I stayed at the old Opunake Club Hotel, it being one of the few places available when, it seemed, half of Auckland had converged on the tiny Taranaki township.
The hotel is still there and looks little different but this time hubby and I opted for more upmarket fare staying at the impressive Headlands Hotel with beautiful sea and mountain views.
Coincidently, Marianne has a stake in the hotel, which she co-owns with sister Noeleen and brother in law Lance Moir. Marianne and Noeleen were ‘Stanley’s’ before they married, their farmer dad, the late Noel Stanley renowned in rugby circles as a former chairman of the Taranaki Rugby Union and a former president of the NZ Rugby Union.
The Stanley children and their spouses are still a strong presence in the area and although Marianne has made her career in Auckland she returned to live in Opunake for four years to help establish the new hotel and still heads back there on occasion.
As hubby and I were taking advantage of summer to visit Taranaki, it was fitting that we should break our journey with a night at Headlands where we woke to our first real view of Mt Taranaki/Egmont.
Unexpectedly, we also enjoyed fantastic dining in the hotel’s much-acclaimed restaurant after which I thought, “that chef could teach some of our local restaurants a thing or two!”
Built on the site of Opunake’s former tennis courts, just metres from the ‘Surf’ Highway 45, Headlands’ unique design with circular tower block means the tastefully appointed penthouse rooms are light, spacious and enjoy extra facilities such kitchenette with some cooking facilities.
In fact, the beach was only a few minutes walk and we wasted no time wandering down there to enjoy a favourite taste of Kiwiana – huge hokey-pokey ice creams in the cone – while sitting on the sand watching the surfers.
Later we took a walk along part of the walkway wending our way around Opunake Lake (a bit smaller than the lake at Western Springs), enjoying both the Wetlands environment and a peek at the local cemetery – peaceful and full of old family names from the past.
Finally, we flopped down on our bed for 40 winks before making our way down to dinner.
Opened in May 2008, Headlands, as its name suggests, is named for the north and south headlands at either end of Opunake Beach. On the other hand, The Tennis Lounge and Restaurant takes its name from the tennis courts on which the building now stands.
Marianne tells me the philosophy behind the complex was to create a ‘restaurant with rooms’ rather than a ‘hotel with a restaurant’.
The former is a term used frequently in Britain where chefs have opened restaurants in out of the ways places then added accommodation for the convenience of dinner guests. The idea is most appropriate for this small town far from the madding crowd.
But, naturally, I was eager to try the food and I wasn’t disappointed. I was ecstatic.
Having become a bit bored with our local menus and increasingly disappointed with the standard of presentation and little use of seasonal vegetables and fruits, the menu at Headlands immediately attracted my interest.
First to catch the eye was a sizzling prawn salad — seasoned prawns wrapped in wonton pastry, shallow fried and served with mixed salad and a mild avocado and wasabi dressing ($15). My interest was definitely aroused.
However, as usual our eyes got the better of our common sense. We just had to start with soup, seafood chowder for you know who and soup of the day – kumara and pumpkin for me. Both came with chunky portions of artisan bread and were meals in themselves. Absolutely delicious.
We should have stopped there but too late! We’d ordered and our mains were on their way. They turned out to be a credit to chef Ryan Moss, who has full license to let his creative juices flow. Originally from the South Island – he still owns a restaurant at Punakaiki – Ryan is a self-confessed West Coast addict, part of the reason that Opunake appealed.
“My wife and I wanted a change of scenery without going too far from our culinary roots,” he said. “Headlands is perfect. Noeleen and the team are completely open to culinary creativity and the environment is great for my family.”
Because I cook chicken a lot at home I seldom order it when out but something about tender chicken breast seasoned and wrapped in bacon, fired and served with sour cream and chives with a tomato jus took my fancy. However, I didn’t expect TWO chicken breasts with flavours that still had me salivating days later.
By time we staggered to the lift we were ready to crash but not before hubby persuaded me that a spa for two would be fitting end to our holiday – yeah right! I was not convinced we tele-tubbies would cope with slippery enamel, bubble jets and too much wine. I shall say no more except that the bath was spa-licious.
We slept like kauri logs and woke, amazingly, clear-headed and eager to hit the road. What’s more, the clouds had lifted and a glorious mountain view, revealed. We nearly skipped breakfast but couldn’t resist another taste of Ryan Moss mastery. Hubby went for lox and bagel (very generous) and I the three-egg omelette with ham and mushrooms and what an omelette it was. I managed half and insisted hubby finish it off despite his “I’m too full” protests.
An hour later we were on our way out of Opunake but not before we had checked out the stylish library and taken a quick peek at the first class aquatic centre, a real credit to local fundraising efforts and vision.
