A covered portico leads through double entry doors to The Great Room featuring open-plan living with an impressive central limestone fireplace, dining table and bar. Mingle with the chefs as they prepare breakfast and dinner in The ‘Grand Café’, an indoor and outdoor kitchen. Floor to ceiling windows open to large terraces with an open fireplace and Tuscan inspired courtyard offering breathtaking views.

Steps lead down to the 20-meter heated swimming pool; the loungers entice one to relax in the sun. Unwind in the relaxing Cedar hot tub – you may even spot a Ruru – a little owl. The podocarp forest attracts a myriad of beautiful New Zealand birdlife.

The main lodge offers stunning accommodation options – beds draped with fine Vida by Seneca stonewashed linen, intimate gas fireplaces, indoor and outdoor dining spaces and outdoor baths tempting one to relax under the night skies. Suites feature dressing room, ensuites with underfloor heating walk-in showers, indoor and outdoor tubs and delicious Sans Ceuticals body products.

Kotare cottage, its serene décor inspired by the ocean, offers views to the kitchen garden, native bush and across rolling hills to the sand dunes and ocean

The Kereru Suite, inspired by the local flora and fauna, overlooks the pool, native bush and rolling hills to the sand dunes and distant ocean.

Ruru Barn – imagine – an iconic kiwi barn with a contemporary spacious interior inspired by the surrounding botanical gardens. This double height barn features an intimate wood-burning potbelly fireplace and lounge area, private indoor and outdoor dining facilities, and a brazier on the limestone paved courtyard – the perfect spot to watch the sun go down. And a luxurious outdoor cedar bathtub to soak under the night skies.

Garden to Table is the essence of the food offerings at Te Arai Lodge, using organic produce grown on the estate, complimented with fresh local products, line caught fish, organic free-range chicken, grass-fed beef and more. Enjoy pre-dinner drinks and antipasti around the fire in the living room or outdoors on the terrace. Choose to dine in the main lodge, the courtyard overlooking the kitchen garden. Or dine privately in the intimate dining tables outside your spacious suite.

Relax in the pool or the cedar hot tub. Attend a yoga or movement class followed by a tea ceremony in the yoga studio. Maybe a relaxing massage or beauty treatment and unwind in the sauna. Play petanque, take the sand bikes for a spin, hike or walk along spectacular coastal waterways or play golf at Mangawhai Golf Club. Your hosts can arrange hire of surf boards, surfing lessons and SUP boards. Relax indoors in the media room – a cosy den for watching a movie.

Enjoy coffee, lunch and a tour of the chocolate factory at Bennetts of Mangawhai or head down to Matakana to experience the famous Matakana Markets, cinema and boutiques, galleries, culture trails wineries and more.