The stay
What to know about this stay.
Annandale sets four private villas, from a modern couples' escape to a 19th-century clapboard homestead, across a working sheep and cattle station on Banks Peninsula, an hour from Christchurch, each with sea-facing terraces and a heated pool. As a member of Luxury Lodges of New Zealand, Annandale holds one of a select handful of memberships awarded only to properties meeting the association's exacting standards for accommodation, hospitality and cuisine.
Farm tours across the working station put guests in the middle of Banks Peninsula's rural life, and hiking or biking the 14-kilometer Pigeon Bay walkway covers some of the peninsula's most dramatic coastal scenery. Kayaking or wildlife cruises reliably turn up dolphins, fur seals and blue penguins along the bay, and because Annandale is a genuine working station, the wildlife and farm activity on display here is real rather than staged for visitors.
