Lodge wins five-star approval | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

A bottle of vodka, a rainy afternoon in Samoa, and a dream of combining loves of food and community proved the makings of a former Wellington couple's award-winning hospitality venture in Gladstone.
Jim Kettle and Tracey O'Callaghan's Summit Lodge _ which this week snapped up a prestigious Qualmark Enviro-Gold award on top of their five-star rating _ say they owe their new-found lifestyle to an inspiring stay at Samoan resort Virgin Cove four years ago.
''It was a rainy day, so we opened a bottle of vodka, sat out on the deck and came up with a plan,'' said Ms O'Callaghan, who was working as an HR manager in the capital at the time.
''Opening a guest lodge was important to us as we wanted to something involving people, food and a real sense of community.''
Mr Kettle said they were also keen to make sustainability a key part of it, although he dismissed any notion he and his wife were ''tree huggers''.
And so, after a bit of scouting around the wider Wellington region, they settled on a piece of land 400m from the Admiral Rd turnoff, set against the stunning backdrop of the Maungaraki ranges.
With sustainability strongly in mind, the couple set about building a retreat that would be both stylish and friendly to the environment.
Rainwater is collected off roofs and fed into three tanks capable of storing up to 85,000 litres.
All wastewater passes through an on-site sewage system, which extracts water and feeds it on to surrounding plants so no water is wasted.
Plumbing fixtures and the lodge's special ''eco-toilets'' are all low-water use and appliances are also rated highly in terms of water and energy efficiency.
Mr Kettle said people doubted their plans at the outset.
''People thought we were mad _ taking on debt, halving our income to spend weekends up to our ears in mud and/or paint.
''However, we had a clear idea of what we wanted our lives to be about.
''We can now wake up every morning to mountain views, we can grow veggies and the fruit trees are planted, we have a herd of alpacas and free-range chooks.''
Both are keen cooks and have been busy in the kitchen, filling the walk-in pantry with a range of preserves and chutneys made largely from their own produce.
'''It is such a nice kitchen to work in and, when we have guests, they quite often sit at the bench and talk with us while we prepare dinner,'' Mr Kettle said.
Since opening the lodge late last year, the couple have welcomed a steady number of visitors, including Australians, Americans, Canadians, Britons and even local honeymooners.
Both continue to juggle the business with their office jobs but they couldn't be more happy with how their dream has turned out.
''We wanted to create a place for people to come and relax and re-energise,'' Ms O'Callaghan said.
''Somewhere that had a touch of luxury but that felt welcoming and comfortable.
''The feedback so far has been that we have achieved that. ''We are keen to continue to develop the gardens but we have to be patient and let the trees grow. ''We already have plans for further planting, developing the pond area and creating a putting green.

''It's been quite a lifestyle change going, from being a manager in a large corporate to running a guest lodge, but certainly a change for the better.''