Name: Stonefly Lodge
Address: 3256 Motueka Valley Highway, 7096, Stanley Brook, New Zealand, Ngatimoti, Ngatimoti, Ngatimoti, 7096, New Zealand
Rating: 10

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Heating

Express check-in/check-out

Garden

Terrace

Private check-in/check-out

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Rooms

Laundry

Concierge services

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Diet menu (on request)

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Airport transportation

Transfer

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Library

Bike rental

Billiards

Hiking

Fishing

Sun Deck

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Cycling

Sports

Massage

Beauty and wellness

Playroom

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Nelson Airport

Stonefly Lodge

Ngatimoti

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

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4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

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king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Thanks John and Kate for making our weekend with you so enjoyable and relaxing! We had an amazing time and felt so welcome and at home at Stonefly lodge. 

You are wonderful hosts and are the custodians of a beautiful corner of our country. 

Totally fantastic! 

My friend Martin and I stayed at Stonefly for 5 days in January 2020.
The litany of five star reviews below are very well founded. 
As someone with a background at the very top of the service industry, I am only too well aware that excellence does not come about by accident. 
No detail was left unchecked and all this in a quite jaw dropping setting. 
Food? If I were sitting in any Michelin starred restaurant anywhere worldwide, I would have been delighted with what was put in front of me.... Three triple A chefs who worked hard to produce food of the very highest order. Super, super nice staff across the board...and owners John and Kate who oversaw all marvellously. 
Faultless.
Best wishes guys...from Denis Mann here in daily London!!

Faultless

We arrived and was greeted by Kate.   My jaw was not up off the floor for awhile.   The rooms are breath taking.  The view was everything that we looked forward to.   John we met later at cocktails with the other guests.   What a place.   The food  oh my  the chefs out do themselves constantly   Even for me being gluten free.   
They set up fly fishing for us the next morning with Richard.  What a patient man we learned so much.   The finally day of fly fishing we helicop out.   What a day.   10 fish total.  Richard you are great.   JOHN and KATE  keep going we will remember this for ever.

Memories of a lifetime

I had the profound privilege to travel this month for the first time to New Zealand's Stonefly Lodge for seven December days of fly fishing before Christmas. Simply put, my trip was nothing short of spectacular and surpassed my high expectations in nearly every area.  

The highlights were many.  I experienced epic fly fishing for monster browns, most on nymphs but including several on small dries, despite high water and less than ideal conditions.  I returned every afternoon to this extraordinary lodge, comfortable and beautiful, and received unexpectedly mind-blowing multi-course, memorable, gourmet meals every night, highlighting local meats, fish, fruit and vegetables all delivered personally by outstanding chefs.  And on top of all of it, John, Kate and team wrap all of the guests in warm and wonderful hospitality.  Mind blown.    

And did I mention the fishing?  Huge browns.  I caught my personal best trout on three of the first four days. I caught fish every day.   Big, bruising, beautiful browns.  Yes, you work for them.  The fishing can be technical, casting super long, light leaders and small flies at seemingly small target areas, at times battling the wind and your nerves as you approach wary trout.  You may walk miles.   You will lose some battles.   But when it all comes together, it is New Zealand at its finest... Fish seemingly from another planet, hooked in an unforgettable setting, tight to your line, and forming memories for a lifetime.

Don't miss Stonefly.  Of course, there are many ways to experience NZ, including DIY, but when you want the best -- wonderful comfort, care, hospitality, and cuisine -- go here!.   

Pictures show it best.  Here are a few of mine!

Epic December Fishing at and Extroardinary Lodge: The Trip of a Lifetime

This lodge was everything we had hoped for ... beautiful setting and amazing experiences.  The hosts, John and Kate, were superb!   This was truly a unique experience ... we felt so pampered, yet so "at home" with the lodge.  The hosts made us feel like family -- we hiked their property, played with Kinsey (the family dog), visited with the alpaca, and dined with John and Kate.  The lodge also has incredible chefs, serving amazing meals at both breakfast and dinner.   The lodge paired us with a perfect fly-fishing guide ... great patience, awesome stories and a fun sense of humor ... plus, he was determined to find us the best fishing spots!!  A boat trip in Abel Tasman was our second great activity - the sights were incredible!  Loved everything about Stonefly and hope to return again.

Incredible stay - beautiful lodge - amazing hosts

I recently was involved in a group who used stonefly Lodge for an elopement/micro wedding photo shoot to promote the diversity of the region for such an event.  Stonefly Lodge is really a fly fishing lodge but certainly has the potential for small boutique events. With adventure weddings becoming the thing, why not combine the experience with fly fishing?

