Photography Guy Mac
Stepping into the Orchard Valley glamping tent, one immediately feels glamorous. The luxurious colonial-style interior of the magnificent safari tent, which has travelled here all the way from South Africa, invokes the mood. I feel like Meryl Streep in Sydney Pollack’s 1985 Oscar-winning movie.
There are so many creature comforts here, including a four-poster bed draped in white linen. Carvings and soft furnishing depicting African animals are artfully scattered. There’s a decent bookshelf that has been carefully curated to appeal to a variety of tastes and a games cupboard for off-grid entertainment – even though you can get phone and internet coverage here. Though it is worth turning off the phone and tuning in to this very special and unique boutique glamping retreat run by Cheryl and Te Taki Ruarau.
Located on a hill overlooking a pond teaming with bird life – we counted numerous ducklings as well as shags – the spacious three-roomed safari tent surrounded by decking looks over a valley of rolling hills and charming winding country road. The kind of road Gandalf the wizard could suddenly appear on if you are a Lord of the Rings fan. Indeed the scenery is just as idyllic as Tolkien’s imagination. Though, of course, Orchard Valley is not Hobbiton, and it’s located in the Waitomo District, just a 5-minute drive to Ōtorohanga and a 10-minute drive from Waitomo Adventures and Day Spa. It’s the perfect jumping off point for adventures or pampering, or not, if stopping is what you need.
Set on the Ruarau’s working farm, it is appointed in just the right spot for sunset drinks and a soak in the jacuzzi. Sun drenches the tent from afternoon to evening, with shady spots to also retreat to.
We settled in with a welcome platter over a bottle of organic pinot gris and read up on how to get the wood-fired hot tub working. It is easy to do and satisfying stoking the fire between sips to then be rewarded with a gorgeous soak with a view before dinner. Getting the fire going and heating it up is also part of getting into the ‘slow’.
The welcome platter was so generous we skipped dinner, opting for barbecuing s’mores around the fire pit instead.
The outdoor kitchen has everything you need to make a self- catered meal, plus fresh bread and eggs are supplied for breakfast.
Later, resting your head on a featherdown pillow and drinking in the fresh air while leaving the tent open to the view is a beautiful thing. Aside from feeling luxuriously rejuvenating and private, you could also be anywhere in the world here. It’s just a beautiful escape.
In a wind-down mood we opted for a trip to the spa for a massage and float experience, rather than the adrenalin-filled options at Waitomo Adventures and Day Spa.
It was my first float tank experience so it took me a while to settle into just lying there – bobbing about as if on the Dead Sea. It is impossible to sink. It took a while for my mind to stop its chatter within the hour of floating, though somewhere in the middle I finally surrendered to the experience, achieving a moment of complete stillness and nothingness. Bliss.
The 30-minute massage that follows sets you up for even more relaxation. “Breathe in calm, breathe out stress,” suggests the therapist. “Breathe in calm, breathe out calm.”
