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		West Coast Luxury Accommodation About Ballarat House The purpose-built brick, schist and cedar lodge and extended family home blends naturally with the landscape on the Thompsons' privately owned 800 acre farm near Hokitika. It has been built on Ballarat Hill - so named by the gold miners of the 1860s - and is part of an exquisite subdivision created by the family called Ballarat Rise. The lodge has been designed to exacting standards and includes a delightful entrance complete with grand piano, a reading room, and access to DVD movies and Sky television. This can be beamed to any of the seven flat screen television sets via a state of the art audio/visual system. Broadband and internet coverage is available.           The formal lounge has picture windows on three sides to take in spectacular views of the farm, the ocean and Mt Cook - New Zealand's highest mountain. Landscaping features natural bush, flax and varied ornamental grass. The lodge is a sun trap, as are the three separate patio areas available to guests to enjoy a spot of tranquility, the magic of sunrise and panoramic views of natural countryside, sea and sky. Watch the sun drop into the sea at the end of the day and experience the colours of the evening sky in the afterglow, then see the stars brighten the night! Unbelievable glory! Native New Zealand timber called Matai was used throughout Ballarat House but this timber is a little bit special - it was dug up from a swamp on the farm. This swamp Matai had spent centuries buried in mud before it was milled in one of the farm's paddocks using old fashioned methods and equipment. It was then kiln dried. It has been used sparingly throughout the lodge for items such as bathroom bench tops, window seats and spa bath surrounds. The Matai also features in the coved ceiling in the guest lounge.
		Ruth and Gary Thompson Ballarat Rise . RD2 . Hokitika 7882 . New Zealand t +64 3 755 7308   f +64 3 755 7328   e stay@ballarathouse.co.nz © 2007 Ballarat House . Designed and hosted by Kudos web design . Photography by Juergen Schacke - Hokitika