Giving ‘dropping in for a bite’ a whole new meaning, Heli-lunching at Wharekauhau is a luxurious and memorable experience.
Heading off for lunch by helicopter sounds improbably glamorous – the kind of thing you’d do if you were a model, movie star or maybe Donald Trump. It’s slightly surreal then for me to be sitting in a helicopter on Queen’s Wharf waiting for lift off to Wharekauhau Lodge. Not to mention a little nerve-wracking.
According to my pilot, helicopters are as safe as houses, or at least as safe as a plane. “It’s actually more comfortable for passengers, as a helicopter is far more stable in a strong wind than a plane” he says. And I have to agree. We take off in a breezy nor’wester and there’s barely a shake.
Depending on the wind, the chopper follows one of two routes over the Rimutakas – in a nor’wester you float across Wellington harbour then it’s straight up and over Mt Matthews, the highest peak in the Rimutaka Range. In a southerly, there’s a slightly longer route out towards Pencarrow Head, swooping back over Palliser Bay.
Either way the view is dazzling.The city, harbour, mountains and Wairarapa plains unfold in a grand panorama, but it’s the small things that delight. Suburban backyards, a fishing boat on the harbour, a campsite in the Orongorongo valley – from a helicopter you see everything.
Barely 12 minutes after taking off from Queen’s Wharf, we alight on the front lawn outside Wharekauhau Lodge, to be greeted with a glass of Palliser Estate bubbly. We have 2½ hours before the chopper comes to take us back so there’s plenty of time for a tour of the grounds and the house.
Built in 1998 in the style of an Edwardian country house, the lodge is surrounded by gardens, parts of which date back to the 1840s. Inside, vast windows make the most of the view over Palliser Bay and an immaculate front lawn, where a few privileged pukeko strut their stuff. If you were to stay the night (and it’s tempting) you’d be in one of the private chalets discreetly tucked away in the grounds. Each has a fireplace, a four-poster bed and views of the sea – even from the bath.
Lunch is a leisurely three-course affair in a private room upstairs in the main building. The menu offers a choice of three dishes per course including such seasonal delicacies as grilled South Island scallops, vine-ripened tomato tart, salmon, duck and the estate’s own Wharekauhau Texel lamb. It’s fine dining, cooked with flair and attention to detail right down to the warm home-baked bread. The wine list, a sizeable book, is also devoted to the local product. I notice a long list of Wairarapa wines, including some from the smaller vineyards.
After coffee there’s just about enough time for a wander under the kowhai in the back garden. They’re a blaze of yellow and filled with fat, squabbling tui that can’t quite drown out the sound of the returning helicopter. It’s back to the city and reality, but with the compensation of another look at that fabulous view.
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