Poronui Lodge — Hotel in North Island

“Poronui” a complete wilderness experience…||||Wednesday, and an easy drive of about a half hour, and a hard right on the||Napier road takes you to Poronui in the North Island New Zealand high||country. A private gated, secure property, and a quick call to Lisa or Claire get you in, and on your way, to a most wonderful, pristine wilderness experience. ||||Met by Lisa, we arrived early afternoon, and immediately took||in the ambience of the scenery, the Lodge, fantastic guest rooms, the mountains, the roaming deer and Ring Necked abundant Pheasant’s…..wow! To say it is very pretty is an understatement, but it gave us a feel for what||was ahead over the next few days of high country, dry fly fishing, in gin clear mountain headwaters. ||||Some tasty nibbles were rustled up” by Darren and Kay, who are part of The Poronui Experience” chef’s team. Really nice people, great food, nothing too hard to please, and a couple of drinks set the scene for an experience that is “to die for.”||A bit of a rest, a familiarisation walk around the Lodge gardens, a check||of the local stream for cruising Trout, and a run in with a Pheasant cock bird was all good. Lisa, a great lady, and asset to Poronui, picked us up in a Prado and took us for an educational overview 4 wheel drive around some of||the property. ||||Poronui is expansive, private, majestic in scenery, and the confluence of||the rivers, told me this couple of days fly fishing would be something we would never forget. It was confirmed, in those next couple of days, and we’d go back there any time.||No TV’s, just a book, a glass of wine, some more rest, then canape’s with new guests from Nebraska around the Lodge open fireplace…..a very nice start to our stay. Dinner at 7 was introductions all round, relaxed, informal, and our initial experiences, why we were here, and a few glasses of local||wines and yummy food prepared by Chef Adrian, as “mein host” set the scene||for a hard to beat experience. New, and I think enduring friendships were forged with our Nebraska cohorts, and during the next two days, we would several times discuss “the one that got away!”||||Thursday morning, after a great night’s sleep, we fronted the Lodge for breakfast at 7; clear sky’s, very frosty, an open fire in the lodge, a very leisurely experience, nice breakfast from Darren and Kaye, and a day of pristine river dry fly fishing was ahead. Some coffee, further introductions to our guides Kunio, the fly fishing ninja, and Mark, into the Simms waders,||and we were on our ways into the bush, into the rivers, and trekking upstream. For quite a while, we found spotting the fish difficult and our||darker lensed shades weren’t as good as yellow shades in detecting the fish,||unless they moved, or spooked as they frequently were in the gin clear||waters. ||||A floating Geehi Peacock hurl beetle with small trailing bead head nymph was the go to weapon of choice by our guide Kunio, who also acted as chief spotter, lead river forder, and “chief haranguer” due to my poor casting.||Several fish, browns, and rainbows were taken, several lost, a couple “spat it” on the take, and a hell of a lot of fun was had in tough conditions, that got quite hot. We should have layered up better! We finished early for the day, due to the heat, and retired back to the||Lodge for some chilled Asahi beers, gin and tonics, some more wine tasting,||and canapes prepared by Adrian, a world class, world travelled chef.||Discussion of the day, good natured banter, and the fact that we all caught||fish, helped. My partner caught Brown and Rainbow Trout, on the fly, dry fly||at that, and was very, very excited!||||A bit of a rest, then dinner at 7; like us, our new Nebraska friends had||had a great day, trying, tough fish clear waters, a very good guide in Mark,||some laughs, some bruises, and the Poronui experience. That night, over||dinner, discussion moved from the day, to our new friends, and back to the||fish and pristine Poronui. A lot of laughs, a few jokes around “how big it||was,” the biggest “clanger”of the day, with a few more drinks, more great food from Adrian, stories from Mark and Lisa, and off to bed for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow, we would be “chopper fish-in” in the mountains…..||||Friday arrived, and another clear blue sky day and frosty morning; not ideal for Trout fishing on the fly in shallow clear waters…Breakfast at 7, some muesli, coffee, eggs on toast, into the waders, and we were ready to go. Met by our guide, Kunio, we were strictly OH&S instructed on how to||board the helicopter, to keep our heads down, and Hi Deb,||||Below is my 2nd part and review of Poronui for ❤️Taupo and Poronui use,||where of value.