Meadowbank Homestead at Awaroa

Meadowbank Homestead is a beachfront lodge on the edge of Awaroa Inlet, used on Wilsons’ multi-day Abel Tasman journeys and for exclusive-use bookings. It suits a coast trip where you want a comfortable night built into the journey; it isn’t a public museum, a restaurant stop, or an easy one-night booking on its own.

Guests return from walking or kayaking to a lounge, gardens and a terrace looking over the inlet. The lodge has private ensuite rooms and hot showers. Meals are part of the lodge journeys, including dinner, breakfast and packed lunches; this is hosted lodge dining, not a café you can drop into. From the terrace or garden, frame the homestead with the inlet behind it to capture what makes the setting distinctive.

William Hadfield built the original two-storey Meadowbank house here around 1884. His family farmed at Awaroa for decades, with his son Welby continuing until 1949. That house later fell into ruin; the Wilson family rebuilt a replica on the same site in 1994. The building you see is the modern recreation, with the older homestead story tied to the land around it.

Wilsons’ lodge journeys include boat transport. If you’re walking in from Tōtaranui, the Coast Track leg is about 7 km one way and two hours, and crosses Awaroa Inlet and Venture Creek. The inlet crossing is limited to 1 hour 30 minutes before through 2 hours after low tide, and heavy rain can make it impassable. Check tide and weather conditions before setting out.