Hapuko Lodge Tree House, New Zealand

The Lodge and Tree Houses, designed and built by the Wilsons, offer a unique and inviting environment, even down to the furniture, a good deal of which Peter and Tony designed and had crafted locally, with the help of three skilled furniture makers. Particular attention was paid to the beds, even down to the design of the mattresses, with the result that many guests said that their beds are “the most comfortable beds in the South Island.” The Lodge’s five Tree Houses are unique, nested 10 meters or more above the ground in the canopy of a native Kanuka grove. There are three 1-bedroom Tree Houses, and two “Family” Tree Houses which both have a master bedroom in the upper branches and a somewhat smaller bedroom in the lower branches. The Tree Houses are designed to complement the natural environment, as a bedroom in the sky. Their large windows bring the tree canopies into the bedroom and provide impressive views of Kaikoura’s dramatic mountains and the Pacific Ocean.