||||“Poronui” a complete wilderness experience…||||Wednesday, and an easy drive of about a half hour, and a hard right on the||Napier road takes you to Poronui in the North Island New Zealand high||country. A private gated, secure property, and a quick call to Lisa or||Claire get you in, and on your way, to a most wonderful, pristine wilderness||experience. Met by Lisa, we arrived early afternoon, and immediately took||in the ambience of the scenery, the Lodge, fantastic guest rooms, the||mountains, the roaming deer and Ring Necked abundant Pheasant’s…..wow! To||say it is very pretty is an understatement, but it gave us a feel for what||was ahead over the next few days of high country, dry fly fishing, in gin||clear mountain headwaters. ||||Some tasty nibbles were rustled up” by Darren and Kay, who are part of The||Poronui Experience” chef’s team. Really nice people, great food, nothing too||hard to please, and a couple of drinks set the scene for an experience that||is “to die for.”||A bit of a rest, a familiarisation walk around the Lodge gardens, a check||of the local stream for cruising Trout, and a run in with a Pheasant cock||bird was all good. Lisa, a great lady, and asset to Poronui, picked us up in||a Prado and took us for an educational overview 4 wheel drive around some of||the property. ||||Poronui is expansive, private, majestic in scenery, and the confluence of||the rivers, told me this couple of days fly fishing would be something we||would never forget. It was confirmed, in those next couple of days, and||we’d go back there any time.||No TV’s, just a book, a glass of wine, some more rest, then canape’s with||new guests from Nebraska around the Lodge open fireplace…..a very nice start||to our stay. Dinner at 7 was introductions all round, relaxed, informal,||and our initial experiences, why we were here, and a few glasses of local||wines and yummy food prepared by Chef Adrian, as “mein host” set the scene||for a hard to beat experience. New, and I think enduring friendships were||forged with our Nebraska cohorts, and during the next two days, we would||several times discuss “the one that got away!”||||Thursday morning, after a great night’s sleep, we fronted the Lodge for||breakfast at 7; clear sky’s, very frosty, an open fire in the lodge, a very||leisurely experience, nice breakfast from Darren and Kaye, and a day of||pristine river dry fly fishing was ahead. Some coffee, further introductions||to our guides Kunio, the fly fishing ninja, and Mark, into the Simms waders,||and we were on our ways into the bush, into the rivers, and trekking||upstream. For quite a while, we found spotting the fish difficult and our||darker lensed shades weren’t as good as yellow shades in detecting the fish,||unless they moved, or spooked as they frequently were in the gin clear||waters. ||||A floating Geehi Peacock hurl beetle with small trailing bead head nymph||was the go to weapon of choice by our guide Kunio, who also acted as chief||spotter, lead river forder, and “chief haranguer” due to my poor casting.||Several fish, browns, and rainbows were taken, several lost, a couple “spat||it” on the take, and a hell of a lot of fun was had in tough conditions,||that got quite hot. We should have layered up better!||We finished early for the day, due to the heat, and retired back to the||Lodge for some chilled Asahi beers, gin and tonics, some more wine tasting,||and canapes prepared by Adrian, a world class, world travelled chef.||Discussion of the day, good natured banter, and the fact that we all caught||fish, helped. My partner caught Brown and Rainbow Trout, on the fly, dry fly||at that, and was very, very excited!||||A bit of a rest, then dinner at 7; like us, our new Nebraska friends had||had a great day, trying, tough fish clear waters, a very good guide in Mark,||some laughs, some bruises, and the Poronui experience. That night, over||dinner, discussion moved from the day, to our new friends, and back to the||fish and pristine Poronui. A lot of laughs, a few jokes around “how big it||was,” the biggest “clanger”of the day, with a few more drinks, more great||food from Adrian, stories from Mark and Lisa, and off to bed for a good||nights sleep. Tomorrow, we would be “chopper fishin” in the mountains…..||||Friday arrived, and another clear blue sky day and frosty morning; not||ideal for Trout fishing on the fly in shallow clear waters…Breakfast at 7,||some muesli, coffee, eggs on toast, into the waders, and we were ready to||go. Met by our guide, Kunio, we were strictly OH&S instructed on how to||board the helicopter, to keep our heads down, and where we would be going in||the mountains. The chopper ride took about fifteen minutes to another river||confluence that hadn’t been fished since the Trout season closed in New||Zealand. It was going to be another warm to hot day for October, and this||time we were layered up, or layered down, and with plenty of water. The hike||upstream was eventful with a number of spawning fish spotted, let go,||ignored, and the scenery was sensational…..wilderness at its finest. In||Australia, I can tell you, walking and wading tussock grasses that are waste||high in high country as we experienced at Poronui would be troublesome due||to snakes, and hidden rabbit burrows. There was none of that here, and you||could walk and wade in shorts, if you wanted to. Despite the weather, we||once again all caught good fish.