Matakauri Lodge Head Chef Jonathan Rogers delivers an exquisite take on modern New Zealand cuisine. Sourcing the very best produce from local suppliers in the Central Otago Region, Rogers and Matakauri Lodge offers a unique dining experience in a luxurious setting.

As Rogers showcases local seasonal produce with clean, fresh flavours in an a la carte menu that changes daily, guests are left to appreciate the stunning mountain panorama and a truly world-class wine menu.

Rogers says his cuisine is heavily influenced by the landscapes and environs of Central Otago.

Guests can choose from a variety of dining spaces, including the Library, Dining Room, Remarkables Patio, Courtyard and Lounge, with private dining arranged upon request.

Matakauri Spa is located on the edge of a pine forest, with uninterrupted views to Lake Wakatipu and towering Cecil Peak.

The Spa team is committed to personalising your treatment to meet your specific needs and can guide you in choosing a spa experience to suit your individual requirements.

Matakauri Spa has two treatments rooms, each with a shower, changing room and private deck surrounded by gorgeous native flora. For a complete wellness experience finish off your spa treatment with relaxation time in the adjacent sauna, hot tub or heated swimming pool.

Every day, Matakauri Lodge welcome families of all sizes and ages. With accommodation options, experiences and packages designed expressly with families in mind, your Queenstown family holiday is ready and waiting.

Jet-setting families have chosen Matakauri for the generations with the educational, interactive and destination inspired activities a firm favourite. Once on property, families delight in the convenience of having attentive, family-friendly staff to curate their stay from experiences, day trips and dining to all the little details in between. 

Accommodation at Matakauri
We have a number of options available for accommodating children, including in-room, adjoining rooms and neighbouring suites.

Dining with Children
Matakauri staff delight in catering for families, offering a children’s menu with classic favourites as well as the chef’s creations sourced from local farms.

Family Milford Experience
A favourite of the Robertson family, lift up from the high-country station nestled behind Matakauri lodge as you are whisked away on a fabulous family excursion to the Milford Sound and beyond. Land at an Alpine Lake, enjoy wine and cheese or coffee and muffins, all while driving Eco Golf Balls off an extreme mountain driving range. Explore a rainforest walk at Milford Sound and meet the native lancewood tree. Take a short hike through striking high-country or cast a spinner at elusive trout. This ‘Robertson Family Heli Special’ will have you away for three hours as you enjoy three spectacular Milford Sound landings.

Cecil Peak, The Ultimate Tee
Set atop Cecil Peak, this par 3 golf experience in Queenstown has four tee boxes for the altitude golfer to use to attempt their hole in. With Over The Top helicopter access only, players will fly in, play the hole, and revel in this stunningly unique experience before flying out.

Lake Rere Guided Walk
Make the most of the incredible Queenstown landscape with a guided walk

Depart with your fishing guide from the Matakauri Jetty for a leisurely three hour troll across Lake Wakatipu to Elfin Bay. Any spoils collected enroute will be filleted ready for smoking on the shores of Lake Rere to accompany your picnic lunch.

Take a tramp to picturesque Lake Rere in the Greenstone Valley and follow in the footsteps of early Maori, who on Pounamu gathering expeditions, discovered it was the easiest route from the West Coast to the Dart Valley. The 14km loop track is suitable for moderately fit walkers who are happy with a four to five-hour hike on good quality shingle track.

Enter ancient beech forest and proceed through private farmland high above the shores of Lake Wakatipu for stunning views of Mt Earnslaw to the north. As the track climbs gently away prepare to be dwarfed by natural rock consisting of huge sandstone and schist boulders.

Continue to the north of the lake before stopping for a bite to eat on the shores of Lake Rere. As the track continues over a footbridge crossing the Greenstone River look out for large trout that are often spotted here.

Southern Lakes Art and Wine Tour
Discover unique art and refined wine in this exclusive tour of Queenstown and its surrounding district.

