Bridge To Nowhere Lodge

Set high above the Whanganui River and ringed by native bush, Bridge to Nowhere Lodge sits deep inside Whanganui National Park with no road running anywhere near it. Guests arrive by the lodge's own jet boat, by canoe, on foot, or by helicopter. It is the only accommodation of its kind inside the park. The lodge sleeps up to twenty-five across double, twin and bunk rooms, most opening through French doors onto a shared balcony with river or forest views. A fully equipped kitchen allows self-catering, and there is a communal dining room plus a licensed bar for a drink at day's end. Downstream, a private campground sits about 100 metres upriver, with four cabins, thick mattresses, a cook house and barbecues, upgraded in 2014. Campers are welcome to walk up to the lodge bar; it is a five to ten minute climb on a stepped track. Days here run around the water: canoeing sections of the Whanganui, jet boat trips to the Bridge to Nowhere itself, and walks through the surrounding bush. You can hear the river from the balcony at night. The family running the lodge has worked this stretch of the park for more than forty years, and it shows in how the place is set into the land rather than announced by it.