Stonehaven Rural Homestay, Wanaka

Our home is set in a largely undeveloped two acres, about five minutes drive from Wanaka, with an adjacent 10 acres planted as an arboretum with the accent on Autumn colour. Children welcome. Deirdre is a children's nurse and we have the appropriate furniture and toys, including a trampoline. Child care is available by arrangement.

Dennis is interested in the region, conservation, the arts, trees / gardening and is familiar with Mt Aspiring National Park. Guided trips by arrangement. We have twin 16 year old foster daughters, a small dog and a cat. Laundry facilities available. No smoking in rooms please. The house is a stone and timber house featuring local schist stone, large Jarrah beams, native Beech flooring and Redwood panelling.

The grounds are in an early stage of development although they still produce colour at most times of the year. Fruit and nut production from the grounds is domestically prolific. Usually the choice of fruit for breakfast is organically grown on the property. We have apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots. These are frozen for the off season but in the fruit season they are cooked direct from the tree. This usually starts from plums before Christmas and ends with apples in early May. We also have almonds, walnuts and chestnuts.

Stonehaven is situated in the Mt. Barker area near the Cardrona River after the Cardrona valley expands through lateral and terminal moraines deposited at the end of the last ice age 8 to 10 thousand years ago. From the valley floor there is a panoramic view of the local mountains: from the mountains of the Cardrona valley including Mt. Cardrona itself and little Criffel to the south; the Hawea mountains to the east; Mt Maud, Mt Brown and Mt Gold to the North; to the mountains of the Matukituki valley and Mt Roy to the west.