Huntley House Christchurch I couldn�t have asked for a better room than the one I slept in at Huntley for my last night in New Zealand. Or ate a better meal says Farzana Contractor. I arrived in Christchurch on a train. I left Franz Josef early morning and drove to Greymouth leisurely enough to truly enjoy my last bit of driving in the beautiful South Island of New Zealand. The train was not yet in so I had time to get some lunch in a bag which I ate on the train once it started on its Trans-Alpine journey. Every aspect of this country is geared towards making it all very easy for the tourist. So all I had to do is drop my rented car keys at a desk in the station and get on. The station warden had my name on the list and it was all very fine. The train ride from one coast to the other takes just four and a half hours and from my carriage I saw spectacular gorges and river valleys of the Waimakariri River. The region is very mountainous and one had to pass through 16 tunnels and five viaducts, the highest called Staircase standing at 73 metres!
I couldn�t have asked for a better room than the one I slept in at Huntley for my last night in New Zealand. Or ate a better meal. Very elegantly appointed the hotel, which is actually an early settlers home was originally built in 1876. Many of the features have been retained from the original mansion and the final result therefore is a reminder of Christchurch�s colonial past. It was not yet twilight when I ventured out into the manicured lawns of the hotel and saw that the place was fringed by towering trees and flowering shrubs on the edge. The flowers of various hues and shapes and smells looked captivating in the slanting rays of the sun. And my room, with it�s large verandah, opened to this view and fragrances.
The Reid family, current owners of the property bought the place in 1971, again as a family home, and it was a long cherished dream of John Reid to convert the house into a world class Boutique Hotel and he managed to do so recently. You can see the personal touches of the man in all exotic paraphernalia scattered in the study. An autographed cricket bat picked up at an auction, a signed football, or the beautiful golden harp standing in the corner of the dining room. I made a contribution to the library shelves in the study. Left the Busybee book I was reading on the trip. I thought it might be particularly nice for those who go to Huntley from India to find a very familiar author to dig into. So make it a point to check the shelves. Dinner was a special affair. A three course meal with perfectly matched wine from the many of the significant wine growing regions of New Zealand. The dining room is small and tasteful, pun unintended. The fare coming out from the chef�s kitchen was finger-licking good. Which as a true blue Indian foodie, I indulged in recklessly. Next morning at breakfast, which is set very much like it would be in a family mansion, I complimented the chef. The menus, I learned from him, change daily with the dictates of seasonal availability.
Loath as I was to leave Huntley, I did so to go and have a look at the town and the Antarctic Centre. Christchurch is the second largest city in New Zealand. It is full of parks, churches, museums and galleries and exudes a cultural diversity. European settlement began in the 1820s with a few British families farming in the Canterbury Plains, but major colonisation did not occur until 1850 when nearly 800 Englishmen arrived on four ships. Within 50 years of their arrival the settlers had built a Cathedral, a number of churches, schools and a university. The Christchurch economy which was initially built on primary products and export trade is today a business hub for the South Island with a strong industrial, manufacturing and agricultural focus. Christchurch also plays a dramatic part in the research and exploration of Antarctica. Therefore a visit to The Antarctic Centre is a must. Specially if you have children accompanying you. It�s loads of fun, coupled with educational value. You get to enjoy real snow and ice in the polar room, slide down an icy slope, get �exchillarated� in the Antarctic Storm where the wind chill factor goes down to -18 degrees. But the best really is the ride on the Hagglund, the all terrain amphibious vehicle. Pure adventure. But that�s what South Island of New Zealand is all about! Huntley House
PHOTOGRAPHS BY FARZANA CONTRACTOR |
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A Blue Star taxi driver was waiting for me at Christchurch, holding a placard which said UPPERCRUST. The kindly, grandfatherly driver immediately transported me to my night�s abode, Huntley House, Christchurch�s newest luxury boutique hotel.
I find it very intriguing to stay in such places. I find myself wondering about things like� who built such a place, what was he like, what did he do for a living, was he married, did he have children, was he a happy man? With all these thoughts in my mind I sat nursing a glass of red wine in the bar, with the bartender who was playing host. Not to my surprise I learnt that J H Twentyman, the original owner of the property had great love for plants, shrubs and trees and was indeed the president of the Horticultural Society. And after all these long years, his loving nurturing and care manifested itself in the richly presevered greenery that Huntley House has to be thankful for. It is the garden and park like ambience that create such tranquility and peace.
Huntley House has 17 bedrooms, comprising 5 homestead rooms, 4 garden rooms, 4 suites, and 2 bed-roomed apartments. All with their own individual character, yet all possessing a feeling of informal luxury. What with a billiard room, a heated, outdoor, swimming pool, tennis and golf facilities, close to the property, it seems to be the perfect place to hire out for a special occasion or event. If it were located somewhere in Bombay or near about I can easily see it being booked all year round for exclusive dos. Might not be a bad idea for a group of large family and friends touring Christchurch to book the entire place and enjoy a spot of exclusive fun!
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