The hand built lodge by its owners john and Kate is immaculate, the grounds stunning from rough native bush to beautifully manicured gardens.  We were treated so well by their team Jason and Jess and fed extremely well by their chef Micheal.

we want to thank you for all your attention to detail, looking after us so well and allowing us to capture just a sample of what you have to offer.  We are excited to return in the future.

Incredible elopement location

I’ve stayed at Stonefly Lodge in 2018 and 2019 and will be returning again in 2020
Kate and John run a beautiful lodge with fantastic rooms - 5* breakfast and evening meals
Trout fishing is superb with amazing rivers and highly knowledgable guides with easy access to rivers by 4x4 or heli pick up
I cannot recommend Stonefly enough


Fly Fishing at Stonefly Lodge 

The scene was set for something special the moment we arrived at Stonefly Lodge. We were greeted by trout surface feeding in the Motueka River & Kenzi the Golden Retriever alerting our wonderful hosts John & Kate  of our arrival. 
Friendly hospitality, superb accomodation & fine dining. 
Aaron Ford local fishing guide extraordinaire was the icing on the cake. We caught trophy fish in the most remote & beautiful locations with humour & amazing knowledge thrown in. What a gun!
Peter, Diana & Karsten 
AUSTRALIA

Stonefly Floats Our Boat

Positives:
Helicopter fishing was incredible.  Very expensive but worth the price for at least one day.  A must experience for any traveling fisherman. Dinner each night was great.  The chef’s did a fantastic job preparing the food.  My guide, Jim, was fabulous. 

Negatives:
Fishing around the property.  Conditions were rainy but sizable fish are located more in the National Parks. If you are trying to save money, I would stay around the Nelson area with a guiding company.  Spring beds: Coils made for uneven body support.  Terrible back support. 

Unorganized: 
-	Owner didn’t warn us prior that guides are contracted outside of Stonefly.  Typical experiences I’ve had around the world (Argentina, Canada, Wyoming, Alaska, Colorado) is that guides are apart of lodge.  Guides are contracted like a 1099 employee in the states.  We booked a year out thinking we had guided fishing every day.  Luckily, we found a guide the night before.  
-	My wife was pregnant and wasn’t fishing.  We asked for a ride into Nelson to show her around town.  We were charged $650 on the last day for an “Arts and Crafts” tour even though no tickets or food were provided.  My wife even picked up lunch for the driver.   To put that in perspective, a Milford Sound tour including a plane ride from Queenstown, included lunch and 2 hours cruise cost $400/person.  
-	Waders came with a broken water proof zipper. I fell in the river causing water damage in my phone (partially my fault but wouldn’t have happened with new/adequate waders). 
-	Owner’s wife kept taking away Betadine unannounced that I needed for my heavily cut/infected foot.  This was important given we were in wet waders all day.  I was told later the brown Betadine was staining the sheets; however, an alternative like Neosporen wasn’t provided or an explanation of why the Betadine was being taken away.  
-	Served unpasteurized Hallooumi cheese two nights to my pregnant wife. 
-	Charged for drinks even though the contract stated “Accomodation costs include: daily cooked breakfast, pre dinner drinks with canape’s, a four course gourmet dinner with house wine and beer.”  I never had more than two beers at dinner and my wife wasn’t drinking.  This charge was later retracted weeks later by the owner. 

Overall Thoughts:
New Zealand has incredible access to fishing that is far different than anything I’ve experienced around the world.  I’ll always remember the Helicopter ride and fishing with Jim.  If you have unlimited money and don't mind spring beds, I would stay here as it’s plug in play.  If you’re on a budget or looking to save money, I would stay around the area and contract with a local helicopter company/guides.  I’ve had friends use Latitude Guiding and stay in town for a similar experience for far less the price.  Contracting with helicopter companies is fairly simple if you want to go that route and stay in town.   

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Stonefly December 2018

For our 50th Wedding Anniversary we decided to  go fly fishing in New Zealand. We wanted it to be topnotch all the way and to incorporate fly fishing and a bit of luxury in a beautiful setting. We got all of that and more with our Orvis sponsored trip to Stonefly Lodge.
The Lodge is a 5-star experience in service, culinary arts, and facility. The Kerrs provide a well-run, welcoming environment, eager and able to meet the needs and wants of everone in the group. The guides and gear were excellent, and the opportunity to heli-fish remote, pristine water was a bonus. We would recommend Stonefly Lodge to any of our fly fishing friends and world travellers.

Stonefly Lodge

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