I’ve been lounging around with my ears open and heard about a simply luxurious adventure opportunity to be launched this summer. Combining the twin poles of bearish pleasure, sophisticated luxury and adventure, Release Private Retreat look to have all the bases covered for a holiday experience par excellence!

Stalking wild brown and rainbow trout in the crystal clear waters of Central Otago sounds like it’s right up the Bear’s alley…especially when it’s prepared by the personal chef and presented alongside an award-winning local wine hand-picked by the private sommelier…and the prospect of relaxing in the hot tub with (maybe) a group of friends or family after a hard day’s relaxing appeals.

So you may find me holed up in Wanaka sometime between November and March while the summer weather holds, sampling my own combination of heli fly fishing, heli-biking, mountaineering (imagine that!) or heli-diving­ – just some of the items on the menu of activities at Release, an architecturally-designed luxury retreat at Lake Wanaka. For more info, visit www.releasenz.com