City Jobs to Fishing Lodge

It’s been nine years since they opened for business at their architect-designed eco-lodge built on the side of a bluff in the remote Matakitaki Valley near Murchison but, on at least one occasion they wondered at the sanity of leaving behind the safety of established careers in the corporate world.

“We were standing on the edge of a large hole where our lodge was going to be, watching dump trucks fill it with concrete and wondering how we were ever going to be able to afford to finish the project,” says Steve, remembering the discovery of unstable rock on the site they had chosen. “The only option was to fill it with concrete and, as the hole filled up, our bank balance went down.”

But, before that particular disaster struck, the Woods had already been on quite a journey from the relative predictability of life in South-East England, where they both worked as programmers for a UK engineering company. A stint together in Chicago followed before Steve was seconded on a two-year contract to the New Zealand Dairy Group in Hamilton, project managing installation of automation equipment.

Wendy worked in systems implementation and they bought a house and settled in to their new life. “But, after six months,” says Steve, “we knew that we had no intention of going home again.”

The pair also decided that there was more to life than nine-to-five jobs.

“I realised staying in that world didn’t excite me anymore,” Steve says. Wendy’s passion for cooking and Steve’s love of trout fishing became strong incentives for change, as they started thinking about alternatives.

“We had never forgotten a wonderful holiday in Ireland, staying in old country houses where we enjoyed the personal approach of the hosts. We knew we’d love to run our own lodge,” says Wendy. Having decided New Zealand was the right place, they spent their spare time searching ever further southwards into the remote reaches of the South Island. Ten kilometres from the small rural town of Murchison they found the 100 acres of part river-flat, part steep hillside they now call home.

Korimako Lodge is surrounded by farmland and native bush. Tui and kea regularly call in for lunch in the now established gardens; the lodge is named for the bellbird, whose call regularly echoes around the valley. Wild deer and goats haunt the bluffs behind the house and, best of all, the Matakitaki River catchment offers some of New Zealand’s best trout fishing – an irresistible drawcard for guests.

The Woods bought the land in the late 1990s, but carried on working in Hamilton to save up the funds to build. They wanted to minimize the impact of the lodge on its wild environment, so passive solar design, solar hot water heating and a micro-hydro system were built in.

Construction was never going to be simple on the steep, remote site and took 18 months to complete. The Woods commuted from Hamilton to manage the build when their day jobs allowed, sometimes camping in the half-completed building. Setbacks, such as the rock episode, cost them dearly in time and money.

Wendy finally arrived alone in August 2001 to finish the interior design details. Steve arrived two weeks later and the rush was on to prepare for their opening season. The first guests arrived in October 2001. 

It took several seasons before the Woods could leave their old life behind completely – they spent the first few winters back in Hamilton working and the summer fishing season down in Murchison running the lodge. But, nine years on, they are at Korimako all year round with no intention of leaving.

“We are a million miles away from the hustle of corporate life – we have no regrets about leaving it behind,” says Wendy.