Blanket Bay... another NZ stunning lodge

[amaroo]

New Zealand does many things well ... one of them is luxury lodges. I've done trip reports on Huka Lodge and Wharekauhau lodge ..... this year it's Blanket Bay!

 

[amaroo]

mrsamaroo was already in the land of the long white cloud attending a boring conference .... I've just come over the fun bits

The trip started with the standard flight down to the Sydney F lounge

BNE-SYD





I did wonder if the Ron’s were on that speedbird



Yes I know! After all these visits .... I still order it



The duck dish... pretty tasty



This is the only place I eat pav....

 

[amaroo]

SYD-WLG

Not the most engaging crew, went through the motions with minimal happiness or smiles. Unusual for NZ crew IMO.

Menu is getting on - 7 months seems like a long time to keep serving the same stuff.

 

[Daver6]

Either the white balance is a bit out on those last few photos or they're actively trying to stop people injecting in J

So probably a little bit of a silly question....but that's never stopped me before. What makes a lodge a lodge?

 

[amaroo]

I had a day to kill waiting for the conference to end. So I checked out the Muesum of New Zealand - very interesting place. The Gallipoli exhibition is excellent!

Gallipoli: The scale of our war







For lunch I settled on afternoon tea in the IC club lounge - surprisingly very nice!



For dinner we ate at Ortega ... very popular restaurant.

 

[amaroo]

Either the white balance is a bit out on those last few photos or they're actively trying to stop people injecting in J

So probably a little bit of a silly question....but that's never stopped me before. What makes a lodge a lodge?

Dodgy lighting in that cabin.

Not 100% sure... location, scenery, hospitality, F&B offer, luxury, facilities.... price.

 

[love_the_life]

I had a day to kill waiting for the conference to end. So I checked out the Muesum of New Zealand - very interesting place. The Gallipoli exhibition is excellent!

Gallipoli: The scale of our war

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For lunch I settled on afternoon tea in the IC club lounge - surprisingly very nice!

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For dinner we ate at Ortega ... very popular restaurant.

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Last time we were in Wellington we visited Te Papa to see the ANZAC exhibition - think it was pretty recent at that time. Found it very moving and interesting to see a NZ slant on the campaign.

 

[love_the_life]

......

So probably a little bit of a silly question....but that's never stopped me before. What makes a lodge a lodge?

The price

Only kidding. I think there’re a lot of things that go into it.

 

[amaroo]

Next morning we were on a one class NZ service to ZQN



Views on approach into ZQN



Hire car sorted we drove towards Glenorchy ... this drive would have to be one of most beautiful drives anywhere in the world.

Some nice digs on the Lake.



Lake Wakatipu .... absolutely stunning drive.

 

[amaroo]

Before driving into Blanket Bay we pushed on towards Glenorchy (7 min drive) from lodge.

Not much in Glenorchy, but it’s a lovely little village.



The view as you drive into Blanket Bay





The view as you enter the lodge.

 

[love_the_life]

For interest. how long did the drive from Queenstown take? It looks like the road hugs the shore of the lake.

 

[amaroo]

For interest. how long did the drive from Queenstown take? It looks like the road hugs the shore of the lake.

45 mins. The road follows the lake the whole way - one of best drives I've done.

 

[tgh]

We drove that road a year ago.. pretty as...

 

[love_the_life]

45 mins. The road follows the lake the whole way - one of best drives I've done.

It looked a pretty spectacular drive.

 

[VPS]

Absolute cracking photos again - need to upgrade my iPhone but probably won't get one like yours

 

[LadyC]

Definitely some fantastic photos there. I haven't got to that part of the world yet but am keen on doing a bit of a driving tour around once MasterC is a bit older.

 

[craven morehead]

New Zealand does many things well ... one of them is luxury lodges. I've done trip reports on Huka Lodge and Wharekauhau lodge ..... this year it's Blanket Bay!

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Looks bearable

 

[amaroo]

Chalet Suite.... comes complete with a steam / shower combo - total bliss!!!

 

[amaroo]

The main lodge...

 

[love_the_life]

Room looks wonderful though is it a king size bed - a bit hard to tell.