Furneaux Lodge

HOTEL OVERVIEW

Okay, so here’s the thing about Furneaux Lodge – you’re not just booking a hotel room, you’re basically stepping into one of New Zealand’s best-kept secrets tucked away in Endeavour Inlet. I mean, when your address is literally just “Private Bag 381” you know you’re dealing with somewhere properly remote. This place sits right on the edge of Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds, and honestly? The boat ride to get there is half the adventure.

The lodge itself has this wonderful sort of understated elegance that you don’t always find in boutique places. They don’t bother with star ratings because, well, what’s the point when you’re the only accommodation option accessible only by boat or seaplane? The rooms – and I’ve stayed in a couple over the years – face directly onto the sound, and you’ll wake up to that mirror-perfect water reflecting the bush-covered hills. There’s something incredibly peaceful about hearing absolutely nothing except the occasional splash of a fish jumping or the call of a tui in the morning. The staff actually live on-site (where else would they go?), so they genuinely know every walking track, every good fishing spot, and exactly when the weather’s about to turn.

What really gets me about this place is how they’ve managed to feel both remote and civilized at the same time. The restaurant sources a lot from their own garden and local suppliers – the green-lipped mussels are ridiculous, by the way – and they’ve got this deck that stretches right over the water where you can sit with a Central Otago pinot and watch the light change on the sound. You know what though? Bring layers. Even in summer, it can get properly cool once the sun disappears behind those hills, and there’s often a breeze coming off the water. The walking tracks around here are spectacular if you’re into that sort of thing – the Endeavour Inlet Track connects right from the lodge if you want to stretch your legs, and they’ll pack you lunch if you ask nicely. Just be prepared for some steep bits and muddy patches after rain. The whole area is part of the Queen Charlotte Track system, so you get serious trampers passing through, but also plenty of people like me who just want to wander around for an hour or two without breaking a sweat. That 9.2 rating makes perfect sense when you consider you’re getting genuine wilderness access with proper beds and excellent food – it’s exactly what you’d want from a place this special, assuming you can handle being properly disconnected from everything for a few days.