Mini-break
A true Hawke's Bay gem
If, like me, your heart was set aflutter not by the penetrating gaze of Leonardo DiCaprio in
The Great Gatsby, but by the regal glamour of the era, then Meadowood House in Hawke’s Bay is surely the place for you. Built in 1936 by the Janett family to replace a homestead destroyed by the earthquake of 1931, it is an architecturally designed wonder of Hollywood proportions – and yet one of the most peaceful and endearing places I’ve stayed.
The Janett family, and later the Paynes, were true nature lovers. Sheep farmers by trade, they sculpted the area around Meadowood House, near Fernhill, into a park-like setting and today it provides perhaps the only examples of mature native bush left on the Heretaunga Plains. It was the fabulous kahikatea, rimu, rata and a stand-alone kauri that first tempted the current owners, Shelly and Mark Witchalls, to buy the property. When they came across it in 2013 the house itself was derelict and had been deserted for some time.
“Shelly had a real vision,” says Mark. “This is all a result of her hard work. She could see the house, how it could be, and decided to take it on as a project.”
The couple, who both have a background in hospitality, bought the property and spent the next seven months on the refurbishment.
“I did a lot of research,” says Shelly. “The Art Deco and Art Nouveau movements strongly influenced the Napier rebuild, but there are subtle differences between the styles and the periods, and I wanted to get it right.”
As well as reading plenty of books, Shelly sought advice from local historians and interior designers. She spent much time buying the right pieces of period furniture, and even had the wallpaper specially printed in America using traditional designs and techniques. But the result is far from novelty; Meadowood is a modern and comfortable home with a vintage flair that harks back to a more genteel era. It has been done so well in fact, that in December 2015 the house won an award for its restoration.
There are four bedrooms and two ensuites that can be hired separately on a bed-and-breakfast tariff, or the whole house can be rented for a group or special event. The modern kitchen offers a fridge full of local produce, homemade muesli and a coffee machine for guest use; although baristatrained Shelly, who lives onsite with Mark, will often pop in to make the morning coffee.
The first morning we are there it’s already 25° by 8.30am, so we throw open the double doors off the dining room and have breakfast on the veranda. Despite being just a few minutes drive down a private road from State Highway 50, the house and grounds are blissfully quiet – bar the cicadas, a few birds and the quiet chomping of the estate’s black sheep.
If you like wine, then Hawke’s Bay certainly isn’t a bad place to be, and it hasn’t escaped our attention that Crossroads vineyard and winery is just a two-minute walk next door. Open seven days from 11am, the team at the cellar door is happy to accept drop-ins and talk you through the excellent selection of wines, including syrah (a bit of a local hero) and gewürztraminer (a favourite of mine). They are Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand accredited and we enjoyed watching the sheep, who act as natural lawnmowers,
Meadowood is a modern and comfortable home with a vintage flair that harks back to a more genteel era
among the vines.
Back at Meadowood, it’s time to hop into the car and explore Napier. But not just any car. Our ride today is a dark blue 1930 Packard and our guide is Sue Page from the Art Deco Trust. Formed in 1985, the Trust works to promote the city’s heritage and help with preservation.
“The earthquake and resulting fire in 1931 destroyed the city,” explains Sue who, dressed in full 1930s get-up, drives us around the landmarks. “But it also gave us a gift: land.”
Once a city built on an isolated peninsula, the 1931 earthquake didn’t just level Napier’s buildings, it raised the sea bed by 2.7m, draining the lagoon and providing some 2230 hectares of farmland. This ‘gift’ made Napier, a former political outpost, a viable location for a bustling city and 18 months of hard work later it was reborn into the Art Deco city we see today.
“Many of these buildings are privately owned,” Sue explains as she shows us around the old National Tobacco Company building, now a furniture showroom. “We have no power to enforce their preservation, but hopefully by making them an attraction we can encourage it.”
After getting changed we head for dinner at another vineyard, this time Craggy Range, built in the shadow of Te Mata Peak. After a hearty meal in blazing 32° heat on the terrace, we head up Te Mata to watch the sun set.
Back at Meadowood, one of the things that really strikes me is how still and cool the house is. You can feel the heat of the day reverberating off the walls as we turn the key, but inside is a perfect 17° despite the lack of air-con, making that comfortable bed all the more relaxing, and reminding me how sad I will be to leave.
We have a last breakfast in the sunshine and a walk around the grounds, which Shelly is restoring, before heading to the airport. Discovering Meadowood makes me glad I’ll be hitting 40 soon – what a wonderful place for a party that will be.