Depart from Matakauri with your guide and travel to Arrowtown where you will visit to Jenny Mehrtens studio and the Nadine Milne Gallery. Visit with sculptor Shane Woolridge before travelling on to the Bendigo wine region where Domenic Mondillo will welcome you on-site at Mondillo Vineyard. Walk the vineyard and learn about viticulture in the Central Otago region before a delicious lunch at Mt Difficulty or Carrick wineries. Next visit Kinross Station in the Gibbston Valley sub-region, enjoy a tasting with Grant Taylor of Valli Wines and discover the birth of the “Pinot” industry in Gibbston Valley. After a quick stop at the Wet Jacket Cellar Door located in the historic Bendemeer Woolshed, indulge in an exclusive painting session with renowned local artist, Graham Brinsley.

Southern Lakes Photography Tour
There are a multitude of wonderful sights within this diverse and dramatic landscape and the Southern Lakes photography tours will get you to the right spot, at the right time. The guides have years of experience as professional photographers and their expertise is invaluable when it comes to making the most of each scene. What’s more, they’ll get you there in the most memorable way, be it via luxury European automobile, exhilarating helicopter ride or thrilling jet boat experience.

Gibbston Valley Wine Tours
Whether you have a few hours or a few days, our partners Black ZQN can craft a bespoke itinerary that will give you a taste or an in-depth exploration of this very special wine growing region.

The Gibbston Valley is one of the most spectacular wine regions you are likely to encounter. Vineyards are patchworked precariously between dramatic schist ranges and the steep Kawarau River gorge.

A relatively young wine growing region, the first vines were planted in the early 1980s by legendary local character Alan Brady. The land was rugged and uncompromising, home only to high country sheep farmers, and most thought he was crazy! But the landscape reminded Brady of the Bourdeaux region in France and a romantic notion turned out to be a fabulous reality.

Today, Central Otago is regarded as one of the top three wine regions in the world for Pinot Noir. The challenging high altitude conditions have led to consistently superb wines and many international awards. More than 70% of the grapes grown here are pinot noir; the rest are other cold climate varietals including pinot gris, riesling, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc.

Whether you are an aficionado or recently introduced to the world of wine, your tour of this spectacular region can be curated specifically to you. 

Milford Ultimate Heli Tour
Relaxed and unhurried, this remarkable tour takes off from Queenstown and flies over high-country peaks before venturing into the World Heritage listed Fiordland National Park, a wonderland filled with towering mountains, waterfalls and native rain forest. Take in the majestic Milford Sound; stroll along the wildlybeautiful, uninhabited West Coast beaches, see the blue ice glaciers high in the Alps and the discover the fiords' coastal rain forests. As you touch down at each of the four landing sites, the helicopter will shut down so you can enjoy the eeiry quiet of the mountains.

Day Walks at Matakauri
Matakauri Lodge is excellently positioned for guests to make the most of the stunning day walks that the Queenstown region has to offer.

Starting from the lodge, guests can discover the tranquil Bob's Cove and Wilson Bay through an average hike through the beech trees on the waterfront.

Moke Lake is another stunning, day hike that is only a short distance from the lodge.

This popular short, undulating walk through grassland is surrounded by mountains and goes right round the lake. Head up into the mountains to Closeburn Station, where you will start a hike around the lake. Walk across the boardwalks, around the farmland and end up back at Moke Lake base.

See the stunning reflection of the surrounding trees and landscape in lake's water; a truly special sight that is repeated in very few places around the world.

Four Lakes Guided Mountain Biking
Ride through some of the world's most beautiful scenery on this half day, guided cycle tour

This spectacular ride starts from the Glenorchy Road where a single-track hill climb zigzags up to the low saddle, where it connects with the Moke Lake Road and passes the first of the four lakes, Lake Kilpatrick. From there it is onward to Moke Lake – one of the Southern Lakes most beautiful, small hidden mountain lakes.

A full support vehicle is on hand and after refreshments, riders can take a single track around Moke Lake and on past Lake Dispute. From here it’s a beautiful downhill ride to Wilson’s Bay and Lake Wakatipu to meet your support vehicle. Suitable for intermediate cyclists allow 5-6 hours.

