Fine dining at Blue Duck Station, Ruapehu

The stag leapt over boulders on the river bank. He was bluffed in, trapped by steep cliffs and disorientated, having strayed from his home territory during the roar. The noise of our jet boat startled him and he attempted a futile scramble up the sheer rock, tumbling back into the long grass. “Can deer swim?” I asked Dan, our skipper. “Very well,” he confirmed, as the stag plunged into the Whanganui River and was pulled closer and closer to our bow by the current, his wet antlers gleaming in the morning sunshine.

The beautiful landscapes of Blue Duck Station, Ruapehu. Photo by Jo Percival

“That’s National Geographic stuff right there!” Dan exclaimed, as the stag reached the river edge, kicked his hind legs as he vaulted over a fallen tree and disappeared back into the bush. “That’s probably the best wildlife experience I’ve ever had on the river!” What an incredible thing to witness.

Getting up close with wildlife is pretty common at nearby Blue Duck Station. A 3,000-hectare farm in the heart of the central North Island, the station is surrounded by native bush and bounds the rugged wilderness of Whanganui National Park.

We reach the station on a juddering gravel road that winds for 41 corrugated kilometres from Raurimu through bush and farmland. Viewing the landscape through the sepia filter of dust adds to the feeling of travelling back in time.

There are a scattering of tiny cottages, re-purposed shearer’s quarters and a couple of self-contained houses spread along the roadside. The Blue Duck Café is the hub of the station – a launchpad for outdoor adventures and a prime spot for recounting the day’s tales over a beer by the fire. 

Morning mist starts to clear on the Whanganui River. Photo by Jo Percival.

Dan Steele, Blue Duck’s owner pulls up at the café in his signature wide-brimmed hat, driving an ATV filled with working dogs. We give their furry faces a scratch and climb in for a tour to get our bearings.

While bumping along the rutted farm tracks, Dan tells us about the property. At Blue Duck income is derived from farming, tourism, and their biggest earner – mānuka honey, which they sell 40,000 kilos of each year. Because a lot of the land is so steep and difficult, diversification is critical; farming alone won’t do. Plus, Dan is retiring large swathes of pasture to become native bush as part of his extensive conservation efforts.

We pull over to investigate one of the traps that helps combat rats, stoats, possums and wild cats. Predator control is critical, as the station’s namesake, the critically endangered whio blue duck is found here. There are an estimated 2,500 whio left in New Zealand, and about 1% of the entire population can be found at Blue Duck Station. 

We continue on a rollercoaster ride along pinched ridge lines barely wide enough for the side-by-side ATV. Below us, pleated hills and bush-filled valleys are intermittently illuminated by afternoon sun rays. This is tiger country, Dan says, home to wild goats and, at this time of year, even wilder stags. We hear their roars echoing through the hills. It is spectacular, and it’s easy to see why Dan is so passionate about making sure this piece of land not only endures but thrives.

Early the next morning we set off on the mighty Whanganui River, swaddled in eerie mist, everything in soft focus. Again, the muffled bellows of stags reverberate through the low cloud. It is calm and still and cold on the river. I dip the icy tip of my nose into my jacket. The jet boat flies past ancient podocarp forest – towering tōtara and rātā alongside some of the biggest umbrella-like mamaku ferns I’ve ever seen. This is virgin native bush, never touched by humans.

The famous Bridge to Nowhere, Whanganui National Park. Photo by Jo Percival.

Still frothing from our close encounter with the wild stag, we arrive at the Mangapurua Landing to see the famous Bridge to Nowhere. The short bush walk is flat and easy, originally built for horse-drawn carts, so the gradient is no steeper than four degrees. Early on a crisp, sunny morning there is no-one at nowhere, and we have the whole historic bridge to explore by ourselves.

In the 1930s two men took two years to cast the beautiful concrete structure that stretches across a steep, bush-clad chasm. The bridge was built as part of a futile attempt to create a settlement within the dense bush. Sections in the Mangapurua Valley were allocated to veterans after World War 1, and initially there were plans to build roads linking Raetihi, the Whanganui River and Stratford in Taranaki. But, on realising how difficult this would be, the idea was abandoned and by the time the bridge was completed there was little need for it. By 1942 there were only three families left; by 1943 the settlement was deserted.

From the impenetrable national park to the craggy hills at Blue Duck Station, this remote part of Aotearoa is not the sort of place you would expect to find a fine dining restaurant but, at the ‘Top of the World,’ sits The Chef’s Table. Chef Jack Cashmore was a 19-year-old traveller from the UK when he first visited Blue Duck Station. After working in London restaurants, Jack was looking for a change of pace and seized the opportunity to create a unique dining experience in the middle of nowhere. Initially conceived as a temporary pop-up, The Chef’s Table now consists of a beautiful ten-seat dining room adjacent to the open kitchen and three stylish guest cabins. The only way to get there is by ATV. Or helicopter.

The chefs at work at The Chefs Table, Blue Duck Station. Photo by Jo Percival.

The full-immersion dining experience begins with a two-hour safari through landscapes where much of the produce is sourced from. We climb the narrow, rocky track to the top of the property – so high it is often above the clouds. But there are no clouds this evening – just vast, mountainous views set against a candy floss pink sky. The snowless peaks of Mount Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe stand nearby; the flat top of Mount Hikurangi near Taumarunui is visible, and the tiny tip of Mount Taranaki peeks from behind a ridge on the western horizon. We watch the sunset with a perfectly mixed martini in hand.

Inside we feast. It is a journey of flavour, 11 delectable courses with ingredients foraged from around the station. The last of the summer’s tomatoes are served in a smoky broth with tiny flowers of fresh basil. Mamaku fronds taste a little like asparagus, and the rich flavour of wood ear mushrooms is complemented with indulgent truffle crisps. And, of course, there is homegrown lamb. 

Replete and sleepy we climb back into the ATV, snuggled under blankets for the drive back down the hill passing through pockets of mist in the darkness under a sky studded with stars.

To watch the video of the Whanganui River stag encounter, visit the AA Directions Facebook page.