NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

He Tāngata: Jacinda Cole, the proprietor of Martinborough Hotel.

By Elisabeth Easther
NZ Herald·
11 Oct, 2018 08:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jacinda Cole trekking the Annapurnas.

Jacinda Cole trekking the Annapurnas.

Elisabeth Easther talks to the proprietor of Martinborough Hotel.

My childhood is full of beach memories like collecting pipi and looking out to Kāpiti Island. I grew up on the Kāpiti Coast but in winter we'd go down to Lake Rotoiti in the South Island. We learnt to ski at Rainbow, so I had the seaside and the snow. And because Dad's work took him to Thailand, we also travelled a lot in Asia, which really opened my eyes to other cultures.

When I finished my degree I moved to Sydney, which was an easy stepping-stone to the big wide world and it was a wonderful base from which to explore Australia. When I was transferred to London, I didn't want to go straight there and thankfully my firm let me take five months to travel. I started in Vietnam then travelled overland to China, to Nepal, then down through India.

Trekking in the Annapurna Mountains made me realise I love holidays with an achievement. Getting to the top of Annapurna was a physical challenge, although we got stuck up there, which was hilarious. We were wearing clothes that hadn't been washed in ages, drinking Himalayan tea made out of yak butter and not knowing when we'd get off the mountain.

Jacinda Cole, second left, at the top of the Annapurna pass.
Jacinda Cole, second left, at the top of the Annapurna pass.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

India was full-on so I'm pleased I'd been travelling for a while before going there. We arrived overland from Nepal and our first stop was Varanasi. We should've gone somewhere like Rajasthan or Delhi first, but we got to Varanasi, dropped our bags and stepped out of our backpackers into this tiny cobbled alleyway into a crowd of people. We didn't realise till we'd taken a few steps that we'd merged with a funeral procession going down to the Ganges. You can't go against the tide and we got swept up, the body carried just above our heads.

I was by myself in India for a bit and I didn't know it was unwise for women to travel alone on trains. I was in this cheap carriage full of about 40 Indian men and we were stacked up three levels high. Thankfully a lovely man came over — he spoke very good English — and he asked what I was doing. I told him where I was going and he said I shouldn't be on this train, but he'd look after me. I didn't have much choice, I had to trust him and sure enough, he was a wonderful guy. He made me feel safe while the whole carriage gathered around in a ring, staring in fascination. No one went beyond the staring but it was a 10-hour journey, so I was very grateful for his kindness.

Iceland was amazing. We travelled around the western side where there are hot springs and beautiful mountains right next to the sea. I was determined to find a non-commercial hot spring to jump into. Some locals told us to go down this road that's not really a road in a landscape that looks like the moon. We found the hot spring but it was about 400C so there was no way we could get near it.

In Iceland they have a national delicacy made of fermented shark. I'm quite open-minded about food, but just the thought of it now makes my skin crawl. Imagine a fish that's rotted into cheese, it's one of those things that lingers and you can't get rid of the taste for days.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

We went to quite a few music festivals, but it's the little ones that stick in my mind. Our last month in London, we went to Festival Number 6 at Portmerion in North Wales.
I was pregnant with twins, and it bucketed down the whole time. Because it had never rained during the festival before, the organisers hadn't thought about how to handle bad weather and when we went to leave, the cars were all underwater, flooded in. Every farmer with a tractor was called in, and they hauled the cars out. You couldn't help but laugh.

We could've stayed in London with the children but we wanted them to have the same sort of upbringing we had. Tim and I both worked in finance but it wasn't a passion so, when we moved back to New Zealand we wanted a business of our own and a flexible life. When we heard The Martinborough Hotel was for sale, at first I thought it was crazy, but we came down to get a feel for the place and driving in, it just felt right. We instantly fell in love with the hotel and the beautiful town. We're not hospitality experts but we've travelled a lot and we know what we love so our theory is that we can apply that to the hotel, and hopefully other people will love what we do.

There's lots to learn but, when it's your own business and you're passionate about it, it doesn't actually feel like work. I love this rugged coast, and I'm really excited about being based in New Zealand again.

Further information: see martinboroughhotel.co.nz

Discover more

Travel

Travel deals of the week

04 Mar 07:20 PM
Travel

Proven: Alcohol improves your foreign language skills

10 Oct 03:00 AM
Travel

Too fat for that ass: Santorini bans overweight donkey riders

09 Oct 10:10 PM
Travel

Kiwi lodge among best resorts in the world

10 Oct 01:50 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel

Travel

Winter in Melbourne is a delight, if you know where to look

02 Jul 07:00 AM
Travel

In a city full of tourist traps, this food tour steered me to the real deal

02 Jul 12:00 AM
Travel

How a rainforest and a baby python fixed my burnout

01 Jul 07:00 AM

One pass, ten snowy adventures

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Winter in Melbourne is a delight, if you know where to look

Winter in Melbourne is a delight, if you know where to look

02 Jul 07:00 AM

Melbourne's winter charm lies in its hidden bars, laneway culture, and vibrant arts scene.

In a city full of tourist traps, this food tour steered me to the real deal

In a city full of tourist traps, this food tour steered me to the real deal

02 Jul 12:00 AM
How a rainforest and a baby python fixed my burnout

How a rainforest and a baby python fixed my burnout

01 Jul 07:00 AM
Live octopus and martial arts classes: What South Korea is really like

Live octopus and martial arts classes: What South Korea is really like

01 Jul 01:00 AM
Your Fiordland experience, levelled up
sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP