Te Kaainga Tawhai Forest Vision Statement

To provide opportunities for people to build a respectful & rewarding relationship with the land and the forest.

To create a place that enables access to wilderness as a source of personal health, rejuvenation, development & spiritual connection.

To care for the forest and the rivers, in order to nurture a healthy ecological balance of the land and ourselves.

The Story of Te Kaainga Tawhai

Te Kaainga Tawhai stands for our guardianship/ kaitiakitanga for 36ha of native forest with a very diverse ecosystem.  The name translates in two ways:  "a home for the beech trees" and "a home amongst the beech trees" and this reflects in our vision statement.  We have been guardians of this precious place for over 25 years, dedicating most of our weekends, holidays and many hours of work to re-establish a thriving forest, reducing the number of pests and creating a space for people to learn and re-charge.  Over time many people have given their time and assisted us in creating and maintaining this beautiful forest and its facilities.  To ensure this jewel is protected in perpetuity we have put in place a full title covenant and we work with younger families in the hope that one day we can hand over our kaitiakitanga to the next generation.

The forest has hosted many people from diverse backgrounds, Cubs to Corporates, individuals to large groups, facilitated workshops to self designed retreats.  We base some of our Nature Workshops out of here too. 

Many have learned, laughed, experienced, experimented, explored... if you'd like to find out more please get in touch.