Southern Alps and Mt Aspiring
Fly high with spectacular aerial views of the dramatic Southern Alps and Mt Aspiring landscape. Discover an abundance of life and history; a rich tapestry of early Maori culture, history of the iconic gold rush era, life on the rough Central Otago high country and the glaciers themselves. On this exclusive offering for lodge guests, you will enjoy lunch at leisure with a picnic of the finest regional foods matched with award winning New Zealand wines as you immerse yourself in the silence on Mt Aspiring Park.

Exclusive Skippers Canyon Adventure
Explore Central Otago’s gold mining history in this unique Skippers Canyon tour. Enjoy the scenic drive to Arrowtown and through a local river on your way to Skippers Canyon. Wind down the narrow hand-built mining road through this historic gorge and stop at the water’s edge where you are collected by jet boat. Enjoy the canyon and river from an entirely different perspective. Pan for gold or discover the remote settlement that housed the canyon’s miners.

Heli-Skiing
This is the ultimate Queenstown ski experience. Access exclusive terrain with untracked virgin snow when you charter a helicopter for a day of guided heli-skiing in the Southern Alps. Enjoy unlimited runs during a day that is designed just for you as your guide leads through diverse terrain for intermediate to expert skiers and snowboarders. 

Golf in Queenstown
JACK’S POINT
With a backdrop of 2300 vertical metres of the Remarkables mountain range and an armchair view of outstanding lake panoramas, Jack’s Point Golf Course New Zealand is visually spectacular. As an 18-hole, par 72 championship course it offers golfers an exciting challenge with five tee positions to choose from, providing all golfers with an unforgettable golf experience.
MILLBROOK
Millbrook is simply an unforgettable NZ Golf experience in Queenstown. With extraordinary photo opportunities at every turn, this 27 hole championship course offers three fabulous nine hole courses. Set in a natural amphitheatre, Millbrook utilises the superb physical terrain to provide an outstanding golf experience for players of all levels.

TSS Earnslaw Steamship Cruises
Enjoy a stately cruise across Lake Wakatipu to the Walter Peak Station on the far shore. Visit the engine room and see the original coal-engine fire stoking techniques in action or sit back and relax, listening to the boat’s pianist and taking in the stunning scenery. At Walter Peak Station you can enjoy a sheep shearing and working dog demonstrations, high tea or barbecue lunch before re-boarding for the return journey back to central Queenstown. 

Bungy & Canyon Swing
Queenstown lets you discover its stunning landscape from blood-pumping, unique vantage points.

AJ Hackett is where it all began, the adrenalin rush of falling off a ramp or bridge secured only by an elastic cord tied around your ankles. Choose from the original 43m bungy jump bridge at Kawarau Bridge, step off at The Ledge - a stunning platform 400 metres above scenic Queenstown - or take on the phenomenal Nevis suspended 134m above the canyon floor.

AJ Hackett also offers the world’s highest swing, across a 70m long suspension bridge. With a starting point 160m high, 70m freefall and speeds of up to 200km/ hr. This thrill ride is guaranteed to make you forget everything else. If that sounds like a bit too much, try the Shotover Canyon Swing. At 109m high, you can choose your jump style and guides will allow you time to build up the cou

Jet Boating in Queenstown
Queenstown’s Dart River jet boating safaris combine breath-taking World Heritage scenery, exhilarating wilderness jet boating, Maori heritage and inspiring adventure.

Choose the safari option that suits you best. Enjoy the diverse adventure travelling deep into the pristine Dart River Valley and spectacular Mt Aspiring National Park. If you're after an adrenaline kick, then the iconic Shotover Jet is the one for you.

A great option for a busy schedule, the Shotover Jet is closer to the lodge and offers and short, sharp and adrenaline filled ride through the Shotover River. 

Heli Wine Tour
Discover the sprawling beauty of Central Otago wine country with a spectacular bird’s eye view before calling in to collect a Patriarch of Otago’s Pinot Noir from his private vineyard. Delight as he shares with you his extensive knowledge of the region’s history, soil, wines, climate and grapes as you helicopter to a selection of local vineyards. Meet the winemakers, pipette from the barrel and discover the heart of alpine viticulture, savouring the flavours over a remote gourmet luncheon.