A confidence boost

Healing principles and a healthy environment make for a relaxing stay at Ora Ora Resort in the Bay of Islands.

Not every hotelier offers you'confidence' tea on arrival, made from home-grown, dried and ground laurel leaves. In fact laurel wreaths were used by the ancient Etruscans, the Greeks and Romans to symbolise strength and at Ora Ora Resort in Kerikeri the tea is a small part of a holistic well-being package.

Rolf Mueller-Glodde and Inge Bremer are the fourth Germans to own the property so there seems to be some kind of intangible Teutonic draw-card hidden somewhere in the bushes. It was built in the 1970s and in the past decade the couple have turned the surrounds into an ecological pocket specialising in permaculture practice and biodynamic production, growing their own vegetables and herbs that head straight to the plate for guests. They are eco-warriors and could be labelled a bit eccentric were it not for the fact they run a healing business and where the land benefits as much as guests in an environment conducive to relaxation.

This approach is no mere marketing tool, it defines their lives. They practice what they preach, even generating their own electricity through the installation of photo voltaic panels on the roof. They harvest by the lunar calendar and have gone through the exacting process of getting the establishment organically certified.

"Even if the principles looked a bit like witchcraft in the beginning," says Inge with a laugh, "it's easy and the results are nice."

Therapies on offer include the practice of allopathy (fighting disease) and homeopathy (using the same to cure). Other healing principles employed at Ora Ora are Kniepp which utilises a combination of hydrotherapy, medicinal herbs, movement and healthy food; there's energy healing available, massages (including lymphatic oscillation), chiropractic holistic massage and good old-fashioned water and juice with a healthy eating plan.

Rolf and Inge employ the intriguing-sounding 'body whisperer' treatment offered by another German woman - one of the area's 'swallows' who spend six months of the year here. She is the daughter of a Viennese surgeon and her mother, who also lives here, 'reads' the earth's ley lines. In fact she 'corrected an obstructive swimming pool' at Ora Ora and they've been happy ever since.

Across from the main building there's a wellness centre with a tree growing through the roof and if that's not enough to elevate your senses, a clairvoyant is available if you feel the need - and a great many do. Most of the guests are from New Zealand now whereas at one time the property catered mainly for foreign tourists. They come for health reasons, naturally, but others are looking at changing their life direction and need guidance. Last month the resort hosted a woman from Greymouth who had been involved in the mining industry there. She had reached the stage, she said, where she wanted to 'prepare herself for the rest of her life'. Others might come for body-and-soul diagnostics as most arrive to seriously relax.

Ora Ora Resort is one of an increasing number of centres in the Bay of Islands specifically catering for total wellness - a naturally growing industry.