Estate to Plate 4WD Safari at Treetops Lodge

Explore our 2,500-acre wilderness estate near Rotorua, uncover the origins of our cuisine, and experience the authentic taste of the land.

At Treetops Lodge & Estate, we invite guests to our truly unique Estate to Plate 4WD Safari experience. This signature journey blends adventure, sustainability, and fine dining with your luxurious lodge stay.

A Luxury Lodge Experience Like No Other
Treetops is more than a destination—it’s a philosophy. Our Estate to Plate dining celebrates organic, sustainable, and seasonal food, prepared fresh each day from the land. As four-time winners of the Responsible Tourism Award, we take pride in managing our estate with a focus on nature-first practices, offering guests a sojourn that’s both indulgent and responsible.

Guided Safari Through Estate Wilderness
The Estate to Plate 4WD Safari is led by expert gamekeepers, beginning at our Manuka Honey aviaries where native bees produce wild comb honey. From there, you’ll journey into the heart of the estate to encounter red, fallow, sika and wapiti deer, water buffalo, wild pigs, sheep, pheasants, rabbits, partridges, and seasonal geese and ducks.
Our animals are organically reared, ensuring a natural and sustainable approach to farming. This dedication to the land creates flavours that are authentic, pure, and deeply connected to New Zealand’s heritage.

Explore Our Organic Gardens
The safari continues into the estate’s thriving kitchen gardens, brimming with heritage vegetables and native produce. Depending on the season, you’ll see kumara, native spinach (tetragonia), turmeric, wasabi, cress, and abundant fruit trees. Guests are invited to taste produce fresh from the garden, enjoying a hands-on connection to the food philosophy of Treetops.

From Forest to Kitchen: Wild Food Cooking School
For those who wish to go deeper, the safari can be paired with the Wild Food Cooking School. Begin with a guided forage in our 800-year-old forest, discovering native herbs such as tangy kawakawa and peppery horopito. Then return to the lodge’s open-plan kitchen, where our chefs transform these finds into gourmet dishes.

The cooking school showcases estate-reared venison, buffalo, wild pork, and poultry, as well as brown and rainbow trout from the estate’s seven lakes and streams. Combined with freshly harvested herbs and vegetables, this is a true wild food experience—a chance to taste ingredients and flavours you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

Estate to Plate, Every Day at Treetops
The Estate to Plate philosophy is not limited to the safari or cooking school—it’s at the heart of every meal at Treetops. Our chefs design menus daily, inspired by the freshest seasonal harvest and tailored to each guest’s preferences. Think contemporary cuisine elevated by simple techniques that highlight the natural flavour of estate ingredients. Each dining experience is as unique as the day’s harvest.

Plan Your Estate to Plate Safari
The Estate to Plate 4WD Safari is exclusively available to in-house guests. A minimum of two participants and at least two hours are required, with additional time for the Wild Food Cooking School. Seasonal availability means we recommend booking your experience in advance to avoid disappointment.

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