We just finished our two week vacation from Queenstown to Auckland and stayed at multiple AirBnb’s here in New Zealand as well as many other countries in other parts of the world. Penny and Doug’s place was by far the best one we’ve ever stayed in. It’s too bad we were down to the end of our vacation, or we might just have stayed in this place the entire time. Penny and Doug’s place was a lodge next to their family house on a fantastic dairy farm. From the minute we arrived, we were greeted by Flick, their well-mannered and very friendly farm dog. A few minutes later Doug came out to meet us and make sure we got settled in. He was very friendly, outgoing and had a very witty personality. We immediately hit it off with him and we started asking about the dairy farm and he was more than eager to show us his grove of all kinds of fruit trees and picked some of them right off the trees for us to try. They were so delicious and could not have been any fresher. His wife Penny came over to meet us and she was also very friendly and outgoing. The two were the best hosts we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, even better than any of the five star hotels we’ve stayed at. We went inside our lodge, which they named the Den and it was stunning. The place was impeccably decorated and clean, they had left some very nice welcome goodies, including fresh fruits, a very nice loaf of bread, some chocolates and had it set up with a Nespresso coffee machine, milk, a hot pot and a nice selection of teas. The main room was very ample, with plenty of very comfortable seating, a fireplace and a very nice antler chandelier. The kitchen was very modern and had all the appliances, making it a very nice place to stay two days or two months. The bedrooms were very nice and the bed was extremely comfortable, with clean linens. The windows had black out shades which made it very easy to get some sleep, which we didn’t do because we had asked Doug if we could get up early and learn how to milk the cows. As evening was approaching, Penny asked if we wanted wood for the fire pit they had right outside our Den and they were kind enough to light it for us so we could enjoy it, along with the cold beers they had put in our fridge. We asked about watching the stars at night and they quickly told us the best place to watch them was laying down on their trampoline in the yard. As evening got closer, we walked out to find the most beautiful sunset we had seen in a long time and as dusk went by, we saw the most beautiful sky full of stars. We had one of the best night’s sleep we’d had in a long time but we were up bright and early at 7:00am the next morning to go milk the cows. It was an amazing experience and something we could not have expected or planned on any trip, one that we will definitely never forget. We had a lot of questions about the process and since Doug’s family had been on that land for six generations, he very kindly answered all our questions which was an amazing learning experience in itself. We would have never expected that one cow could provide over 20 liters (5 gallons) of milk each milking twice a day. He showed us the storage containers and brought out a glass so we could try the fresh cold milk, which was incredibly delicious and probably the best milk we’ve tasted. Our “work” was cut short because we had planned to head out on our tour of the Waitomo caves. After our adventure that day, we gladly made our way back to the farm and found a nice fresh basket of strawberries on our doorstep, such a very nice touch. They came out to greet us again and we shared our stories about that day. The second night was just as wonderful as the first. We can’t say enough about what an amazing place this was, what incredible hosts both Penny and Doug were, how beautiful the Den was and what an amazing experience this was for us. We had planned our trip for two years, thinking this would be the only time we’d visit New Zealand but we are already talking about coming back specifically to stay with Penny and Doug and just take in the relaxation. Penny and Doug---if you need two farm hands in the future, just let us know and we may just take you up on it.