22 May 2022
Going South – Te Anau
Kei te Taiao. Back Roads.
Writer: CARLY THOMAS
Photographer: FRANCINE BOER
At the highest point on Cathedral Peaks Station, Cabot Lodge presents itself like a gem. After passing an understated sign, the luxury retreat subtly unfolds as you head up the long sweeping driveway. Each room of the lodge is its own building connected by copper-covered walkways hugging a central courtyard. It is not at all ordinary, and neither are the couple who run it. Breidi Alexander grew up on this 2,000 acre station, letting its expansiveness influence the career she eventually built for herself, first as a lawyer and then a policy advisor. After meeting Brad at university, the pair began their lives in the corporate world with Brad as a procurement manager in the construction industry. “We had a bit of a different lifestyle for a while there,” she says, flashing a quick grin – understated, just like her lodge sign.
“It was actually Brad who had the dream to leave the corporate world and move south. His vision began to take shape after learning to beekeep in Auckland. He bought seventy-five hives, shifted them down to Fiordland and never looked back. He was pretty determined to make a life for us down south and so I followed soon after.”
Brad will tell you that "I just knew I wanted to be here." And Breidi will tell you it was the same for her parents, Cam and Wendy McDonald, over forty years ago. "Oh, it's a bit of a love story, really. Between Mum and Dad, but also their shared love for Fiordland. Dad met Mum when he was travelling the country on horseback and together they made their way south looking for a farm."
The McDonalds hung up their saddles and today Breidi and Brad's almost two-year-old son, Jack, is growing up on the property, which has been painstakingly cared for by his grandparents. The farm has protected wetland areas, lakes for birdlife and extensive plantings which lend the property a parklike feel. With uninterrupted views of Lake Manapōuri and the Fiordland National Park, Breidi says there is a certain comfort that comes from "knowing this view is here to stay." Since the farm borders the World Heritage Site that has been protected in perpetuity following the Save Manapouri campaign in the seventies, it's a special place.
Cabot Lodge itself also has a good tale behind it. In 1999, Frank Cabot, a renowned botanist from New York, and his wife, Anne, fell in love with Fiordland. They got in touch after hearing the McDonalds had a noteworthy garden. Breidi gives the well-told yarn some air: "This American couple stopped in one day and had a look around. The next day Dad received a five-page letter saying they had fallen in love with the area and wanted to be involved in the property in some way." The families talked it out, forming a partnership that saw both couples buying the neighbouring farms, creating the wide-open vista that exists today.
The Cabots became a much-loved part of the station's family and Breidi says she "absolutely adored them." When Frank passed away Anne was in her nineties and could no longer travel to New Zealand, so the McDonald family bought the Cabots' share of the farm, including the home they had built for themselves. In 2018, Breidi and Brad completed extensive renovations to turn the home into a luxury lodge. They put in floor-to-ceiling windows that present each view as a gift and the couple have heard their fair share of "wows" from guests since they opened their doors. "That's exactly how it should be," says Breidi. "We go out of our way to create those moments of surprise."
The Whole Experience
In Te Anau you can find Doubtful Sound, the Kepler Track and Milford Sound, with the Routeburn and Milford tracks not far away. Activities abound and the long list of adventures includes farm tours, fishing and kayaking. Breidi can set you up with a picnic basket on the best spot on the farm, and Brad can show you his beehives and talk you through the beekeeping process. Breidi says you can do all of it, some of it "or you can do nothing at all except look out the windows." Cabot Lodge is very much about creating a bespoke, fit-to-your-needs experience and Breidi says she goes to great lengths: "I once wrangled and dressed up alpacas for a wedding. We make things happen." The food uses as much local produce as possible. Brad's honey is often a little highlight in a dish and the presentation is Instagram-worthy. Canapés are served in the library, with its extensive collection of New Zealand books, and dinner is served in the dining room with the magnificent windows.
268 Hillside-Manapouri Road
Te Anau 9679
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This story appeared in the Ngahuru Autumn 2022 Edition of Shepherdess.
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