A lodge, a cliff, and six thousand sheep

A working sheep farm. Six thousand acres, running right to the edge of a cliff over the Pacific. One of the best lodges in New Zealand out near the end of it - and almost no one else around. That's Cape Kidnappers, in Hawke's Bay, and it's one of those places you talk about for years.

Getting there is half of it. From Napier you drive in along a riverbed, through pine forest, past fields of sheep, and then the ocean opens up and the lodge appears with it. By the time you pull up, you feel a long way from everything.

And then they take over. No check-in desk, no queue, no forms - someone meets you at the car, takes your bags, and walks you straight to your room. A warm towel to freshen up. A welcome drink they make in-house. The room already set with little things chosen for you. And if you've brought the kids, the chef makes them chocolate eggs - a small thing, but it tells you exactly how the rest of the stay is going to go.

The room itself is simple and lovely - stone, wood, a fire, a balcony looking out over the whole bay. You won't want to leave it. You should anyway.

There's plenty to do if you want it. The golf course is one of the best in the world, and you can almost always get a tee time because there's hardly anyone here. The largest mainland gannet colony in the world is just across the farm. You can head out mustering sheep with the shepherd and the dogs, take a Can-Am into the back country, or have a picnic on the cliffs and do nothing at all.

Dinner is easy. Drinks and snacks come out in the early evening, and most of the food is from the farm - the lamb, the beef, the vegetables. Almost everything's included, so you never see a bill. Then a fire, one more drink, and quiet.

You come for the views. You leave talking about how they looked after you.