![]() We had 180 degree views of sunset on the water and hills of the North West Coast. We had timed it just right to move to the brand new designer recycled timber eco bach. We trudged up to the showers and ferried the luggage back to the car in the downpour, and my son flatly refused to use the composting toilets, no matter how eco friendly they were. Next morning there was a new sound to complement the shrill dawn chorus of birdcalls – the steady trickle of water down the Tipi’s rain catcher. There were enough clothes, art, jewellery, home furnishings and specialty organic food stores to keep us amused for hours. We browsed through “Atamira” designer clothes and bookstore and “Right up my Alley,” a shop with bric a brac, pottery and glass bottles in a rainbow of colours. The milkshakes were a heavenly combination of honey and fresh caramel. My husband enjoyed a spicy lamb tagine and our son appreciated the home made lamb pie. I settled for a deliciously ice cold and beautifully seasoned gazpacho soup, with a touch of sour cream and a slither of cucumber. However we were enticed by the exotic décor at “Zaragoza” café, with its Moroccan style tagine dishes, lights and carpets. The Black Sand Café had bold pictures decorating the walls, offered delicious wraps, and a fantastic childrens menu. Tongue and Groove café on the main corner looked very cool with its surfing memorabilia, exuberant colours, and retro formica tables and chairs. No trip to Raglan would be complete without sampling the artisan shops and cafes. We rewarded ourselves with delicious thick blue nose steaks and crispy chips from the shop on the wharf, and settled in for another night under the stars. Paraponters swooped and sailed overhead as we climb back up the hill to the car. Soon we all looked like soaked penguins as we jumped and splashed in the waves. Surf life savers zoomed past on a little blue beach buggy with long yellow surf boards on top. Ngarunui beach was jam packed, the black sand lit up with bright beach umbrellas, fluoro kites dipping and diving, people playing beach softball and soccer, and swimming. It has a famous left hand surf break, featuring in a classic international surfing movie. Raglan is a popular haven for surfers, artists and musicians. Cool air surrounded us, and the night swallowed up our first day in Raglan. We tuned in to the sounds of moreporks, and beetles scuttling down the sides of the tipi. The calls of tuis and cicadas gradually faded away. Knowing that he had guaranteed the safety of Europeans in his territory was comforting as I listened to the surf roaring gently in the distance. As a youth he defeated enemy warlord Chief Te Rauparaha in a major battle. I read about my favourite former local, Maori Chief Te Awaitaia as the solar lights flicked on around us. Up in the open canopied dining room we exchanged tales with other international travelers while our pizza baked in the round white earth oven. We peeled back the wrap-around smoke flap to reveal the blue sky above. Our tipi was light and spacious, with a wooden floor and four futon beds. After only a few minutes walk along a fern and manuka lined track, we were in another world. According to Maori legend Karioi was a jilted Maori Princess who, upon discovering that love was lost, lay down there to rest.Īt Solscape we stepped into an American Indian style Tipi settlement for a family eco adventure. Soothing, clean and clear views encompass the Tasman Sea and Whaingaroa Harbour, with Mt Karioi rising like a dromedary’s hump to the Southeast. Solscape is a pleasantly jumbled and rambling collection of wooden eco baches, cabins created from converted khaki railway “cabooses,” and a grassy campsite. I was chilling out in the pretty stone mosaic-floored “indoor-outdoor” shower of Solscape Eco-resort, just out of Raglan on New Zealand’s West Coast. Surrounded by the rich aroma of lavender liquid soap, fresh mountain stream spray and a native bush canopy, I could feel my city stresses steadily melting away. View from Solscape Eco-resort, just out of Raglan on New Zealand’s West Coast
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