I’ve just spent five glorious days tootling around Central Otago in a Maui motorhome and the highlight was spending a night sleeping in a vineyard.
The Winery Havens are a unique concept that Maui have pioneered. They have five vineyards they’ve partnered with (so far) and all you do is book in for $155 per night, drive your mobile apartment to said winery and you will be shown to your personal parking space with vineyard views – and in our case at Carrick, looking over the beautiful Lake Dunstan surrounded by autumn colours under huge blue skies.
You’ll also receive a platter or a basket of food to nibble in your motor home and a bottle of wine.
UPDATE: Winery havens are now only operating in Australia.
If you time it right (like I did) or you call in advance, you can meet the owner or the wine maker and take a backstage tour of fermenting barrels, then have a little taste as you get to know all about their wines.
Wine growers and their makers are passionate people, so this Winery Haven experience provides a lot more than parking up for a night away from noisy neighbours.
I’m a curious person (bloggers tend to be!) so I could taste and talk all night long about the art of wine making, what got them started on their journey, etc, etc.
But wait, there’s more. You are then provided with a picnic basket from the chef and a bottle of wine to take to your camper van and cook up a gourmet meal to eat inside if it’s chilly, or roll your awning out, set up your table and chairs bask in the stillness of a New Zealand vineyard.
It’s a brilliant experience and I can whole-heartedly recommend it.
Maui’s partner wineries are Carrick Wines in Central Otago, Mercury Bay Estate in the Coromandel, Coney Wines in the Wairarapa, Linden Estate in Hawke’s Bay, and Forrest Wines in Marlborough.
You might like to also read my post on exploring Central Otago between Queenstown and Wanaka in 5 days >
And you should definitely read my post on Top tips for campervanning in New Zealand! >
Itziar Sapsootham
Monday 5th of June 2017
Great information! I was looking for something like that. Do you know if it's possible to go to this vineyards with a no-Maui camper???
Megan
Tuesday 6th of June 2017
This is part of a deal they have with Maui, but if you approach the vineyards directly, it doesn't hurt to ask!