane Archery, who’s here to light up the evening with a culinary feast that turns out to be an absolute highlight of our stay. Prior to arrival, guests are invited to answer a questionnaire about their likes and dislikes, and the staff go to great lengths to curate meals accordingly. Regardless of the customisation, Archery underpins each menu with a couple of musts, using every part of the animal or vegetable and sourcing the majority of ingredients from within a 25km radius. There are, of course, unavoidable exceptions, such as spices and seafood, which they purchase from Ocean Speared, a company that catches to order. Mazzucco mentions that waste minimisation is key throughout The Lindis Group’s entire operation.
Each course of our meal features highlights from local producers, whose enticing stories of terroir and legacy, history and belonging are eloquently shared by the chef. The meal incorporates apples from a nearby tree, and hazelnuts and truffles from a magic little spot in Bannockburn, plus exceptional wines. Dry ageing, preserving and fermenting are techniques that run throughout the menu. An appetiser of fresh oysters with apple vinaigrette and a dollop of fermented dairy is followed by an entrée of crayfish, hazelnuts and radishes that have been preserved in a layer of local tussock — a Tunisian tradition, apparently. There’s tortellini stuffed with fermented birch bolete mushrooms and fermented macadamia cream — a hint of Southern India comes to the fore here. The main dish is a perfectly roasted Lumina lamb — the type that’s fed only on chicory and clover for the last 35 days of its life — and Jerusalem artichokes topped with herbs and a single poached oyster. Dessert is a clever soufflé that combines one ingredient from each of the previous courses topped with damson plum sorbet made in Wānaka.
The fact that the mastermind of such a feast is cooking solely for the private party of you and your crew helps the conversation flow freely (everything from ancient cooking traditions to quantum physics), and Archery says his main pleasure is tweaking and reassessing, improvising and customising to surprise guests throughout their stay.
On our second night, he accomplishes that by preparing a soulful, home-cooked fusion of cuisine from locations including South America, my birth land; Colombia and Brazil with a hint of South Africa and, of course, plenty of Otago. The main dish is full of umami flavour as it uses lamb garum that has been fermenting for an impressive six months before it reached our plates.
It’s such touches of personal service that go a long way towards making a stay at Mt Isthmus Villa utterly exceptional. The staff are consummate professionals who can read the room and guests’ predilections with amazing sensitivity and tact.
It’s the most divine scenery you could ask for, and from the ridgeline, there’s a collective gasp.
Next morning, after waking to a view of the sun rising over the lake and casting its game of shadows over the snowy hills, we’re picked up by the all-star crew from Glen Dene, the adjacent station. We roll out for a 4WD tour of the Lindis land, which they use for grazing sheep, cows and deer, among other purposes.
The tour begins at the lowest end of the 3000-hectare property and zigzags its way up to the first of two wood log cabins that the team uses as refuge or lunch spot. The drive — which at one point graduates to the more precarious fun of a farm buggy — takes us past deer and sheep and over a stream where young trout are said to swim later in the year. It’s the most divine scenery you could ask for, and from the ridgeline, there’s a collective gasp as we see part of the land formation that gives this property its name — the isthmus that separates Lake Wānaka to the east and Lake Hāwea to the west. As we drive down, fantails flit above the road ahead of us, while stags watch from vast swathes of bracken, tussock and rocks.
There’s no better way to end our stay here than by turning out all the lights in the villa once the crew has left for the night, walking out into the pitch black and sitting in the hot spa beneath the Milky Way blazing across the sky. One can only imagine the inspiring scenery that spring is likely to unleash on this lucky piece of paradise.
Words: Federico Monslave
Images: Supplied, Joe Thomas
