Rhapsody in green

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This was published 12 years ago

Rhapsody in green

Well framed ... Otahuna Lodge with daffodils in bloom.

Well framed ... Otahuna Lodge with daffodils in bloom.

From the grand estate of Otahuna Lodge, Julietta Jameson views the heritage gardens of the Canterbury region.

The approach to Otahuna Lodge builds like a symphony. It begins at the descent into Christchurch, with its patchwork horizon of fields, rivers and mountains. Beyond suburbia, the highway gives way to roads leading to the village of Tai Tapu, set among green fields and rugged rises; a century-old stone church, picturesque rugby field and a little pub are among the oldest in New Zealand.

Roads turn into country lanes lined with poplars, willows and hedges. And the lanes lead to Otahuna.

The soundtrack turns to crunchy gravel on a long drive that snakes through a canopy of trees, past sheep behind a sweep of white fence. And beyond a bend is a splendid white Queen Anne-style mansion framed by lawn and, depending on the season, a carpet of daffodils or beds of roses.

Otahuna was built in 1895 as the home of Sir Heaton Rhodes, a parliamentarian, stockbreeder and horticulturist known for his philanthropy, his interest in daffodils and love of a comfortable life.

This was the Rhodes family's home until Sir Heaton died in 1956, after which it became a hippie commune, a monastery and a less-than-perfect bed-and-breakfast, which American tourists Miles Refo and Hall Cannon stayed in and fell in love with. They bought the property in 2006 and reopened it the following year, transforming the fine old mansion and its grounds into a haven of authentic New Zealand style. Famous for its gardens and views, Otahuna is a destination in itself.

On arrival, my bags and car are whisked away, Refo and Cannon usher me inside and the effect is immediate. Life is always like this; I'm to the manor born, aren't I?

The sense of quiet luxury is seamless and feels effortless. Recent history makes this all the more remarkable. Behind Otahuna's vegie garden, at the foot of a pine plantation, lie two broken chimney tops from the house, the remains of 10 chimneys brought down during an earthquake in September 2010.

Six thousand roof tiles needed replacing and each chimney required reconstruction in earthquake-proof materials. There was substantial damage where the chimneys crashed through the roof. Windows were broken and sprinklers ruptured, flooding some interiors, and the historic smoke house, now a wine cellar, partially collapsed.

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Otahuna was closed for four months - not long, considering the scale of reconstruction, the aftershocks and the demand for tradesmen.

Then, a month after reopening, on February 22 last year, a second earthquake devastated Christchurch. At Otahuna, 13 kilometres away, there was significant damage to interior walls and ceilings. The place closed again, for intensive seismic strengthening.

"We were fortunate in that our insurance policy was commercial and not residential, so we were not beholden to the processes of the earthquake commission," Refo says. "We had the ability to start [work] immediately.

"We were very emphatic that we wanted it to be done quickly. It's our general belief that if you have a building, whether it be heritage or not, and you can't use it, then what's the point? Why should you spend four years conserving a building to be true to what it was when you could spend one year and begin using it again?"

Refo and Cannon steered a course between heritage sensitivity and pragmatism. "So many people get mired in the details of, 'Oh, well, this window would have been four millimetres wider originally and you can't get that so we're going to have to ship it off to Australia and have it made again,"' Cannon says. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that you look at those windows and say 'Well, the sash features are not what they would have been originally.' It doesn't matter. Really."

The property's most distinctive features were undamaged. The hand-carved kauri staircase; panelling in rimu, another native wood; original leadlights and 15 beautiful working fireplaces were all spared in the disasters. So, too, was the collection of New Zealand contemporary art that Cannon and Refo have curated, considered one of the most important of its kind in New Zealand.

The lodge reopened for a second time in July last year. It was spared in the sizeable quake in December and the ongoing aftershocks.

Travellers come to stay in Otahuna's seven individually themed suites, to experience the hospitality and fine in-house dining and launch into regional attractions.

Chef Jimmy McIntyre creates a different five-course degustation daily using local produce and vegetables from Otahuna's garden, matched with often-rare New Zealand wines. Mine begins with crayfish bisque with tiger prawn, pea and lemon salsa, paired with a Blackenbrook Nelson pinot gris. This is followed by sesame-seared tuna with a salad of avocado, mandarin, radish and hoisin (with a Chard Farm Riesling from central Otago). Then, a sirloin of Banks Peninsula beef with a ragout of mushrooms from Otahuna's mushroom house (teamed with a Hawkes Bay syrah). And it ends with fine local cheese and a caramelised banana tart, with a 2006 Marlborough Johanneshof Noble Harvest Riesling.

While Otahuna has atmospheric nooks in which to dine a deux or solo, the dining room - with its historic wallpaper and candelabra - is a theatre for a shared experience. At the table with me are the owners, a pair of New York advertising executives and an English couple who have driven their vintage car around the world.

Breakfast - with home-made breads, preserves and eggs cooked to order, is served in the sunny kitchen or the adjoining terrace, made from the bricks of the old chimneys.

Between meals, there's a pool, tennis court and spa. Fancy heli-skiing? Or golf, fishing, wine tours and helicopter flights to the alps departing from the Otahuna lawn? All can be arranged.

Closer to home, the region's renowned private gardens demand exploration, starting with a tour of Otahuna. The head gardener, Steve Marcham, is restoring the property's 12 hectares, a combination of wild woodland, manicured beds and vegetable and fruit cultivation, declared a "garden of national interest" in 2010.

I venture further afield, about 20 minutes' drive from Otahuna, to Frensham, a master class in horticultural harmony, with 350 varieties of roses.

A little further afield is Ohinetahi, the property of renowned architect Sir Miles Warren, and I'm thrilled to be shown around by Sir Miles himself. Amid the manicured banks and ferny glades, he points out substantial garden ornaments that were shifted by the earthquakes. The house at Ohinetahi, once two-storey, is now a more modest though still handsome single level, the top floor destroyed in the quakes.

One morning I head to the centre of Christchurch to visit the city's botanic gardens. They're intact but the damage to the city is confronting.

After seeing this, it seems nothing short of a miracle that Refo and Cannon were able to save Otahuna twice. Staying at the grand mansion, talking to Sir Miles and seeing the botanic gardens blooming tell me something about endurance and that the exquisite fragility of everything means all of it should be savoured.

Julietta Jameson travelled courtesy of Relais & Chateaux and Otahuna Lodge.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Air New Zealand has a fare to Christchurch from Sydney and Melbourne for about $375 low-season return including tax. Fly non-stop from Melbourne in 3hr 20min and 3hr non-stop from Sydney; see airnewzealand.co.nz.

Otahuna Lodge is a 30-minute drive from the airport.

Staying there

A night at Otahuna Lodge, a Relais & Chateaux property, costs $NZ1265 ($975) for a couple, including pre-dinner drinks and canapes, five-course degustation dinner with matching wines, breakfast and use of lodge facilities. 224 Rhodes Road, Tai Tapu; see otahuna.co.nz.

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