http://www.tewhenuaretreat.co.nz/

Te Whenua Retreat, 2277 Gibbston Highway, Gibbston (2026)

24/02/2026

Days of total nervous system rest are the medicine we so urgently need…

No one to be, nothing to accomplish, no peaks to scale, nothing to prove, nothing to fix, no problems to solve. The self-improvement project also gets to sit it out for a while - nothing to learn, no biometric trackers to monitor.

Do you remember what that feels like? When you were all heart? When you were guided by feelings, not thoughts?

☺️🏡🧡

12/02/2026

As JOY has the same musical tone as love, I thought this valentines weekend to share some reflections that invite more joy into our lives 💓

The first prompt is a quick win and a no brainer.How easy it is to find moment of easily accessible joy, yet how often do we miss them?

The second is a prompt I’ve been reflecting on for many months, and I’m still finding more gold the deeper I go. I say it’s ‘humbling’ because I started out on this reflection thinking I was a very joyful person, only to find new places that I was holding a kind of ‘non-permission’ for joy.

Reflection three is a deep, loving, gentle project that is relevant to all of us, and requires patience. Ultimately, joy can be felt not just as a mood, not as the fulfilment of hoped for outcomes, but a restful experience of life to be enjoyed, fully, sensually, gratefully.

I hope these help, and would love to know what you noticed.

Much love to you all! ❤️‍🔥

09/02/2026

TESTIMONIAL

“I arrived feeling tense and troubled. I was not sure anything would help. I had no expectations really - just hope.

It was a gentle arrival and easing in. An invitation to simple be. And to be me. I felt immediately supported and that I was in the right place.

The elements of the retreat that needed to be time specific- like the massages and yoga classes - were advised gently and it felt like an easy shift. There was no pressure.

The retreat felt soft, like being lifted up and out of my darkness. It wasn’t a difficult struggle because all I needed to do was let it happen.

Things are clearer now; I have myself to nurture and I know how to be gentle with myself. I have reconnected with my wisdom council who are there when I need them. I am not alone.”

💜🧡💜

4-night Re-Connection Retreat, 2026

24/01/2026

Greetings all!

I’ve been pondering changing the name of these monthly, and perennially popular, one-day retreats.

A marketing expert may advise against it, given how established they’ve become over the last 5+ years…

And given that the retreat itself is not about to be re-designed or re-imagined (although over the years it has slowly, imperceptibly evolved.)

But I’ve been thinking a lot about REST.

I’ve been thinking about how, as a species, we are not very good at it.

Yet, rest is essential if we want to be healthy, joyful, inspired and at peace in our lives.

How do you rest? Watching tv / movies? Gardening? Being in nature, hiking, biking, kayaking? Being with friends? Walking the dog?

Me too!

But these are all examples of ‘doing’ rest. How about ‘being’ rest?

Being rest, at the deepest level: the nervous system.

Not being with friends & family, scanning for approval / disapproval. Not meditation, yoga, or pilates, wondering whether you’re doing it ‘right’. Or my personal favourite - sitting with a good book and a coffee looking peaceful, whilst internally evaluating and judging myself.

Nervous system rest does not depend on the body being still, though slowing down helps us identify the constant background hum of our nervous system scanning, reporting, alerting, notifying…

Meditation, including the styles I’ve offered in the past, were something guests were invited ‘to do’. Now, they are invitations to do absolutely nothing and simply receive. So this is the word in the retreat title I am thinking of fading out. Because for many, the idea of ‘doing’ a meditation has the fragrance of anti-rest.

These day retreats, plus our 4-day ‘Return To Centre’ retreats, unveil deeper layers of you BEING you. Not you, DOING you. No performance anxiety. No vigilance. Nothing to get right. A soft invitation to rest the body, the mind & emotions, and if you’re up for it, to rest the nervous system.

Who might you even be, without the constant hum of your nervous system, trying so hard to keep all the balls in the air?

2 spaces left on Sunday 1st Feb, and the 1st of each month thereafter. All welcome. Full details online or send me a message.

🙏🏡🧡

31/12/2025

Happy new year! I hope it’s filled with joy, ease, playfulness and illumination!

We are on day 4 of our New Years Retreat. Each day brings more peace, more confidence and more discoveries (and more rainbows!)

Thank you for your support this year. 2025 was the year we sailed through our 5th anniversary, and it’s been a pretty special time - thanks to you!

All best wishes 🥰

🙏💫🧡

22/12/2025

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don’t paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I’m telling you is
Yes Yes Yes!

—Kaylin Haught

Sending out much love! 💜💙🩵💚💛

16/12/2025

Ready for deep, genuine rest? This is not just about ‘doing nothing’, collapsing & zoning out.

Genuine rest is profoundly healing. It engages our creative and intuitive qualities, it amplifies our clarity, perceptions (inner and outer) and reveals where and why we get stuck in unhelpful habit patterns. It brings our nervous system into balance It empowers us to live more fully, radiantly and joyfully. Rest is a superpower, and we can support you in reclaiming rest as your birthright.

💛 TESTIMONIAL 💛

“One of the things that is most magical is how time seems to expand into what feels like weeks, even after you’ve only been at Te Whenua for a few hours. It’s a melting pot of the peaceful landscape, nourishing food, Pema’s [🐶] sweet nature, and most especially Jenny’s intuitive way of understanding what you need.
This retreat was the perfect recipe for deep, genuine rest. I’’m so grateful for the last few days and feel comforted by the idea of coming back.”

