Wharekauhau sits on a working sheep station of several thousand acres above Palliser Bay, at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The lodge was built to recall the elegance of an earlier era, and you can stay in cottage suites spread across the grounds, each with its own terrace looking over the farm and the sea. Evenings follow a country-house rhythm with canapés, then a four-course dinner-party menu built around produce from the estate and wines from nearby Martinborough. The Hauora Spa handles the daytime recovery.

The estate also sits inside the Wairarapa International Dark Sky Reserve, certified in 2023 as only the second Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand. Its darkest core is Aorangi Forest Park, the wild, roadless hill country just east of the lodge, where measurements reach the darkest level on the Bortle scale. Wharekauhau makes the most of it with a hosted stargazing evening. After dinner, a local astronomer guides you through the southern sky from the terrace of their own suite.

Worth knowing before booking: Palliser Bay is exposed to the weather off Cook Strait, and wind and cloud can roll through quickly. Plan two or three nights to give the sky a fair chance.

STARGAZING AMENITIES: Astronomer-hosted stargazing from your own cottage terrace, inside the Wairarapa International Dark Sky Reserve, several thousand acres of working farmland with no neighboring lights, open views over Palliser Bay, Hauora Spa