Children Allowed

At the “sophisticated” Poronui Lodge near Lake Taupo The Sydney Morning Herald’s Max Anderson is relieved to find there is also room for his six-year-old boys. “It’s a little-known fact that most of New Zealand’s famous luxury lodges don’t welcome children under 13. But I’m pleased to report there are ways you can get your little ones into champion wilderness retreat without having their heads mounted above the hearth. Poronui is set in 6500ha of forested valleys with 45km of private watercourse. World-renowned for its fishing, it has a finely tailored main lodge hung with reels, rods and stuffed trout and caters to a maximum of just 14 guests. If you offer some personal guarantees of their good behaviour, this number can include your rugrats. The lodge is well-suited to young guests. For a start it has a dog ó a thing that, to your children’s eyes, has the same appeal as a good bottle of Hawkes Bay pinot might have to you.”