A lost world
A family’s collective dream has become an out-of-this-world and off-the-grid Northland retreat writes Chloe Tonkin
As we crash through native bush in our host’s Mule Kawasaki, I fear disturbing the sleeping monsters of my childhood. Dragons, dinosaurs, orcs — the 161ha of Ko¯manawa Retreat is an unbeatable hideaway for forgotten and imaginary creatures. Jim Murray, who has co-owned the land for the past five years, compares it to Jurassic Park. Except you don’t need to travel to Isla Nublar to find this lost world, just O¯ puawhanga, Northland.
Before moving to O¯ puawhanga, Jim and his partner, Susie, owned the costume and prop company First Scene in Auckland, which created and sold props to the production teams behind Hercules, Xena: Warrior Princess and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings franchise. After 25 years of running First Scene, the couple sold up and bought the retreat with Susie’s brother, Dean, and his family.
It had been a collective dream to own a piece of land, which they now run as a getaway for those who want some time off the grid.
The families live closely together towards the entrance of the retreat. There you’ll find the farmhouse, the wool house, the office, a workshop and the Shepherd’s Hut, a small cottage where I stayed with my partner. Just a five-minute walk from this little cluster of buildings sits the second, slightly bigger cottage available to stay in — Valley Hut. Both are cosy and charming, but the pricier Valley offers two extra beds and a hot tub.
The hilly land can be navigated by foot, quad bike or with Jim in his Mule Kawasaki. Jim is happy to take visitors for a full tour flanked by his border collie/kelpie cross, “Trump”, who came with the retreat. Jim insists that Trump was named by his previous owner and despite the family’s best efforts to change his name to “Crump”, or at least “Trumpy”, the dog won’t answer to anything else.
Game for a bumpy ride, we took Jim up on his offer to explore by Mule. We darted over streams and springs of water, for which the retreat is named (in te reo Ma¯ ori, Ko¯ manawa means a spring of water that wells up, much like the heart wells up). Hidden up the steep curves of the valley, we found waterfalls where you can swim in summer, scenic ocean views and a selection of hand-built huts.
Like diamonds in the rough, the huts are unique and can only be found if you know where to look. The owners have built several over the years, including the wild and rustic Bush Hut, and the beautifully finished Ridge Hut, which looks out over a vista of trees. The huts are all comfortably furnished with running water and although not advertised to the public, can be made available to those with a taste for something special. Jim shares how he spent one New Year’s Eve alone in Ridge Hut, enjoying a bottle of wine while watching the stars.
For those who prefer their adventures on foot, Ko¯ manawa is a playground. There is an entire map of hiking routes that take anywhere between 30 minutes to two hours. We took the Hawk’s Track, an uphill climb through long grass and thick vegetation that we swash-buckled aside with wooden sticks. Together, the owners have planted 15,000 trees on the land, including ma¯nuka, to¯tara, ta¯nekaha, taraire, rimu and even kauri.
In the grounds surrounding the farmhouse, you’ll find feijoa, fig and olive groves often frequented by the retreat’s raft of turkeys, who loved visiting us at the Shepherd’s Hut for food scraps. In the fields, you’ll spy cows, chickens, sheep and two alpacas, Rocky and Harry, who you can flat-palm feed if you have a spare apple or two. Aside from hiking, you can escape to nearby Helena Bay for a beach walk and a swim or spend an afternoon getting crafty
in Jim’s workshop. Although his First Scene days are behind him, creativity is still very much in the blood. We spent a morning learning how to shape, cut and seal a silver ring using a saw, flame torch, file and acid. Jim can also teach guests how to make a beeswax candle, using everything from a human hand to a small, unidentified skull as his moulds. The workshop counter is cluttered with bottles of scent, with labels reading Angel Wings, Bali Affair and, of course, Dragon’s Blood.
Making guests feel welcome and as if they’re part of the family seems to come naturally to Jim, who not only took us on a tour of the retreat and taught us how to make jewellery, but also gave us a bottle of local red wine and invited us to join a barbecue being held for friends. We were delighted to accept and spent a few hours chatting to the family and their neighbours.