Central Plateau
Forgotten places, fine food, postcard views and off-grid adventures surrounded by nature in the Ruapehu region.
Summer holiday in the Ruapehu District
Fine dining on top of the world
It is possibly the craziest restaurant location in New Zealand. The Chef’s Table, reopening in January at Blue Duck Station, Whakahoro, is accessible only by hiking, four-wheel drive or helicopter.
Situated upon one of the highest points of Blue Duck Station the views from here are expansive. On a clear day it offers a panorama that encompasses the snow-dusted peaks of Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngāuruhoe. Other days you’re looking at the different shades of the wilderness following the ridges from green to grey as far as the eye can see. “The mood is different every day you are up here which gives you a reason to come back,” says Blue Duck Station’s Dan Steele.
Chef Jack Cashmore is Steele’s business partner for the fine-dining restaurant, which offers a 10-course degustation menu from January to June. The menu will be crafted with food farmed, foraged and produced at Blue Duck Station. “It’s in keeping with the Station philosophy, which focuses on doing right by nature and being sustainable. We have the opportunity for our restaurant to give something back to the land from which the produce came,” says Cashmore.
Steele and Cashmore tested the concept with a pop-up restaurant from January to March 2019 to gauge the response and see if it was physically possible to offer this kind of experience in the location – and it was.
The new cedar-clad glass-fronted restaurant will seat just 10 people. Three luxury cabins connected with boardwalks below, offer the opportunity to stay overnight after dinner and rise with the sun.
At night it’s a dark-sky sanctuary and top spot for star-gazing. Astronomers have already camped overnight on this spot where native bats also put on flying displays and the call of the kiwi pierces the silence.
The restaurant is a passion project for Cashmore, former head chef at London restaurant Anglo, and what he and Steele have created for The Chef’s Table is a whole different experience. “It’s telling a story with food, and the view changes with every dish,” says Steele.
Guests arrive at the restaurant via a bush safari offering insight into the area’s rich Māori history and life of the WWI pioneer farmers as well as visiting a waterfall and spotting rare blue ducks.
There’s so much to do
Blue Duck Station comprises 3000 hectares and is a working farm where conservation is at the heart of everything husband and wife Dan and Sandy Steele, and their team do (read more page 14).
“I always tell people if you come to Blue Duck Station you’ll live longer,” says Steele. “It’s clean air, clean water, healthy food, good exercise, mountain-biking, kayaking, walking, horse riding.”
That includes jet boat trips along the Whanganui River to the Bridge to Nowhere, and a high chance of seeing a rare blue duck (whio).
The blue duck can only survive in pristine water, which makes it an indicator species of the environmental health of the area that the Steele’s strive to protect. These ducks love white water, which means you will find them near picturesque waterfalls on the property, or on the Retaruke River, which you can paddle through part of the station.
Today there are five lodges and a café (next to the former settlement post office) that dishes up hearty fare and is a communal gathering place for good yarns.
Blue Duck Station is on the Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail; the Te Araroa Trail and the Whanganui River. People also come here to fish and hunt – taking part in environmental culling and helping bring balance to Mother Nature. Blue Duck Station also produces its own honey. “We’ve got a fair bit going on here,” says Steele. blueduckstation.co.nz
The Ngāuruhoe window at Chateau Tongariro has one of the most magnificent views in the world.
Built in 1929, architect Herbert Hall had the foresight to frame the mountain views with floor-to-ceiling windows in the neo-Georgian manor.
Today Chateau Tongariro retains its glamour and it’s the perfect place to enjoy a decadent high tea that can also be made gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian. The three-tiered spectacle of perfectly sized treats will leave you full but not overly so, while drinking in the view with a glass of Champagne and/or tea. Or cosy up by the open fire under the chandeliers and book a room here. chateau.co.nz
An easy but magnificent walk to do from here is Taranaki Falls. The entrance to the track can be found behind the hotel. Allow 2 hours for the 6km loop, which traverses tussock land with views of Ngāuruhoe and Ruapehu, the Chateau and a spectacular waterfall.
If time is limited, check out nearby Tawhai Falls, a 15-minute return walk.
The Tūroa side of Ruapehu also has many short but wonderful walks including the easy 4km trail to Waitonga Falls, the park’s highest waterfall at 39m. And Lake Surprise (5-hour return) takes you down an old lava flow and glacial valley to the alpine lake.
After your hike stop for the night, or for a meal and a soak in the hot pool at the Powderhorn Chateau, Ohakune. Its wooden exterior and interior has been constructed from mostly locally sourced materials that provides an authentic mountain resort experience with comfortable rooms. You won’t want to leave. powderhorn.co.nz