YOUR HOSTS
Welcome to Our Home
Ranginui at Lake Tekapo is an award-winning, architecturally-designed modern home and guest accommodation located in Lake Tekapo village, with spectacular uninterrupted views over the lake and surrounding mountains.
It’s the beloved home of Ann-Maree, a Kiwi, and Sab, an Aussie, whose journey to Ranginui began – unusually – in the Northern Territory of Australia.
After 15 years living with the cold in Queenstown, Ann-Maree travelled to Kakadu in the Northern Territory in 1997, seeking a change of scenery. Meanwhile a young(ish) Sab Lord was starting to make a name for himself tourguiding in Kakadu. Cut forward to 1999, and fate had brought them together. Ann-Maree and Sab took over the tour company established by Sab’s father, John Lord, then called “Lord of Kakadu,” and started working for themselves, rebranding as Lords Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris.
During the Wet season in the tropics – their downtime – Ann-Maree and Sab often holidayed near Tekapo at Lake Alexandrina. By 2013, having fallen in love with New Zealand (and who wouldn’t, really?!), they were looking for a bed and breakfast to purchase in Queenstown. However fate (once again) brought them to Tekapo, where they found their Kiwi quarter acre with The View and began to plan their dream B&B.
Fast forward through a few years of dreaming, designing and a lot of hard work, and in 2018, Ranginui at Lake Tekapo was born.
meet Ann-Maree & Sab
Our mission is to make your stay in Lake Tekapo – the most beautiful part of New Zealand, in our humble opinion – a memorable one, for all the right reasons.
We’ve both worked in various hospitality roles for over thirty years, which gives us an intuitive understanding of our guests’ needs. We have both been fortunate to have travelled to a number of countries, and we are passionate about sharing our piece of New Zealand paradise with our guests.
As keen walkers and fun-loving explorers, we are happy to share personal recommendations to the beautiful walkways, hidden gems and must-do experiences of the Mackenzie Region. We are environmentalists and Sab is involved in the trapping of feral pests (Predator Free NZ) weekly over the summer months. We have also redesigned our front garden into mainly native plants to attract birds and bees. Our next project commencing spring 2023 is to plant a mixture of native and a few deciduous trees on the Lochinvar path on the east side of the property.
Sab still operates his tours in the Northern Territory of Australia from May to October, so you can also join the likes of Boris Johnson and Nicolas Cage and experience Kakadu, Arnhem Land and The Kimberley with Lords Kakadu & Arnhemland Safaris.
We look forward to welcoming you to Ranginui at Lake Tekapo, our wee piece of paradise.
…and the Rest of Our Team
Here at Ranginui, we LOVE dogs. (Ann-Maree famously chose our builder for Ranginui because they had dogs on their website.) They can be kept out of the guest lounge with child gates, but we find that many travellers are missing their pets, so there’s quite a lot of “Oh you’ve got DOGS” at check in.
Buster (Chihuahua cross) is our chilled-out elder statesman. Originally hailing from Darwin, Australia, he is a solid guest favourite and loves NZ’s cooler weather. Molly is a poodle cross, highly strung and, well, a bit unsociable to be honest, but an excellent rabbiter. Dixie is the youngest and would go anywhere with anyone.
Note: Dogs are never allowed in the guest hallway or bedroom area, so you don’t have to sleep with one eye open. Also if you are a human who doesn’t like dogs, never fear, as we can keep them in the host area — although they won’t approve of this one bit.
…and the Rest of Our Team
Here at Ranginui, we LOVE dogs. (Ann-Maree famously chose our builder for Ranginui because they had dogs on their website.) They can be kept out of the guest lounge with child gates, but we find that many travellers are missing their pets, so there’s quite a lot of “Oh you’ve got DOGS” at check in.
Buster (Chihuahua cross) is our chilled-out elder statesman. Originally hailing from Darwin, Australia, he is a solid guest favourite and loves NZ’s cooler weather.
Molly is a poodle cross, highly strung and, well, a bit unsociable to be honest, but an excellent rabbiter.
Dixie was the youngest and would go anywhere with anyone. RIP Dixie – April 2023
Note: Dogs are never allowed in the guest hallway or bedroom area, so you don’t have to sleep with one eye open. Also if you are a human who doesn’t like dogs, never fear, as we can keep them in the host area — although they won’t approve of this one bit.
“Really enjoyed our stay at Ann-Maree’s residence. The house was decorated with immaculate detail and the view from the room & lounge was absolutely incredible. An unquestionable 5 star in every way!”
Qing Ma — Google Reviews
“Really enjoyed our stay at Ann-Maree’s residence. The house was decorated with immaculate detail and the view from the room & lounge was absolutely incredible. An unquestionable 5 star in every way!”
Qing Ma — Google Reviews
Latest Updates
All Updates →
Be Aware: Plan and Book Ahead This Summer!
You MUST book ahead for your dinners and star gazing this summer, October to April 2022/2023.
Starry Nights in Tekapo
Private stargazing tours are available on-site at Ranginui with the help of our friends, Alpha Crux Stargazing and Astrophotography.
Fly Away to a Whisky Hut
It’s a good decision to fly to The Bad Decision Hut, New Zealand’s highest-altitude whisky bar.