“We call what we do up here ‘refined wilderness’,” says Flockhill Lodge manager Andrew Cullen.

It’s a term that says a lot about the duality of Flockhill: on the one hand it’s a luxurious mountain retreat (located just a one and a half hour drive from Christchurch International Airport) that, at a starting price of NZ$9,200 per night (and ranging up to $22,425), is aimed squarely at the luxury traveller. On the other hand, Flock Hill is a working sheep station with 10,000 head of livestock scattered across a whopping 14,500-hectare property. And then there are the rugged mountains, winding streams, icy lakes and boulder fields that remind you this isn’t your standard, curated getaway.

“As you’re heading up here, you’re heading into the Canterbury high country,” Cullen says. “It’s majestic in its setting and its views, but [the weather] can smack you. We’ve had times when we’ve gone out in December, and it’s summer and it’s 20 degrees, and all of a sudden the weather changes and the wind changes. It definitely gives you the perspective of high-country farming.”

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The accommodation
The homestead at Flockhill is the first part of a three-stage redevelopment of the sprawling property, with 14 villas and a spa still in the works. The four-room accommodation is for exclusive use, meaning that – excluding the farmers and lodge staff – you’ll have this slice of picturesque scenery all to yourself.

Architects Warren and Mahoney have designed a long, barn-style building with floor-to-ceiling windows for uninterrupted views of Lake Pearson and Sugarloaf Mountain, balancing concrete brutalism with warm chalet timbers. The rooms are large and well-appointed, and you’ll find yourself with a private chef (the restaurant is still to come).

However, when you come to Flockhill, you don’t want to spend all your time inside.

Exploring the vast playground
To say the Flockhill property is vast is to put it mildly. To put it in perspective, stage three of the development will include a private cabin located 15 kilometres away from the homestead. Exploring the property is the real draw here.

“Cave Stream is just on the border of our property, which is a 700-metre-long cave that you enter at one end, you come out the other end, and you’re walking through a stream that runs through it,” Cullen says. “You climb up an internal waterfall – it’s an amazing activity.”

There are fields of limestone boulders for climbers and hikers, a 22-kilometre biking trail through “the battlefield” (made famous as a film location for The Chronicles of Narnia), paddleboarding on Lake Pearson, and fly fishing. A 10-minute drive beyond the property you’ll find club ski fields, and Mount Hutt is just a 20-minute flight away for heli-skiing.

Conservation efforts
As they invite visitors in, the team at Flockhill is trying to eject some unwanted guests. Like much of New Zealand, wilding pines (a non-native species) run rampant across Flock Hill, shifting the delicate ecological balance. Add in stoats, possums and feral cats, and it’s an ongoing battle.

“We have a full sustainability report which we commissioned in 2021 at a cost of about $50,000 to see what the next five years, 10 years, 20 years and 50 years would look like for an area like this,” Cullen says. “We’ve [also] brought a guy on board who’s absolutely passionate about pest control, so we’re in the process of working to get the whole lodge area [assessed] as the first step.”

Flockhill’s prices certainly won’t be accessible to everyone, representing the pinnacle of high-end accommodation. But for those who get the chance, it’s a rare opportunity to experience the untamed mountains in proper luxury.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with 100% Pure New Zealand. For more great content, follow Broadsheet NZ on Facebook and Instagram.

This article first appeared on Broadsheet on October 25, 2022, and was updated on November 23, 2023.