||||More gin clear shallow waters, the occasional stumble, and some great dry||fly fishing happened for both groups. A number of fish were unsighted, but they saw us, and bolted. By mid-afternoon, we’d had enough fishing, and called in the chopper to take us back to the lodge. Canapes, a couple of||beers, some rest, and preparation for dinner at 7pm. Discussion revolved around the fish, the company, how good the guides were, new friends, and how much the girls enjoyed their massages.||||Dinner was precided over by Claire, the Lodge Manager, and a jovial, convivial time was had by all. Apart from being happy tired, I think we may have all been more than a bit sad that we were leaving.||||Saturday, a bit of a sleep in, and after a good nights sleep, a great breakfast, some fond memories, nice fairwells, thank you’s and it was sadly time to go. I hope we can get back and do it all again at Poronui as it really is an unrivalled complete Wilderness Experience……the fish are an added bonus!||||PS:the photo’s follow…||||Darryl Luttrell||darryl.luttrell@gmail.com||||where we would be going in||the mountains. The chopper ride took about fifteen minutes to another river||confluence that hadn’t been fished since the Trout season closed in New||Zealand. It was going to be another warm to hot day for October, and this||time we were layered up, or layered down, and with plenty of water. The hike||upstream was eventful with a number of spawning fish spotted, let go,||ignored, and the scenery was sensational…..wilderness at its finest. In||Australia, I can tell you, walking and wading tussock grasses that are waste||high in high country as we experienced at Poronui would be troublesome due||to snakes, and hidden rabbit burrows. There was none of that here, and you||could walk and wade in shorts, if you wanted to. Despite the weather, we||once again all caught good fish.||||More gyn clear shallow waters, the occasional stumble, and some great dry||fly fishing happened for both groups. A number of fish were unsighted, but||they saw us, and bolted. By mid-afternoon, we’d had enough fishing, and||called in the chopper to take us back to the lodge. Canapes, a couple of||beers, some rest, and preparation for dinner at 7pm. Discussion revolved||around the fish, the company, how good the guides were, new friends, and how||much the girls enjoyed their massages.||||Dinner was precided over by Claire, the Lodge Manager, and a jovial,||convivial time was had by all. Apart from being happy tired, I think we may||have all been more than a bit sad that we were leaving.||||Saturday, a bit of a sleep in, and after a good nights sleep, a great||breakfast, some fond memories, nice fairwells, thank you’s and it was sadly||time to go. I hope we can get back and do it all again at Poronui as it||really is an unrivalled complete Wilderness Experience……the fish are an||added...

Curtis and I couldn’t have been more delighted with our father-son experience at Poronui. Such warm hospitality and personal attention to every detail! We felt spoilt from start to finish. Eve was the PERFECT host and every one of the Poronui staff shared her “nothing is too much trouble” attitude. Marc proved to be an amazing (and amazingly patient!) fishing guide and bent over backwards to make our days on the river truly memorable; Claire let nothing fall through the cracks; Nancy’s massage was the best I’ve ever had; Ben’s food was gourmet standard, even down at the Safari Camp, and it was no problem whatsoever for Chris to drop everything and drive us up to the top of the property for an incredible view and a leisurely downhill walk back to the Lodge. My son and I will never forget the glamping! Blazing star-filled night skies, roaring bonfire, the music of the nearby rapids, the old wood fired stove indoors for the odd rainy patch and, of course, Ben’s food. We can’t recommend Poronui highly enough and will definitely be...

We stayed at Poronui Lodge for a family celebration. From our arrival to our departure, the staff treated us like family and couldn't do more to help us throughout our time there. The Lodge organized guided hiking, mountain biking and horse riding along with cooking demonstrations and clay bird shooting. |During the day and in the evening we retired to the Lodge to enjoy the log fire lively chat about the days events and excellent cuisine.|As a sporting Lodge there is the opportunity to partake in back country fly fishing, deer stalking and pheasant shooting in season.|Whatever your reason for travelling to Poronui, you will be made to feel part of their family whilst having the opportunity to pursue your passion on a beautiful estate far away from the rush of...