Lochmara Lodge - 20Mins by Boat from Picton

My wife and I had 2 days at Lochmara and thoroughly enjoyed our time. The peace and quiet was fabulous and the views are stunning. We enjoyed lying in the hammocks staring up at the stars with no "light noise' and had some great meals in the restaurant. The whole team are friendly and very helpful. As their little saying goes: "once discovered, never forgotten". We'll be back at some point to enjoy again.

Lochmara Lodge is a beautiful lodge with stunning grounds. Our “Indulgent Night for Two” package included a beautiful room with a balcony and water view (well worth it) and reserved time in the Bath House. The bath was luxurious and relaxing. The restaurant is competitive and the food very, very good. Owners Chris and Nicki are very present and hospitable and staff members Jess, Liam and Bo were all terrific. In the Picton office where you pick-up the water shuttle, Paula is the best!

Omg. Don’t get the cheeseburger at the restaurant down by the beach. It took 30 mins to make. It consisted of: - Ciabatta bread (literally not designed to be a burger bun. It was too bready) - one patty - 1 slice of unmelted cheddar cheese - 2 mini slivers of pickles - no flavor Plus, 10 fries (not even exaggerating, it was literally 10 slices of potatoes) The worse burger I’ve ever eaten in my American life. Everyone needs to be aware. It was also $29

We recently walked the Queen Charlotte Sounds over five days as a family and choose to make the 1 hour walk down off the track and stay the last night at Lochmara. So glad we did, our children loved this place. There is so much for them to do here; from the animal tour, exploring the extensive grounds, through to using the kayaks/stand-up paddle boards in their sheltered bay. The food was excellent with a wide range on the menu and the staff were incredibly accommodating with any requests. Then to top it all off, the soak in the bath house relieved the aches and pains before our last 18km on the track. Thanks to Chris and Nicki for your hospitality and the kids voted you guys #1 of all the places we stayed.

This is a wonderful, relaxing location. We enjoyed walks, swimming and kayaking. Our room was metres from the water - felt like we were in Fiji. The grounds were well maintained. A great place for kids with the pig, eel and kakariki feeding. Only downside was the restaurant menu which sounded good, but was rather average.

Absolutely recommend this to everyone. Such a beautiful and interesting day. Possibly a bit steep for those with bad knees but was definitely worth having a good look around. Little bits of art everywhere and watching the animals getting fed. Kakariki feeding is a once in a lifetime experience.