Wānaka Lavender Farm

Wānaka Lavender Farm is not your typical working farm. Five minutes from the town centre and nestled between neighbouring farms’ traditional green paddocks are their expansive, colourful gardens, home to not only rows of lavender but native trees, flowering perennials and a number of rescue farm animals too. 

Visitors to the farm are free to author their own stories. Exploration is self-led; there is no recommended route, and signposts are subtly placed to guide you home if necessary. The experience is bookended within the rustic, stone-walled farm building where timber-framed doors lead into a light and airy space housing the farm shop, lavender production facilities, tea room and honey tasting – on beehive pedestals, of course. Stepping outside, the world quiets. Little delights are to be discovered around every corner; your feet (or nose) may steer you to a certain purple door in the middle of the lavender rows, a game of giant checkers in the garden, or along a fence where you can pet one of the friendly farm animals.

This modern twist on a lavender farm has something different to offer in every season. Summer is all about the lavender. Autumn sees warm autumnal colours taking over the trees, as well as striking dahlias and sunflowers. In winter, get cosy by the fire in the farmhouse whilst sipping on Italian hot chocolate (only available over the coldest months), or don a coat and brave the crisp outdoors to say hello to the farm animals, snug in their natural coats. And in spring there are blooms galore, bright colours to behold beneath the still snowy panoramic mountain vista.

Wānaka Lavender Farm offers a circular, sensory experience. The freedom to meander through the rows of lavender, seeing gardeners tending and harvesting; the making of edible and body care goods on view in the farm building; and trying those end products stimulate all five traditional human senses. From plant to people, the farm prides itself on this full offering.