Koanga Gardens and Eco Village

We were members of an awesome organic farm share in Boulder called Abbondanza. It was run by a couple we really liked, Rich and Shanan. Rich has been farming a long time and told us about a place on the North Island that is doing great things with regards to organic farming. He knew the founder, Kay who visited Rich while he was in New Mexico to learn about organic farming and collecting and preserving heirloom seeds. Kay and Bob have since moved on, but we met the rest of the group.

We ran into Emma first. She lives with her partner, David, and two very sweet boys, Maxim and Alexis. They offered to let us stay in their driveway, but their drive was much too steep for the caravan. She introduced me to Scott, their immediate neighbor. Scott is retired and is building a house with his partner Helen. Scott showed me where we could setup our caravan, and briefly showed me around promising to complete the tour in the morning.

Soon after we parked the caravan, Helen and Scott invited us for a swim in the pond just around the corner. It was a beautiful spot for swimming.


Fortunately Amy stopped Beck from throwing our car keys off the deep end of the pier into the mucky depths of the pond just in the nick of time.

After swimming we accepted an offer to have tea with David and Emma. It was interesting to learn about their little community. Emma is from England and married David after moving here. They both commute into work a few days a week, sometimes to Auckland and sometimes to Whangarei, and find it difficult taking care of the property and holding down regular jobs. I can certainly understand why.

The beautiful house that Bob and Kay built along with the important gardens and heritage orchards is for sale. Another plot of land is also for sale. It wasn’t difficult to imagine living here, but we need to explore more before settling down. It was clear that this would be a wonderful place for the kids to grow up in.

The next night we were invited to the weekly community dinner. Amy baked another delicious loaf of bread. Here’s Scott and Quinne on their way to the group dinner.


All the food was delicious, and we met the rest of this interesting little community. We chatted for some time with John who moved here from Scotland with his family.


They’ve been here four years and have worked hard to become as self sufficient as possible. They have successfully avoided the mortgage trap.

We only stayed at Koanga for two nights before heading to Piha the surf town, so it was on the road again.


Luckily we packed very versatile clothes on our trip. In case you’re wondering, Quinne has doubled up her shorts and is wearing them as a quite stylish shrug.

Here's where Koanga Gardens is located:


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