Part of the meeting toom at Arete Retreat.
If you need a quiet place to sit and work on strategic planning, without the usual interruptions of mobile phones or internet, the Arete Retreat at Makahika Outdoor Pursuit Centre on Gladstone Rd, outside Levin might just be what you need.
Centre owner Sally Duxfield, who jets around the country and the world a few months every year to work with her diverse audience, said she’d love for local businesses to discover what she has to offer.
When the Covid pandemic shut down a lot of businesses Sally said she managed to hold on to her 12 staff and deployed them to develop her property further, putting in pathways, and planting thousands of native trees, while her husband John took up the building of luxury accommodation on the property, called Arete Retreat.
“Maintenance staff, cooks, were out there planting trees and doing other jobs. They are fabulous and hold the fort while I am away.” The property has its own water supply, uses solar power for electricity and has composting toilets, rather than septic tanks.
A storm a few years ago destroyed many of the pine trees on the hills which are part of her 33ha property and weeds were taking over. She thought it was ideal to develop it into a retreat area. “I saw it in my head and made drawings, hoping that others could make it a reality and they did.”
Duxfield has owned the property for the last twenty years and has been supporting the outdoor pursuit centre with her consultancy job in the last few years. “Financially things are just now coming right,” she said.
While plenty of groups from out of town use the facility, she said there is enough room right now for local groups to come in and enjoy a few hours, or a day or even a few days being completely off-grid, surrounded by nature.
There is no cell phone coverage or internet on the property, the biggest interrupters of workflow. “Disconnect to connect,” she said she calls it. “We encourage groups that stay a few days to arrive in the late afternoon, rather than in the morning. The evening and night help them to disconnect.”
She has a meeting room with tea and coffee facilities and several tables set in the bush. “This is great for small business teams to do some deep thinking, like planning the year or team building. We offer bespoke luxury. The room has space for 20 people and there is accommodation overnight for 14.”
She tailors to the needs of the people coming, and this can include catering, accommodation, facilitating workshops, or outdoor pursuits. Clients usually ring her, talk about what they want and then she can give them a quote based on what they need and the size of the group they will be bringing.
Arete offers a range of courses for executive teams and has hosted a lot of elite athletes, from All Blacks, to the Phoenix soccer team, the U20 rugby team, the Hurricanes Poa, and high-performance sports managers. “They fly in from around the country and word of mouth is getting us continued business.” She’s even made space for a helicopter to land on her property.
She said she can help local businesses and groups organise day retreats. “We can help with a programme or they can come and do what they want. We make sure the place is ready for you before you arrive. We can cater for dietary needs, just let us know what you need.”
She offers accommodation too, and even full catering. “We use only locally grown, fresh, organic produce.”
Makahika is a finalist in the Wellington Gold Awards in the services category.
If you want to know more: https://www.arete.nz/ or https://sallyduxfield.com