On 3 September we were sworn in as new New Zealand citizens, a process that took just over eight years from the date of our arrival in the country to complete. To celebrate, we are offering our guests a special gift--20% off our standard room…

Please note that Pen-y-bryn Lodge will be closed for the winter from 15 June to 7 August 2017. For booking enquiries for the 2017-18 season, please contact us by email or leave a message by ringing our main number, +64 3 434 7939.

Just about a year ago, James and I began to contemplate putting together a book to fill a gap that we perceived existed in the Oamaru marketplace. Despite the fact that Oamaru is easily one of the most beautiful towns in New Zealand, and that…

[caption id="attachment_1279" align="alignleft" width="232"] The NZ Luxury Lodge Gourmet Trail[/caption] Pen-y-bryn Lodge is very pleased to be one of four luxury lodges sprinkled across New Zealand that form the new "New Zealand Luxury Lodge Gourmet Trail". This group of unique luxury lodges share a number…

The host of TVNZ's popular Kiwi Living programme, Miriama Kamo, recently paid a visit to us at Pen-y-bryn Lodge, and the resulting segment appeared this week on the show. Kiwi Living features several segments each week, from cooking with famed Kiwi chef Michael van de Elzen, to household…

[caption id="attachment_1268" align="alignleft" width="225"] NZ Black Truffles[/caption] Few people know that New Zealand produces excellent black truffles (tuber melanosporum), the equal of their famous siblings from Europe. To help celebrate the current season, we are hosting a special dinner on 17 September 2016 that will…

Oamaru and the Waitaki District are great to visit during the cooler months of the year. Not only is the weather during the autumn and winter far more reliably clear than during the summer, but the attractions that have made our area one of New…

There is a great deal to see and do in the Oamaru area, and quite a few people use Oamaru as a base from which to explore Dunedin and Waimate, both of which are within an hour or so by car. To help our guests…

Ashley Baty, since early 2014 the sous chef at Pen-y-bryn, has just competed against young chefs from all over New Zealand in the Jeunes Chefs Rôtisseurs competition held annually by the New Zealand bailliage of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. This august group, with 25,000 members…

There has been a sudden spurt in reporting on interesting things in the Oamaru area, including a few articles about Pen-y-bryn Lodge itself. New Zealand's Life and Leisure magazine for September/October 2015 has no fewer than three pieces about Oamaru. The first one is about…