Sandy Bay Cabins in the Far North

Sandy Bay Cabins

The east coast bays and coves of Northland are bays of white sand, gentle waves and few people. Sandy Bay Cabins are on rolling farmland, not quite on the coast but walking distance if you wish. The encampment is at present made up of two off the grid cabins, and a larger cabin set a little way apart, where there is not just electricity but also cooking facilities, a fridge and a shower.

The cabins are an act in progress. The area has been developed with a view to expansion and the two smaller cabins - as cute and appealing as you could wish,- are side by side on a grassy plain, where easily there might be five or six cabins at next glance. These cabins face a small stand of native forest where the tall trees predominate but the forest floor is easily accessible with a small stream running through the forest valley.


The larger cabin is timber lined, with a porch to sit on and take in the views, the forest, the sunset, or the well looked after garden out front.

The encampment lends itself to family entertainment. The pizza oven is set alongside a man-made pond. There is a waterside , canoes for a short lap around the pond, and plenty of leaning tables for a family meal gathered around, or a late night gathering.

Outside the main cabin there is a fire bowl ready and waiting. This provides a great gathering place as dusk falls. From here it is just a short distance down the path to the shower and bath - where you can celebrate the great outdoors with views out across the rolling hills yet still private. With hot water at your fingertips for the bath and shower, it could not be easier to  take a quick shower while enjoying the forest surrounds.

This is a a great spot to relax in.  With intermittent cellphone reception it is time to relax, turn off your connections to the outside world and enjoy some time with friends and family in the great outdoors.

The Dog Box - Funky Whanganui Accommodation

The Whanganui Dog Box

A night in the Dog Box does not sound like something you would want to experience. Were you banned from the house for the night? Were you being punished? Did it involve sleeping on the couch or worse still on the front veranda? This may not be so bad if the dog box you must spend the night in is in Whanganui, and the weather is warm, and the skies are kind.

The Dog Box in Whanganui is a modern architectural creation put together by a group of students fresh out of architecture school who understood that good architecture did not have to be expensive, did not have to be predictable and did not have to be a carbon copy of its neighbours. These particular students took a number of short cuts in the interests of economy. They looked for materials on line which could be useful but which no-one seemed to want: example, trusses -  discarded by someone and now a bright blue feature of this home.

They looked for a section in Whanganui and found that they could afford zilch. Solution - give up? Not likely . Instead they found a section that nobody wanted; - too steep, too inhospitable, - too hard. They  made the section their own. The stairs were still needed. Maybe they seemed irrelevant especially  if they had already lived in Wellington ....

The House of Dogness in Whanganui  was built with love, with determination, with semi- starvation, and with great success. It is exuberant, joyous and delightful. The huge windows slip slide away to one side or the other. |The decks are part corridor, part living space. |The materials are raw and unadulterated. Concrete is undisguised. Plywood is rich and natural. Perspex - yes perspex - turns out to be an exciting building material.

The Dog Box is now a short stay rental accommodation.  With its extensive decks jutting at angles, its outstanding hang out spaces and its fabulous summer feel, all I can say is if you are heading up towards the central north island for a break, this is the place to go.

http://www.unusualstays.com/

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Aniwaniwa - Nelson District

A Night in a Yurt

Pippy McCurdy
http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.stumbleuponcroatiaslovenia.com/

Aniwaniwa is a small community of homes clustered together near the top of a steep hill overlooking  Tasman Bay. Near to one of these homes is the yurt, - used sometimes as a retreat, and at other times available for casual travellers to rent out. This is a wonderful spot with views out over the Motueka  river valley below and a vista clear to Tasman Bay in the distance. The yurt is tucked down below the crest of the hill. It is sheltered and sunny with a semi-circle of surrounding deck and an outdoor kitchen. A short distance down a path into the bush leads to the open air shower and bath, -  built into a platform overlooking the bush and the great outdoors, yet completely private. What a place!

Inside, the yurt is one large and spacious room with polished floor boards, a comfortable futon and even a pot belly stove.It is simple yet comfortable and appealing with its trellised walls, its swooping high tent roof, and its windows with views which stretch out endlessly. With electricity available this is far from primitive. 

