Issue 28 Nov / Dec

Run rabbit, run
WORDS: Kate Coughlan; PHOTOGRAPHS: Stephen Jaquiery & Guy Frederick.
LEAD STORY: From rabbit-scoured wasteland to a top-class merino run: the story of Bendigo Station.

Web-only recipe
NIGHT-CAP CHERRIES: Try a tempting dessert that's easy to prepare in advance.

Stressless Christmas
TASTE: Make a communal effort with a pot-luck approach to the festive spread.

Food heroes
THE BEE'S KNEES: Jeremy Friend and Sharyn Woodnorth are on to a sweet thing.

Behind the scenes
FILM: Niki Caro on balancing her latest project, The Vintner's Luck, with family life.

Web-only recipe
TASTE: Delicious Turkish Honey Rumpot - a spiced Christmas treat.

Destinations
HIKING THE HEARTLAND: Sally Duggan and her family tackle tough terrain.

Win a gourmet experience with The Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments valued at $10,000

WILLIAM REES, explorer, farmer, first-class cricketer and accomplished artist, established Queenstown’s first hotel (along with 13 other businesses as varied as boat building, baking, storekeeping and a land agency). Almost 150 years later, his tradition of open-hearted southern hospitality is preserved in The Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments, a state-ofthe-art complex that steps up the hillside from Lake Wakatipu and has the Remarkable Mountains as its front-window view.

Our prize offers not only four days of sumptuous accommodation but also a chance to sample the region’s premium food and wine. The Rees’ executive chef Ben Batterbury (fresh from some of Britain’s best-known Michelinstarred restaurants) revels in the West Coast whitebait, Stewart Island blue cod, Bendigo Station merino lamb and local cheeses with which he conjures up magical menus for the new True South restaurant. He will present a five-course degustation dinner there (or you may prefer to have it cooked and served in your own room). Ben will also share his expertise in a cooking class just for you. And an opportunity to taste one of the country’s best collections of wine in the superbly stocked cellar is one that oenophiles dream about. Nearby Amisfield Winery contributes to the gastronomic adventures by way of a four-course winemaker-hosted lunch with matched wines. Perhaps in need of a lie-down after all that marvellous food and wine, retreat to the comfort of your Lake View room which opens to a balcony with the promised view. The furniture has been specifically designed for The Rees by Arrowtown-based Ed Cruikshank, a craftsman who learned his skills in the London workshops of designer David Linley. It’s one more meticulous detail in a story that’s been more than a century in the telling.

The prize is valued at $10,000

It is for two people and includes:

• Four nights’accommodation in a Lake View Rees Room
• Full breakfast daily
• Exclusive cellar tasting of one of New Zealand’s best collections of wine
• Five-course degustation dinner in the True South dining room or in own room
• Private cooking class with executive chef Ben Batterbury
• Four-course lunch with wine at Amisfield Winery
• Airport transfers (but not travel to and from Queenstown)

Enter here!

Other fantastic web-exclusive prizes to be won! To find out more, see our competition pages.