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A peek inside QT, one of Auckland’s newest hotels

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QT Hotels is known for quirky luxury and Auckland is waiting with anticipation for the 10th hotel to open its doors in November 2020.

Creating a world less conventional in the heart of Auckland, the new waterfront playground will bring a transformative escape, unlike anything the Auckland hotel market has seen before.

QT Auckland bedroom looking from bathroom suite
The cutie! QT Auckland’s modern chic bedroom

QT has pioneered the philosophy of ‘expect the unexpected’, with every property delivering an experience and design that combine local influences and lashings of quirk, ensuring each hotel is a character in its own right. QT Auckland is no exception, celebrating its city surrounds and reflecting the harbourside location.

The award-winning QT Hotel Group is one of New Zealand and Australia’s most loved and dynamic hotel brands, blending the perfect mix of design, luxury, people and critically-acclaimed food and beverage outlets to deliver its widely recognised signature service.

Complementing the much-loved QT Queenstown and QT Wellington, QT Auckland is the third QT property in New Zealand and has been designed with the natural, wild beauty of the city’s surrounding landscape in mind. 

Public spaces burst with local artwork and a private function space is steps from the water. A signature dining concept in collaboration with celebrated chef Sean Connolly and a rooftop bar that offers sweeping views of Viaduct Harbour will make this the place to be over summer.

QT Auckland bedroom
Earthy tones with a modern pop at QT Auckland

What is the design inspiration?

The design idea was sparked by a dozen oysters – the salty sweet is a metaphor for the design, where the hotel has elevated the bold use of colour and created a cocooning interior that uses interesting local materials and suppliers, adding to its harbour-based neighbourhood narrative.

Long-time QT collaborator and designer Nic Graham, in conjunction with the Event Hospitality and Entertainment design team, have curated the design of the 150 rooms and suites, public spaces and meeting rooms, restaurant and rooftop bar.

The oyster’s influence can be seen throughout the design – the rough, raw and natural textures of the outside of the shell juxtaposed with the smooth, clean and luxurious nature of the inside.

New Zealand’s natural hues lend themselves to the colour scheme, mingling with bold block colours for contrast. Each room’s furniture and décor also celebrate this rare beauty, mixing warmth and texture. Exposed concrete and brass accents feature alongside plush sofas, luxurious rugs and sassy furniture.

Guests can expect mixed custom furniture with found objects and iconic originals. Bold environmental graphics are inspired by the New Zealand coast and the hotel proudly supports local and international artists throughout.

Expect the unexpected

Whilst design is an important ingredient to the QT philosophy, each QT hotel across New Zealand and Australia blends personalised guest experiences, unforgettable dining and a signature touch of quirk.

The experience philosophy behind each QT is to ‘expect the unexpected’. QT Auckland will deliver unpredictable twists across art and design throughout the dining outlets, and the staff will focus on delivering a highly-personalised signature service to each guest.

QT Auckland will be an immersive experience, channelling the local neighbourhood while adding QT’s luxuriously quirky design. With stunning waterfront views and QT’s signature dining concepts, the team at QT Auckland can’t wait for guests to experience what will undoubtedly be one of Auckland’s finest hotels.

Visit QT Auckland Hotel

Step out at the Waiheke Walking Festival

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Waiheke Island’s annual, and hugely popular, walking festival is coming up and it’s bigger and better than ever, so dig out your hiking boots, get some mates together and start your stretches!

What is the Waiheke Walking Festival?

Now in its eleventh year, the Waiheke Walking Festival is this year an 18-day event offering a huge range of walks from 11 – 29 November 2020.

The walks vary in length from a couple of hours to a few days and offer various levels of effort to ensure all abilities and interests are catered for. You’ll find photography walks, music, conservation, fitness, history, story telling and even booze walks!

Josh Emmett and Oyster Inn are leading a 6km oyster and bubbles walk from Oneroa Beach this year. There’s a 4km Brewer’s Loop from Onetangi Sports Park with beer tastings along the way, and a gin and tonic making walk with high tea and bubbles ending at Batch Winery.

Park Point Sunset on Waiheke Walking Festival
Sunset at Park Point. Pic Dawn Hughes

How fit do you need to be?

