Welcome to Borland Lodge

The new facilities at Borland lodge opened in March 2007 and can accommodate up to 150 people, offering a convenient, comfortable and affordable base.

There are options available for all kinds of different sized groups. Talk to us about your requirements and we'll create a package to suit. 

Sleeping arrangements

The Lodge has 8 wooden chalets that sleep a total of 40 people. Each chalet has two bunks and a single bed. A nine-room accommodation block sleeps 54, and is ideal for a large group. 

The Lodge also has eight newer chalets: 

• 3 Double bed chalets

• 3 Family units with a double bed bunk and two bunks to sleep up to four children

• 2 chalets have three bunks sleeping up to six people.

All beds come with a fitted sheet and a pillow with pillow slip. All rooms have heaters. 

The Lodge also has a self-contained unit, with a separate bedroom consisting of a queen bed. The bathroom has a toilet and wet area shower and both have handrails. This unit also has a kitchen/dining area with a stove, fridge, microwave and toaster. There's a television in the lounge area. 

Kitchen Facilities 

There are two large kitchens and dining /lounge areas. Both kitchens are fully equipped with two new commercial ovens, walk-in chillers and chest freezers. These two kitchens provide utensils and crockery for 100 and 100 respectively. 

Function areas are for hire and are suitable for weddings, seminars, meetings, family reunions, youth leadership, team building sessions, formal dinners, and almost any celebration or get together. 

Function and catering information is available from Lodge Office

No dogs. 

Dogs are not permitted unless prior arrangements have been made with the Manager. We thank you for your understanding. 

How to get here

Just off the Southern Scenic Route, between Lake Manapouri and Lake Monowai and south of Te Anau is the turn off to Borland Lodge. The Lodge is easily accessible but still sufficiently remote for a feeling of isolation. It is only 12 km off the Southern Scenic Highway, turning off the Tuatapere to Manapouri main road with only the last part of the road to the Lodge unsealed. 

45°46'37.2"S 167°32'24.0"E

Personal Locator Beacons are available for hire from the Tuatapere Service station or the Invercargill Museum.

History

Borland Lodge began life as the Pig Creek Hostel – providing accommodation for power project workers. On completion of the project the buildings were left behind to become a valuable outdoor base for school groups.

The first visitors to the Monowai area were Maori who passed this way on food-gathering expeditions. They would have hunted moa, kakapo and other smaller birds in the area and taken eels from the rivers. European exploration began in the 1800s and when the Monowai area became accessible with punts and bridges crossing the mighty Waiau, cattle and sheep were grazed on the extensive flats. 

The Fiordland area has been long-recognised as a treasure trove of nature. Its 1.2 million hectares of mountain, valley, lake and fiord became New Zealand’s largest National Park in 1952. Lake Monowai was identified as a source of water for a hydro-electric scheme and a dam built, the lake raised and generating begun in 1925. It is still going strong, adding a useful 6 megawatts to the National Grid and fondly appreciated by Southlanders. 

Forest and scrub was cleared from the flat land and hillsides to be replaced by farmland but in places the soil proved more suited to trees and extensive man-made forests now cover land retired from grazing. 

In 1969 the Manapouri Power Scheme began production. Water from Lake Manapouri is diverted down a tunnel to an underground power station and out to Deep Cove. In one of New Zealand’s greatest engineering challenges, pylons were built through Fiordland to carry the power to the aluminium smelter near Invercargill.