Puffin is on my list for a glass of natural wine. I’m also keeping an eye on Rita, a small restaurant in an Aro Valley cottage known for its changing set dinners. The team is also opening a daytime deli called Super Rita, expected to open in early next year.
Where to stay: The Intrepid Hotel is the one I’d book: 18 rooms in Te Aro, near Cuba Street, with Puffin downstairs. I like the idea of a nightcap in a locals-filled wine bar and a short walk upstairs to bed.
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The Cabot Lodge, a working farm, is an intriguing stay in Fiordland
The Cabot LodgeFiordland
Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound are still on my list, and I’d like to give Fiordland a trip of its own. I’d stay around Te Anau rather than make the long journey out and back from Queenstown. There are glowworm caves across Lake Te Anau, while nearby Manapouri is the starting point for the most direct land-and-water route to Doubtful Sound: a boat across Lake Manapouri, followed by a coach over Wilmot Pass to the fjord.
I also have a shopping recommendation for the journey. At The Key, on the approach to Te Anau, Davaar sells knitwear (that has a cult following) made from wool grown on the family’s working sheep station, Davaar Station. Founder Kate Macdonald is the fifth generation, and her sister Anna runs the food caravan next door. I bought a jumper a few years ago when she had a pop-up in Arrowtown that I still love. It’s exactly the sort of place I want to find when travelling: a homegrown product with a family story; make the best souvenirs.
Where to stay: Cabot Lodge interests me because it’s on a working farm overlooking Lake Manapouri, and near Doubtful Sound departures. For a night at Milford itself, Milford Sound Lodge has chalets overlooking the river and rainforest. I’d decide which sound I wanted to spend more time exploring before choosing where to stay.
A version of this article originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveler US.