In 2002, Marion Boatwright from North Carolina and his wife Susan Cook from Christchurch came across overgrown farmland at the end of the Mōkihinui Gorge that they thought suitable for a lodge.
They purchased the land and built the lodge themselves; it opened in December 2006.
A local artist was asked to paint a mural of the Mōkihinui above the lodge's fireplace.
The artist's partner, Steve Stack, a local West Coaster with an intimate knowledge of the back-country, subsequently became friends with Boatwright.

Before the lodge opened, Boatwright and Cook learned that Meridian Energy was working on a proposal to dam the Mōkihinui River.
Whilst the dam was to go immediately upstream of their property, their land was needed for three years for construction activity and they would have to move away during that time.
In 2002, Marion Boatwright from North Carolina and his wife Susan Cook from Christchurch came across overgrown farmland at the end of the Mōkihinui Gorge that they thought suitable for a lodge. They purchased the land and built the lodge themselves; it opened in December 2006. A local artist was asked to paint a mural of the Mōkihinui above the lodge's fireplace. The artist's partner, Steve Stack, a local West Coaster with an intimate knowledge of the back-country, subsequently became friends with Boatwright.
Before the lodge opened, Boatwright and Cook learned that Meridian Energy was working on a proposal to dam the Mōkihinui River. Whilst the dam was to go immediately upstream of their property, their land was needed for three years for construction activity and they would have to move away during that time.
Old Ghost Road