Historic Baches on Rangitoto Island

By Bachchat staff

The youngest island in the Hauraki Gulf boasts some of its oldest baches - a glimpse of a holiday community from our past. - More

Mabels Cottage in Mangonui

By Bachchat staff

A colonial cottage with views of Mill Bay - the perfect base for enjoying historic Mangonui - More

Coromandel Holiday Retreat

By Candice Paewai and Bachchat staff

A great place to take the children or a group, this Coromandel retreat has a kauri sanctuary to explore, swimming holes for summer, and snooker, spa and fire for winter. - More

Whare Hoa Hoa

By Gaye Rowberry and Bachchat staff

Enjoy the vineyards of Martinborough from a spacious and elegant homestay - More

Makakahi Lodge

By Philippa Kavanagh and Bachchat staff.

Down on the farm - luxuriously: a country lodge with trout-fishing, Ruapehu, bush and historical relics on its doorstep. - More

Piha Retreat

By Jane Brenan

An architectural gem set in protected native rainforest - More

Take A Walk On The Wildside

By Renate Ockleston

Building a self-sufficient eco-lodge in the heart of the bush: from mud to mod-cons. - More

Tree house of dreams

By Bachchat Staff

When Cyclone Bola hit Coromandel in 1988, it blew over a pohutukawa on a hillside at Kuaotunu. 20 years later, John Buchan and his wife Wendy built a two-storey house whose upper decks are nestled amongst the foliage - More

Uncle Bill’s legacy

By Jenny Tanner

William McNie won a block of land near Ohakune at the end of the 19th century. The cottage he built has been restored by his descendants and named in his memory - More

Bay of Islands boarding house

By Delwyn Barnett

A set of apartments in Opua housed American soldiers during World War II, in its earlier incarnation as a boarding house - More

Beach bungalow moves with the times

By Richard & Shona Savage

Kakanui Beach Retreat has recently undergone its second metamorphosis - refurbished to cater for the next generation. - More

Nelson labour of love

By Gareth Lawes

A 1930s villa has been painstakingly restored by hand, piece by piece - More

Inner city cottage goes bush

By Rosalind Le Bas Walker

A former St Mary’s Bay kauri cottage is now a quiet retreat for visitors to the Waitakeres - More

A cottage built with stolen money

By Caroline Crick

Dirty dealings by a customs officer in the 1850s were the likely source of funds used to build Blackmore Cottage in Nelson - More

A family history of rail carriage sleepouts

By Bachchat staff

Two former rail carriages at Palliser Bay are the latest in a long line of conversions - More

Canterbury potter’s cottage

By Bachchat staff

A hundred-year-old worker's cottage near Darfield is now a popular holiday spot for skiers as far away as Europe - More

A slice of Kiwiana at Mt Peel

By Bachchat staff

A 1950s bach near Geraldine has been preserved in a 1950s-60s time warp, complete with vintage bakeware, classic children’s books and an LP collection - More

Wine tasting in the Wairarapa

By Sara Goessi

Martinborough's come a long way since its first Pinot Noir plantings - More

Bay of Islands by boat

By Emma Bayly

Emma Bayly goes in search of wildlife in Paihia - More

Snow, ice and stars in the Mackenzie Country

Wedding parties, stargazers and ski teams flock to Lake Tekapo but it’s not hard to find solitude here - More

Spa treatment soothes post-run muscle aches

By Tiki Johnston

A soak in a hot mineral pool and spa treatment is the perfect follow-up to a half marathon - More

Scandrett Bay: Trelise Cooper’s childhood bach

By Rosalind Le Bas Walker

Trelise Cooper talks about carefree days at her family’s north Auckland bach - More

Finding fine fare in Geraldine

By Sara Goessi

A quick stop in the South Canterbury farming town shows why local producers have put the town on the food map - More

Rainy day adventures in Rotorua

By Tiki Johnston

Rotorua in May means mountain bike trails through forests, lounging in hot pools and watching the lions being fed. - More

Wine and cheese in Napier

Tiki Johnston

A hot pool, a log fire, delicious local cheeses – what more could you ask for from a winter sojourn in Hawke's Bay? - More

Epicurean escape in Tairua

By Sara Goessi

Forty years after our grandmother died, we booked a bach on the Coromandel and spent a weekend recreating her recipes - More

Biking the Ohakune Old Coach Road

By Sara Goessi

A Ruapehu cycling and walking track offers a lesson in New Zealand rail history - More

Mt Cook by helicopter

By Sara Goessi

A trip on to the Tasman Glacier shows a different side of our highest mountain - More

Writing on the wall at Wainui

By Sara Goessi

A piece of east coast history has been preserved on the walls of a Wainui Beach cottage - More

The story of a Mangawhai woolshed

By Sara Goessi

A hundred years ago, it was a woolshed on the site of the original Te Arai settlement at Mangawhai Heads - More

Tea and scones in Milton Street

By Caroline Crick

A kauri cottage in Milton Street is a link to Nelson’s past - More

High country cob cottage

By Sara Goessi

Almost a century ago, a cob cottage in Waihopai Valley was used as shearers’ quarters - More

Family holidays at Tata Beach

By Anne Tucker

Dorothy and Charlie Tucker bought their Tata Beach holiday house in 1960. Fifty years later, their descendants are still holidaying there. - More

Ninety years in the life of a Waiheke bach

By Jenny Appleton

A two-room bach at Oneroa has evolved into a collection of three cottages with sea views - More

City meets country in Nelson

By Bachchat staff

Sustainability is a key passion for a Nelson couple who turned an old barn into a corrugated iron-themed cottage - More

Old barn, new bach

By Bachchat staff

What began life as a hay barn has been transformed by its architect owner into a holiday home with a loft bedroom - More

The blue house at the beach

By Sara Goessi

The owners of Our Blue Bach in Waikuku bought the house after a chance meeting with its former occupants - More

Holidays at Purakanui

By Barbara Chisholm

Barbara Chisholm's grandfather bought a house at Purakanui Inlet to escape a polio epidemic in Dunedin - More

The story of Wyuna Magic

By Beverley Mayhead

Beverley Mayhead's Coromandel beach house has been in the family for generations - More

Railway cottage gets a new lease of life

By Bookabach staff. Photos by Nicola Edwards.

A renovated Martinborough railway cottage is the culmination of years of planning by its owners - More

Back to the gold rush

By Bookabach staff with pictures courtesy of Lawrence Historic Cottage

A double-brick cottage in a small town in Otago helps recapture the region’s gold-mining past - More

Time capsule under the lino

By Bachchat staff

Have you had a look under the floor lately? - More