“Mommy, I don’t wanna leave this castle on the hill…” — as my daughters call it. While it’s not literally a castle, it might as well be! We found this awesome New Zealand gem on AirBnb and couldn’t believe what we saw when we got there! The photos posted online just don’t do justice. The moment we set foot into this house, we were simply in awe. The house itself is only a few years old and very updated, but what’s even more stunning is its backdrop! It was like opening a super big LCD TV once you walk in the living room, only realizing that what’s on screen is the lakes and rolling hills of the Catlins in New Zealand! They actually officially call it the Niagara Ridge Retreat Getaway on AirBnb, but I think I loved what my daughters called it better! 😉
This house is actually bigger than it looks in the picture. Consisting of 3 spacious bedrooms, 2 large bathrooms, a laundry room, tons of storage, and a beautiful open-concept living room, with a panoramic view, that spills open to the beautiful patio overlooking that million dollar view! I wish we had extra time to enjoy their spa pool sitting outside the deck, as I’m sure we would probably never leave at that point! 🙂
The kitchen was fully equipped with all the tools you need to prep a full meal! Pots, pans, plates, glasses, spoons, forks, knives, and was even happy to see the owners left some cooking oil and some flour in the pantry! The host went above and beyond our expectations, ensuring that our stay was comfortable and fun.
Johanna, our lovely host, was simply on point with all her directions to find the place. More over, she made check in super easy with an automated lock box upon arrival and a booklet of instructions about pretty much everything you needed to know! We had a bunch of questions before we visited but got super speedy replies from her via the AirBnb messaging system! She’s simply Amazing!
The one disadvantage for some people may be the lack of wi-fi available, or better yet, the no cellphone coverage at all! With that being said, much of New Zealand has very limited wi-fi connection throughout the country. The closest cell phone coverage is Curio Bay, which is about 5 minutes drive. We on the other hand, didn’t mind being disconnected from the the wireless world, and took advantage of the time well spent together as family. Fun board games were also provided by the hosts, which we enjoyed as a family. We were disconnected from the virtual world but it forced us to connect with natural beauties of New Zealand and really a great reminder of how beautiful the world is and how truly grateful we were to have that opportunity.
Light pollution down here is pretty low, which means you would see plenty of stars at night! Unfortunately, the weather was not on our favor, but was still blessed to see a pretty gorgeous sunrise! 🌅
Although we spent only one night here, my daughters continue to speak about their experience, and hands down their most favourite memory of our road trip. Even with just one week in New Zealand, we made sure that this was one of our pit stops on that long road trip of ours! (CLICK HERE to read more about our week in Southern New Zealand). I can’t speak highly enough about the host as she truly takes good care of the place, keeps it spotless, and gives you the feeling that everything is taken care of! We surely hope to be back again for a second visit some day!
5 stars ★★★★★ in our books!! 🙂