Tiger House Hermitage- A Winter Retreat

Returning to Tiger House was a much dreamt about & happy plan, but around the time that I was trying to book for our 45th wedding anniversary in December, things went a little awry & we ended up staying at the end of May instead- winter! After the death of Rob's mother & the wind up of her estate we were desperate to bring closure in a definitive & memorable way. However, in the usual manner of these things with "that" family I came down with covid the day before the secrets were finally revealed & Rob found himself nursing dementia patients through a gastric run at his work, only to come down with it too. All the while we were reeling from the punch in the gut, grand finale offensive his mother had delivered; her last word in spite & meanness as our inheritance. We wondered if we'd make it to Tiger House at all, but packed anyway hoping that we'd feel a little brighter along the way. 

Well that Friday (23rd of May) morning we woke to the most astonishingly perfect Hawke's Bay day- not a cloud in the sky all day long. Since we didn't have to travel at all far we headed off at lunch time taking the Tukituki road out to Red Bridge Coffee, but along the way we came across the most astonishing roadside display of golden narcissus. They look like yellow Erlicheer, if there is such a thing. 

And just inside the gate a gorgeous Magnolia in bloom.

We stopped at The Hill's Lookout (finally figured out how to slip in by the fence to park) to take yet another photo of this lovely vista- the Tukituki river & the back of Te Mata peak.

We brought our keep cups with us for coffee.

And on the round trip it was nice to pause (with the traffic hurtling by) & enjoy this glorious autumnal Plane tree tunnel.

Just a little way up the road we called in to the land at Black Barn. There's a lot of Stone pines up here (pine nuts) & lovely views.

And a lot of Mediterranean planting including olives.

Next stop was Keirunga Gardens & already this flowering cherry was blooming- hosting a hoard of happy Tui.

May is just the right time to wander down through Arthur's Path under the watchful shelter of the old (& saved) Oak trees.

And then it was time to head up to Endsleigh road & Tiger House Hermitage- nature retreat.

There are lots of changes since we were last here in December of 2020

Creative evolution of place & space. 

And of course, each season brings it's own nuance.

An old barn conversion. Must be 117 years old now!

Old barns on family land don't generally get much love & attention so it was very clever of George to envision & create a home & retreat here in this space. 

In the way of barns- there has been expansion in to the "other side" ...

where George & Hamish have created a new airy, sun drenched living room. 

Lovely how the light moves between the two rooms during the day.

Winter flowers from home.

Lots of outside "courtyard" space to relax in.

Surely this is the most perfect spot in all of Havelock North.

Perched on a hill- who would have thought that the original owners would have put the barn in the prime spot. Lucky George figured that one out!

Afternoon tea in the winter sunshine.

But of course, there's no substitute for the old trees planted long ago by others.

And new plantings of fragrant lavender redolent with bees.

Rustic charm, without pretension.

  The winter flowering buddleia salviifolia hedge that runs along the back- fragrant mauve flowers beloved of butterflies.

New residents awaiting release. Not too sure about the rooster however!

A perfect winter's day makes for an astonishingly beautiful close of day.

Time for cider.

And let time float by.

And a bath under the stars a little later- so many stars!! 

And then come morning we found ourselves elevated above the fog & the chill below.

And then he did it. Chilly dip in Plungee.

We wondered down through Arapata to get to Birdwoods.

A sweep of Lindens.

Also ever evolving.

A cafe, gallery, 

 garden.

& sweet shop.

And there's the driveway back up to Tiger House, just across the road.

Narrow- planted in the days of much smaller vehicles.

Arapata 

"Bought in 1970, Dick and Ann farmed sheep and cattle at Arapata and lived in the lovely old homestead, which was built in 1910. Arapata had never had children living there, so it became a playground for me and my siblings and a wonderful home for the whole family to always gravitate back to. I came to live at Arapata in 1998 after my wife died, while continuing to farm sheep and cattle and develop my deer farming- Ben"

I'm still not sure what this is but I think that it could be a Thornless cockspur hawthorn.

Now it was at this point that there was a sudden commotion & a roar as a man appeared on a quad bike with a dog evidently wondering who the hell we were. So we quickly explained that we were staying at Tiger House & that we were local & told him of our passion for exploring our lovely province. We also mentioned that we were deeply grateful for the privilege of being on this land. It was one of those open moments when so much was shared & exchanged & something opened up in a remarkable way as we introduced ourselves to Ben. By the time we got to chatting about Kereru & how we'd stayed at the Gospel Hall out there (I gather he'd farmed out there), there was a funny look on Ben's face & he said "Do you like walking?' Right, yip we love to walk. "Well I've got a secret place up the road, if you want to take a picnic. I'll pick you up in 10 minutes & take you up there". So off we went to make our coffee & pack up our caramel square, only to get a phone call a few minutes later to say that Ben had had a sudden nose bleed that wouldn't stop so we'd have to make it tomorrow. Meantime he'd told us where to find the key to Ngamoe Lodge (also on the property) so we took our picnic & sat in the sun on the terrace.

 I'd also spotted two white sapote trees in the paddock so we asked if we could pick a few.

So many on the ground our shoes became all squelchy.

Delicious things in winter!

Tiger house is a magical place.

More winter afternoon sun.

Glow. 

The rich tapestry of winter landscape.

So grateful.

Toasty warm- wood fire.

And then it was time to leave again.

Meantime Ben made contact again & we arranged to meet him at the cattle yards later that afternoon. So in I squished to the back of the truck with Molly the dog, foolishly holding our coffees- yes with lids. And off we set with a roar & a bounce- no actual roads around here. Soon enough I got the giggles as Ben asked me if I minded heights, all the while I was aware that he was barely looking at where he was going, so familiar was he with the journey. Rob was on gate duty & I kept seeing the Crumpy & Scotty ad from back in the day playing through my head. You can take a peek at it here.

And then I looked up & saw "my" trees. When I was 16 I rode my pony Locket up here to this very place, so sure that we could reach Mount Erin but we'd had enough by the time that we got to these gums & turned back.

So eventually we reached our destination, having no idea how we'd actually got there & miraculously the coffee wasn't splattered all over the cab roof.

After a few minutes Ben whistled Molly & they were off again. You'll find your way down again won't you- just head that way.

We found ourselves standing on top of the world. Seeing vistas we'd never seen of our own province ever before.

We walked on up the hill a bit- traversing what is known as The Seven Sisters.

And rather foolishly thought we might take a quick path back around here. Not a good idea, so we backed up before someone tumbled down the hill.

In our day to day lives we never considered that this spot existed.

Looking back to Te Mata Peak.

Yes, to life!

The shadow of the sisters.

The long way down. 

Thank goodness for the blood nose as it was another 5.3 kms from our car back to Tiger House which we didn't have to walk!

So from the grand sweeping views of our beloved province at the Top of The World reminding us that there's always a bigger picture (it's all about perspective) to.....

 the small room, in the small town, in the small country, at the edge of the world.

An adventure like no other.

Oh & here's our Tiger House playlist.