Lake Hawea Station

A working merino sheep station on the shores of Lake Hāwea in New Zealand’s Central Otago, Lake Hāwea Station makes regenerative travel its entire reason for being. Australasia’s first certified carbon-positive farm, the station pairs genuine heritage with considered luxury across a collection of intimate residences. Shepherd notes on cottage walls, dinners eaten in a regenerative paddock at sunset, and a quiet conviction that a stay here should give more to the land than it takes – this is a place where the landscape isn’t just a backdrop. It’s the whole point.

LOCATION

Set on the shores of Lake Hāwea in Central Otago, the station sits about 15 minutes from the township of Wanaka, with Queenstown Airport roughly 90 minutes away. Alpine, tussock, and beech forest ranges rise to the east, while the lake opens out to the west and north.

YOUR ROOM

Residences blend heritage charm with modern luxury. Packhorse Cottage carries decades of shepherd history on its walls – notes dating to 1941 – with two bedrooms, a chef’s kitchen, and a sprawling deck. The second room’s super king bed and bunks suit families or two couples perfectly. Homespur is the more intimate option: a studio with a pot belly stove and lake-and-mountain views suited to couples. Both have outdoor fire pits and hot tubs.

WHO IT SUITS

This is a property for travellers who want their stay to mean something beyond four walls and a view. Families will find Packhorse Cottage an ideal base – the master bedroom and bunks sleep a family comfortably, while nature-based educational activities keep children engaged. Couples looking for unhurried days and spectacular evenings will feel perfectly at ease in Homespur, with its pot belly stove and wraparound quiet. The curious, the nature-minded, and the sustainability-conscious will all feel deeply at home here – this is a place that asks something of you, and gives back considerably more.

WHY WE LIKE IT

The ‘Deeper Dining’ experience alone makes this place unforgettable: the station leads guests into the regenerative pastures at sunset, where the menu draws from local, seasonal foraging. The backcountry ATV journey traverses The Castles rock formations across 16,000 acres, moving along the mountain spine with the lake on one side and undulating valleys on the other. Stargazing on the crescent deck, wine and platter in hand under some of the clearest skies in the Southern Hemisphere, rounds off any evening perfectly.

SUSTAINABILITY

Australasia’s first certified carbon-positive farm, Lake Hāwea Station captures about 2.5 times the carbon it emits through regenerative farming, soil nutrition, and renewable energy. The first merino sheep farm in the world to earn B Corp status, it has fenced all seven kilometres of its lakefront to protect waterways and planted over 27,000 native trees in support of biodiversity, habitat restoration, and climate action. Strict animal welfare principles ensure the wellbeing and longevity of all livestock, with farming designed to work in harmony with nature. Guests leave knowing their stay contributed directly to that mission.