Valley Views Glamping: A Magical New Zealand Experience

As we all know (or should, rather) from The Hobbit and Lord of the Ring Movies, New Zealand it stunning. So why not enjoy these magical views from our very own glamping tent? Yes well it's not really a question because that's exactly what we did. We stayed one wonderful night at Valley Views Glamping in Otiake. It's not generally an area where tourists tend to go in New Zealand, and that's likely what made it even more special.

We arrived just after check-in at 2pm so we could take full advantage of our time there. Patrick, one of the owners, greeted us and showed us around the facilities. To start there was the communal kitchen/dining/bathroom building. I could live in this little building forever and be perfectly content. Especially with this adorable kitchen.



Oh, and did I mention Patrick built it all with his brother? Ya, they're big into that whole do-it-yourself thing in New Zealand (hence all the old cars...man I need to get me an old Land Rover Defender).

Anyway, we continued our tour of the grounds that included a seating area and then the baths. Yes, outdoor baths. I'd never really thought of having a bathtub outside, but glamping is a whole new animal. It was great, albeit took a while to fill up.

Next up was our personal glamping tent. We had one of the two Lotus Belle tents and there was also igloos and a hut/shed type thing.

They all looked super cool but we were perfectly content with our selection. It featured a large bed, a couple chairs and a portable toilet (for those night time #1s). Pictures don't do it justice, but they're certainly better than my explanations.





While all of the features of glamping were wonderful, easily what made it so magical was the views. Living up to it's name, Valley Views Glamping boasts some far-reaching valley views and has some pretty wicked star gazing at night. I'm sure taking the stars in from the bathtub would be wonderful, but a tad chilly for us. So we just settled for our Adirondack chairs on our private porch.





With our stay we had the option of choosing a homemade three course dinner, which of course we did. But you could also bring your own food and use the fully stocked kitchen for any preparation.

For our meal Patrick was in charge of the first course and delivered us a cheese board with some spreads. Then Amber, Patrick's wife and fellow co-owner, cooked up a marvelous main meal. She even made a last minute change for us because we quickly realized we didn't like lamb, the original planned dish. Amber whipped up some chicken, roasted veggies and potatoes. Last came the chocolate mousse. We swished all that back with a couple of local beers from the fridge and thus we were pleasantly full for the rest of the night.

The next morning we had free reign of the kitchen with yogurt and eggs provided for self-cooking. Amber and Patrick (and the dogs, of course) were there to provide some fun conversation and advice on our upcoming adventures. They also were equipped to accept payment for our stay, about $170 for our tent and $38 each for our 3-course dinner. In our minds this was a small price to pay for this memorable glamping experience in the magical land of New Zealand. If only my backyard could have views like this.