Ness brought her distinctive, ice cream sundae style on our girls' weekend away.

My bestie and I went on a girls' weekend away to celebrate 25 years of friendship. We first met when we were 11 years old - I know you're running the calculations and have figured out that we're now thirty-six years old.

Ness booked us into the beautiful Waiorau Homestead in Cardrona. It's about fifteen minutes drive from Wanaka where we spent a number of hours taking photos of the lake, cruising the shops - Ness was the extravagant shopper on this trip - and eating way too much yummy food.

Part of the trip was a jaunt to Queenstown, about an hour and half away on hairpin bend roads in the middle of stunning mountain scenery. Ness had wanted to bungy for some time and booked herself into The Ledge from which she took a Peter Pan-style running leap. I bought her knee-high leather boots while we were there to commemorate our anniversary: after all we both like clothes and genuine leather boots will last at least 25 years!

Whilst the weather was mostly in our favour we did get a morning of rain through which we bunked down at the homestead and worked our way through a jigsaw puzzle. Later the rain turned into brisk but sunny. Lake Wanaka was a sight to behold with choppy waves in the foreground and snow covered peaks in the distance. Beautiful!

Layering lighter items meant that my travel wardrobe could handle warm days and snow days.

On our last morning we woke to snow covered grounds. We had been so snug inside we didn't notice the change in weather outside until the curtains opened.

I barely unpacked from the previous week's trip to the Coromandel, choosing instead to switch out a few items to turn my travel wardrobe from summer to winter. Some items are so versatile they easily bridge seasons. Some clever layering and a simple palette can mean you're comfortable regardless of weather and occasion.

The Waiorau Homestead is a beautiful and comfortable place to stay if you're visiting the Wanaka area.

The picturesque grounds of the homestead made for a couple of very pleasant photoshoots and I highly recommend Waiorau if you're heading south for some skiing this winter. As well as lovely rooms and comfortable, spacious common areas, breakfast is included with your stay. In the down times you can entertain yourselves with DVD movies, cable TV, books and games. An excellent place to R&R!

If you haven't visited our beautiful country before and are planning your visit, be sure to come further south and enjoy all the activities and views we have to offer. Where the north has mild weather and pleasant beaches, the south has wild terrain and plenty of outdoor pursuits to entice and distract you.