Arcadia Lodge

Matauwhi Bay lies below the deck at Arcadia Lodge, its water catching the light through the day and settling flat by evening. The house is over a hundred years old, restored room by room, and it sits a short walk from Russell village, once known as Kororareka. Inside, five suites and rooms carry water views and, in most cases, a private deck or sitting room. Tautoru, the smallest, has its own entrance tucked away for privacy. Matariki, a two-bedroom suite for up to four guests, opens onto a sitting room looking straight over the bay. A separate two-bedroom cottage sleeps four and runs fully self-contained, with its own kitchen and lounges. The front deck carries an electric awning against the Northland sun, and mornings there mean a breakfast built from the chef's own garden and feijoa, guava and lemon from the grounds. At night you can hear weka calling from the bush, and sometimes a kiwi, rarely seen but often heard. Four swimming beaches lie within reach, one close enough for a dip between courses at lunch. Hosts live on site in a separate house and handle bookings for the bay's boat trips and tours. It is an adults-only stay, closed to children under twelve. The wharf, ferries, and Russell's oldest church are all a short stroll away.