Amid the muted tones of the tussock landscape, in the remote rural North Otago location, it is a blast of colour.
The gateway is the entrance to Danseys Pass Lavender and the home of Barry and Jo Todd.
"It's so unexpected to come around the corner and find a shop here," Mrs Todd said, explaining the reaction of many visitors.
Mr and Mrs Todd planted lavender five years ago on their 4ha property, after looking at what would grow easily in a climate which could be quite extreme at times.
Grown at altitude, it was similar to the French lavender fields of Provence and some visitors had commented on how like Provence it was.
It was an ideal area for growing lavender because, at altitude, better oil was produced, Mr Todd said.
Mr Todd was a landscaper and gardener by trade, while his wife was also a passionate gardener.
It had been a huge learning experience and a lot of fun, they said.
The couple have 1000 lavender plants and plan to plant a further 2000 plants to give them enough oil to make the various lavender-related products they sell in their shop.
The shop, which is open from Friday to Monday from Labour Weekend to Easter, and on other days if they are home, is in a garage that Mr Todd converted.
It was estimated about 7000 vehicles passed through Dansey Pass every year and of the days the shop was open last season, there were only 12 that they did not have any visitors.
"People are keen to stop if there's something interesting," Mrs Todd, who previously worked at the University of Otago library in Dunedin, said.
She enjoyed people coming in the gate and said visitors came from all over the world.
The couple wanted their business to grow, but grow slowly, as they did not want it to become too big to manage themselves.
Mrs Todd believed the area had a lot of potential and she was excited about the proposed Alps 2 Ocean cycleway from Mt Cook to Oamaru.
"Hopefully . . . people will stop in Duntroon for more than just five minutes for lunch. Maybe we can start promoting things like garden tours and who knows what."
