We took a little risk booking a new listing without reviews, and it paid off big time. We are no strangers to Kiwi hospitality but Kakahi Adventure Lodge stands out as one of best experiences so far.

We found our way by car easily enough and arrived in Kakahi to a warm welcome from Maxine and Mike, who live at the other end of the village, about a 2 minute walk away. Mike has lived there most of his life and Maxine works at a local visitor information centre so they were able to provide a history on the village/area and plenty of advice on local attractions and activities, as well as introducing us to Manu at the local store where we bought some snacks and wine!

Later that night Maxine and Mike took us on a stunning local glow worm tour a short drive from the village, the best we've seen since Waitomo! The next day we walked the Ohinetonga Loop Track just south of Taumaranui where we soaked up the nature on the way to a beautiful lagoon and waterfall.

The absolute highlight of our stay was a river kayaking trip on the Whakapapa river, guided by Mike. A moderate four hour kayak with all gear included and an amazing riverside lunch for a very reasonable price (around $85 each). It couldn't have been a better day.

We cooked on the first night and the next night ate at the Mahoe restaurant 10 minutes north of Kakahi. Excellent steaks!

The house itself is spotlessly clean and furnished in a comfortable original 1970's style. It's extremely quiet, which coming from our city lives was almost unbelievable. It's very sunny in the day, has comfortable beds with obviously new linen, and lots of space to relax. We noticed there was a heat pump which we didn't use as it was lovely weather. The cupboards were stocked with complimentary tea, coffee, milk etc, and a reasonable selection of food in the cupboards available to use on the condition that you replace what you use. Very convenient for chocolate cravings.

Overall our experience was exceptional from arrival to departure. Kakahi is lovely village in great location and we truly didn't want to leave. The beauty and appeal of the local area and the Whakapapa river really opened up to us thanks to a little exploring and our adventure down the river. Maxine and Mike are happy, friendly, honest people who seemed genuinely interested in us and went out of their way to ensure we had a fantastic stay. Nothing was too much trouble and they were just down the road to provide any assistance or info we needed.

We wish we had more time to relax and see some more of the area and we would return in a heartbeat.