Many walks are family-friendly and not strenuous, while some of the walks end up at Waiheke’s vineyards to allow participants to enjoy the local food and wine on offer. There are beach clean ups and scavenger hunts for the kids, some are dog friendly, there’s even a nine-day walk covering 10-12km per day.

Kids enjoying the glow worm walk
Kids will love the glow worm walk. Pic by Rainer Lehr

FAQs

How much does it cost?

Most of the walks are free, but as numbers are limited you’ll need to register as soon as tickets are released (see below about becoming a Friend of the Festival) as they fill up quickly. Several walks are in the $20-$35 bracket and one is $450 for 3-day walk with accommodation.

How many people can join each walk?

With COVID-19 now a reality in our world, walks will be operating at a limited capacity of walkers this year. But to counter the smaller number on each walk, the festival is longer in duration and some of the more popular walks are repeated more than once. See details for each walk here >

Becoming a Patron or a Friend ($100) of the Festival will assist with early access (starting from September 17th) for booking your choice of walks, helping to increase your chance of getting onto the walks you want to.

Walking in Onetangi, Waiheke Walking Festival
Walking in Onetangi. Pic Rainer Lehr

A few Waiheke Walking Festival highlights…

Onetangi Progressive Lunch Walk – This year the walk offers two date options at different restaurants, hitting some of the best food spots on Waiheke Island. Eat and drink at Casita Miro, Tantalus Estate and Three Seven Two on Thursday 12th November ($110) or Obsidian, Shed at Te Motu and Three Seven Two on Thursday 26th November. Both walks are from 10am – 4pm ($95).

5-Day Te Ara Hura 100km Walk – This five day, 100km Te Ara Hura walking adventure which will see you circumnavigate Waiheke. Tackling 5-7 hours of walking every day at a moderate pace, you’ll get stunning views of Waiheke Island throughout the 20km stretches you’ll be doing each day. Wednesday 25th – 29th November ($150).

Mindfulness in Whakanewha – This two-hour walk will invigorate the mind and body. Walkers will experience how to use their senses with intent and connect them with nature and themselves. The medium grade walk will finish with spectacular views and a delicious, specially priced optional lunch and bubbles at Batch Winery. To ensure the experience is intimate and connected, bookings will be limited to max 30 people for this walk, happening on Tuesday 17th November, 10am – 12pm ($35).

ASTRONZ Night Sky Walk – This is a fantastic non-walking opportunity for an evening of astronomical adventure for all ages. View the night sky through telescopic equipment and hear fascinating information about what twinkles above from the experts at Astronz and Dark Sky Waiheke Island. Dress warmly and bring along a sense of wonder, Saturday 21st November, free to all walkers, bookings required.

Night Sky walk at the beach
Star gazing on the Night Sky Walk, far from city lights. Pic Rainer Lehr.

Wild Herbal Gin and Tonic Walk – Join local Helen Elscott, well known medical herbalist, and gin maker, for the Wild Herbal Gin and Tonic Walk. Helen, from the popular Botanical’s Distillery, will lead walkers for a wander in Whakanewha Regional Park. The experience will then finish with a gin masterclass, high tea and bubbles at Batch winery, on Tuesday 24th November 1-4pm ($95).

Shrinrin-Yoku Forest Bathing Walk – Accredited nature and forest therapy guide, Gabrielle Young will host a forest bathing (Shinrin-Yoku) experience in Goodwin Reserve. Walkers will get the chance to slow down, connect with nature, become mindful, and open their senses during this special two-and-a-half-hour experience. The Forest Bathing Walk will take place Wednesday 25th November, from 9:30am – 12:30pm, and is free for participants, but must be booked prior to arrival.

Whakanewha Photograhpy Walk with Peter Rees – For moderately experienced amateur photographers, let brilliant landscape photographer Peter Rees guide you through beautiful Whakanewha Park sharing tips and ideas to further develop your photographic skills. Sunday 29th November, 10am-12pm, free to participants with bookings mandatory.