There is a strong eco-message at Aniwaniwa. Recycling is expected, and the toilet is of course, composting.

Being a fan of long hot baths there was not quite enough hot water for me. However the location and that sense of communing with nature did manage to go a long way toward making up for this. This is a bathroom anyone would love. A conventional indoor bathroom pales in comparison.

Aniwaniwa gives that vibe of being a work in progress. There is a hands on feel to the yurt and its surrounding buildings, and the ongoing signs of further construction suggest this is a project with many further plans still to be explored.

I look forward to coming back again.

  

Warm Earth Cottages

Warm Earth Cottages

Pippy McCurdy: 
 http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.stumbleuponcroatiaslovenia.com/

These little cottages sounded just so charming, just so perfect I nearly didn't want to go. There were promises of seclusion, of romance, of  the perfect hideaway. So much was promised.
Was this exaggerating the charm? Promising more than could be delivered?
Were Warm Earth Cottages going to be just another pair of quaint cottages in a pretty setting?
Well they weren't. They were much, much more than that.

In rural Katikati Warm Earth Cottages are set by a small riverlet, amidst beautiful gardens, lovingly tended. Surrounded by a mass of flowers and shrubs, the cottages (there are two) are instantly alluring as you approach  Chaotically colourful they are offset by the vast expanses of lawn leading down to the river.
Set amidst this floral chaos are the cottages, and yes they are rustic; they are quaint. And they are beautiful both inside and out.

In each perfumed garden is the outdoor bath - breathtakingly appealing and romantic. The fire is set and lit for you. The waters slowly warm as the sun begins to set.

 Every little detail was provided; - the furs and candles of the bedrooms, the little details of the bathrooms, the outdoor spaces, the posies, sprays and flower arrangements,  the pot belly stoves, the wonderful breakfast hampers... I loved these cottages.

There was nothing missing. Electricity banished. Candlelight indoors and out. A cosy lodge with roaring fire to spend time in should the weather happen to fail you ..

These cottages are romantic in the extreme - a Valentine's Day dream! They create the setting for moments to savour and remember. How many proposals must there have been in the candlelight of  Warm Earth Cottage?

These Cottages are everything you could wish for. Little wonder the blackboard overhead on the verandah is covered in writings overflowing with the pleasures of a wonderful night at Warm Earth Cottage.

Websites: http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.stumbleuponcroatiaslovenia.com/

Woodend Beachcomber

Woodend Beachcomber

Pippy McCurdy: 
 http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.stumbleuponcroatiaslovenia.com/

One of my very favourite things is to relax in a glorious outdoor bath as dusk slowly falls and the sky begins to fill with stars. Add to this the distant sound of gently rolling waves and it could be that you too, have found your way to Woodend Beachcomber. Far enough from the city for the sky to be the deepest of velvety tones, but close enough to the city to still use this as a base for your favourite event, -  with Christchurch just a twenty minute drive away, this is a great place to be.

The accomoodation provided for you at the Beachcomber is a pleasure to be in. The ccolours are clear, pure and attractive and the decoration is to the highest standard. This is a top inner city stay, yet you will find it near a beach in the countryside, where you would least expect it. 

Being within walking distance of Woodend Beach is a further bonus, and in Winter this is a beach you will have all to yourself with its long expanses of sand and dunes not to mention its award winning life saving tower.

The outside bath, tucked into a private corner of the section, is an ideal retreat. With plenty of candles supplied, a glass of wine and hot water on tap, this may not be as rustic as lighting the fire and waiting for the waters to heat, but it is sooo much simpler!

 As dusk falls there is time to enjoy the birds flitting overhead to roost, but particularly it is the silence and escape from the traffic and buzz of the city which is most noticeable. Later - a trip into the city, a concert which is anything but quiet, and the challenge of negotiating the wrinkled ragged streets - but what is life without contrasts to heighten its pleasures. 

Websites: http://www.unusualstays.com/
http://www.stumbleuponcroatiaslovenia.com/