Tussock Lodge was our third stop on the Rail Trail. We arrived soaking wet and chilled to the bone…read morehaving cycled from Ranfurly in torrential rain and icy southerlies so you can imagine our excitement when we discovered the following: a) We had the whole house to ourselves and there was board games galore b) There was a full laundry. Necessary due to the muddy,wet state of our bike getup c) There were high pressure, piping hot showers in every room Bliss. Absolute bliss, I tell you! Tussock Lodge is just down the road from the Waipiata pub (which we are told is sometimes open, sometimes not). The house is purpose built for the rail trail with four rooms, each with en suites, and a large open plan kitchen and lounge, which is shared between guests. Normally during the peak season the whole house is choccas but we were lucky in that we had the place to ourselves. The house has a well stocked and reasonably priced mini bar (coke, sprite, beer and wine) as well as fruit, yoghurt, eggs and cereal for breakfast. For dinner you pre-order (we choose steaks) with the owner, Mark, and cook your own. At around 6pm, Mark pops round to drop off the meat as well as a couple of salads and if your lucky a loaf of homemade focaccia and hummus - delish! Although we loved all our stops on the rail trail, this was easily our favourite. If you can, request to stay here.