So, grab a group of friends, put the dates aside and use the festival as a good excuse to become healthier and fitter, and support local, whilst having fun! Head to the website for the programme, booking information and to sign up to the e-newsletter for updates. Tickets to the general public go on sale Thursday October 1st

See the full programme of Waiheke Walking Festival walks >

Scrambling up a hill on the Waiheke Walking Festival
All levels of fitness catered for! Pic Anne Proffit

Farm to fork master classes with Michael Van de Elzen

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Explore our own backyard with a farm-to-fork master class like no other!

With the global pandemic putting a halt on our usual international holidays, exploring what’s on offer closer to home never sounded so appealing.

Auckland Scene has found a fun and educational farm-to-fork experience for food lovers, gardeners and those who simply want to discover something new, less than 40 minutes from Auckland.

The Good From Scratch Cookery School on a lifestyle property in coastal Muriwai is offering visitors master cooking classes with one of New Zealand’s most renowned and respected chefs – Michael and Bee Van de Elzen.

The couple opened the Good From Scratch Cookery School with the philosophy that food is best when it’s prepared from scratch.

Michael and Belinda VandeElzen
Michael and Bee Van de Elzen. Pic by Babiche Martens

The Van de Elzen’s cookery school offers a fun-filled day or half-day class option, that involves gathering the various ingredients from their small farm and learning about that produce’s importance to the day’s menu.

The preparation and cooking of the dishes is a hands-on experience for all and ends with everyone eating the meal they made, washed down with a selection of local wines, craft beers and homemade sodas!

“The farm is a labour of love and we want to share this unique piece of paradise with our Kiwi whanau,” says Michael, who has starred in a number of Kiwi television shows, including more recently Eat Well For Less New Zealand on TVNZ 1.

“Bee and I love welcoming people from all walks of life to enjoy what our cookery school has to offer. It’s a unique experience and our ultimate aim is for people to walk away smiling, satisfied in the knowledge they’ve learnt and with the food they’ve created but most importantly, nourished in the understanding that ‘good from scratch’ is essential for a healthy life.

Cookery school
Good from Scratch Cookery School. Pic by Babiche Martens

“Bee shares my passion of preparing food from scratch and has supported me immensely on my journey to educate New Zealanders, especially children, about healthy eating and showing people how easy and cheap it is to cook a healthy meal. The Good From Scratch Cookery School helps us to further to deliver that message.”

The school is a ‘dream come true’ for the chefs, with it being in the planning for over 20 years. Along the way, the ambitious couple have run many successful restaurants including award-winning Molten, Food Truck Garage and Boy and Bird. Michael is also the author of five cookbooks and works with a number of companies under his Good From Scratch brand.

“The initial thought was conceived when Bee and I were working in a small luxury hotel in an Irish village called Dundrody. What made this award-winning hotel such a success was that the majority of the produce cooked for its guests came from its own gardens. Both Bee and I knew then that this was what we wanted to create in New Zealand.” 

Good from Scratch cookery school
In the kitchen at the Good from Scratch Cookery School. Pic by Babiche Martens

The first step to turn their dream into reality, was the Van de Elzen’s purchase of a small farm in the beautiful Muriwai Valley in 2015. They fell in love with the land so much they put an offer in without even looking at the house.

Set on 15 acres of land, Michael and Belinda have developed the farm to now include an orchard, greenhouse and kitchen gardens, where their focus is to share in the simplicity of creating flavoursome dishes from scratch, including gathering and picking seasonal produce, right at the doorstep of the cookery school.

The farm also houses chickens, honeybees, cattle and pigs all of which are reared on the property producing honey, eggs and meat for use in the classes.

Potatoes from the garden
Potatoes from the garden. Pic by Babiche Martens

The orchard and gardens have an abundance of heirloom variety specimens such as Early Strawberry and Peasgoodnonsuch apples, Billingtons plums, Monavale almonds and Warkworth apricots, to name just a few. The Good from Scratch classes will tap into all that the farm offers as well as local in-season ingredients from neighbouring farms.

The Good For Scratch Cookery School also offers bespoke cookery events, including a recent Pig. Smoke. Fireday classwhere home cooks learnt about butchery, small goods, smoking and cooking over flames. Pig. Smoke. Fire was led by talented butcher Francesco Visco alongside Michael. In the school holidays, look out for their classes for little chefs.

For more information and to book a unique farm-to-fork experience visit goodfromscratch.co.nz