The Jolly Poacher Retreat

Nice quiet picturesque location. Hosts were great, facilities excellent. Great idea having hunting and fishing themed cabins that were both modern and comfortable, yet still captured the history of yesteryear. Great value for money.

Spectacular place! The hunting lodge unit was so comfortable, wonderfully decorated and well appointed! The hosts are very friendly and helpful, and delivery a lovely homemade breakfast in the morning. The wifi was awesome, my husband was thrilled! The setting is so beautiful, lovely gardens and a few sheep out the back windows. The area is set in the wine country and is super quiet and peaceful. I wish we had booked more days! Make your reservations, you will be SO glad you did!

Everything…The cabin was spacious and well finished; the bedding was comfortable; super clean; quiet; great vibes from all the birds and livestock (sheep out the window, chickens and a young heifer down the drive, quails wandering by in the morning); and all a short drive to loads of wineries, hikes and restaurants!

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These are lovely hosts, it was an honor to be with them. They have arranged this "retreat" to be just that. This is a fine experience, in a lovely land, with two incredible hosts, as much as I hate to give the secret away, if you are going there with you vehicle from the North, this is a Gem, really a great experience, I thank them both, we stayed going and coming back...... we were lucky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We stayed here for 4 nights in February during our 5 week tour of South Island. The two lodges are exceptional along with the hospitality provided by Dave and Helen. Definately this was a highlight stay during our NZ holiday.

My wife and I recently stayed and we were treated like old friends, The cottage was excellent, and the hosts were extremely welcoming and thoughtful. We were on a one month drive around both North and South Islands, and this was one of the highlights of our month. We rarely write reviews, but full credit is due here and we needed to take the time to recogise and appreciate the extra effort! Keep doing what you are doing, and being who you are!

There is little not to like, it is outside of town, so you need a car which we had, no issues with us, but for others it might be an issue

Dave and Helen are amazing hosts. They did everything they could to ensure we made the most of our stay. The cabin is kitted out as a fisherman’s delight but that doesn’t detract at all from the fact they make a very comfortable and cosy place to stay. They are well equipped with extremely comfortable beds and hot showers. There's air on for hot days and a fire if it,s chilly though we needed neither during our stay as the cabins are very well insulated. Breakfasts were amazing, brought over to the cabin on a tray, scrambled eggs from their own hens with toast, marmalade, raspberry jam or honey and fresh orange juice. The perfect start to the day.

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The hosts are very available, knowledgeable about the area and friendly. The property was quiet and lovely to relax in. The cabin was very clean and very well appointed. We booked their electric bikes for a day to ride over to some cellar doors. And aside from a sore bottom from not being used to biking it was great fun! The delivered breakfasts were a special treat.

Slight disappointment that the pool was not available when we were there. A malfunction which could not be helped but it would have been appreciated after the bike ride.