Our Return To Centre Retreats are 3-night, all inclusive, guided retreats. Our next one is in Feb. Book online via our website - all welcome 🏡🧡

09/12/2025

SPOTLIGHT on our 3-night ‘Return To Centre’ all-inclusive retreats:

We’ve created this 3-night retreat with a gentle yet profound focus on rebalancing your nervous system and bringing back your calm confidence.

At times in our life, we all absolutely need to press pause on the busyness, hyper connectivity, and the relentless forward motion of modern life, and come back to centre. We need to stop the current conversation, in order to have a different, more fulfilling one.

These fully catered, all-inclusive retreats are offered throughout the year, and include daily yoga nidra (non sleep deep rest) to rebalance the nervous system & foster deep rest; restorative yoga to ease muscle tension and support healing; nourishing & delicous plant-based meals; guidance & companionship in exploring our unique life journey; tea ceremony; and plenty of free time to spend in our peaceful gardens, reading, taking a local walk, or soaking under the stars in our cedar hot tub.

Simply being in nature is a true healer.

Conversation, connection, as well as peaceful solitude, are always available as supports for your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. You are welcome just as you are.

Please check our website for dates and availability.

All welcome - please don’t hesitate to get in touch with questions / queries.

🏡🧡

29/11/2025

SPOTLIGHT on our ‘Quiet Day Of Meditation & Rest’

We’ve been offering these regular one-day retreats for more than 5 years, on the 1st of every month (except New Year’s Day.) 💫

The inspiration came from my own past experience of craving somewhere quiet, relaxing & safe to spend an occasional day. This was during a time in my life when my home situation was challenging, and on my days off from work I would go out for the day rather than spend it at home - but where to go? There’s only so much time you can spend in a cafe, or library or park.

If only there was somewhere I could go to rest my mind and heart… Spending the days with friends is an option, but the social expectation to chit chat, though wonderful at times, doesn’t provide the same inner rest as being quietly and gently with our own hearts.

So our Quiet Days are here to provide a safe and nourishing hang-out. No need to tell your story… come and spend the day however you choose.

Even when home life is wonderful, the benefits of spending a day in a space other than your own home, are many. You are away from the distractions of housework, tasks and interruptions. Being in a different space actually helps you see things from a different perspective. We see OURSELVES from a new perspective. We let someone else support us for a day.

Our Quiet Days are perhaps the simplest - and cheapest - of all our retreats and we feel very committed to keeping hosting them. They’ve been perennially popular.

They cost $120 and run from 10am to 5pm, whichever day of the week the 1st falls on.

Next one is tomorrow 😌

Maybe you know someone who may be seeking a day off to rest and refocus? Please let them know about these Quiet Days! 🙏🥰

As always , full details and bookings on our website, link in bio. Or simply drop me a message.

🏡🧡

24/11/2025

Retreats are an invaluable pause in the flow of life. Here’s why:

At any age, and regardless of our roles in life, it’s all to easy to get caught up in the fast stream of day-to-day living, and one of the first things we loose touch with when busy & stressed is the heart, or truth of who we are. This disconnection, a lack of inner coherence, will start to show up as physical and / or psychological symptoms.

Not only has this been well understood by indigenous & spiritual cultures for centuries, it’s also now understood by quantum biologists and doctors in the field of psychoneuroimmunology and other disciplines.

Our all-inclusive 3 and 4 night retreats are designed to support you in re-connecting to your own heart / soul / centre, in a highly supportive and restorative environment. We use time-honoured simple practises, side stepping fads, trends and expensive tech, equipping you well to continue your journey post retreat. We offer all-inclusive retreats every single month.

We believe that each of us have all the wisdom we need inside of us, we sometimes just need to be orientated back to what may have got hidden as we journey through life.

Upcoming retreats:

Dec 1st: Quiet Day Of Meditation & Rest
Dec 7th, Sunday: Harvest & Horizons, setting intentions for 2026
Dec 29th - Jan 2nd: Re-Connection Retreat, 4 nights all-inclusive.

All welcome! 🏡🧡

15/11/2025

Dream big with us for 2026!

Our Harvest & Horizons one-day retreat is where we set our compass for the life we truly and deeply want - feel free to forget ‘realistic’ and plan for magic 💫

SUN. 7th Dec

9.30am to 5pm

Grounding, calming, opening, reflecting, sharing, dreaming, aligning… 🌟

$175 inclusive of lunch & refreshments

All welcome!

Book via our website (link also in todays stories) or DM me 😊

11/11/2025

I have a little issue with the word ‘worst’ in the quote, I would prefer the word ‘real’, or ‘whole’.
There is no ‘better’ or ‘worst’
There is just All We Are.

It’s the project of a life time.
It’s also the deepest truth, the only way to heal.

We are so obsessed with being the ‘best’, we’ve buried the truth of us way way down.
So far down to be truly exiled, buried in our unconscious.

Including everything is a project, an adventure, a choice point on our journey.

But down, down there is where all the remaining light is 💛

Te Whenua Retreat

24/02/2026

12/02/2026

09/02/2026

24/01/2026

31/12/2025

22/12/2025

16/12/2025

09/12/2025

29/11/2025

24/11/2025

15/11/2025

11/11/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category