Minaret Station, Wanaka

1 January 2015

Words: Gina Johnson / Image: Minaret Station

Minaret Station sits in a glacial valley in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Accessible only by helicopter, the 65,000-acre working deer and sheep farm and luxury tented lodge is the incarnation of the childhood adventures of the four Wallis brothers – sons of the legendary New Zealand airman and entrepreneur Sir Tim Wallis – who grew up farming, fishing and foraging this vast alpine estate. Designed by its Managing Director, Matt Wallis, and built with the assistance of a few skilled friends, the aesthetic is based on the homestead-style lodgings of the Wallis family’s past. 

It comprises four tented suites, cocooned in a sturdy canvas canopy, accented by locally sustainable materials such as wood sourced from the property and sheepskin carpets made from the wool of the family’s own sheep. Each tent comes with its own Kiwitub – a gas-fuelled, chemical-free, portable Jacuzzi that can even be attached to the base of a helicopter and set down on a snow-capped ridge where guests are left with a satellite phone, a beverage (chilled by one thousand-year-old glacial ice) and the satisfied feeling of having just ticked one wish off the bucket list. 

minaretstation.com