Okere Bush Retreat - Sauna, Spa, Sleeps 8

Summary:

Want a whole bush block to yourselves - sauna, spa bath and three separate houses? This is it...



📍 Walk » Kaituna River and the Okere Falls track

📍 Walk » Footbridge to Okere Falls Store, rafting and ziplining

📍 25 min » Redwoods Forest, Te Puia, Polynesian Spa, Wai Ariki Spa, Skyline Gondola & Luge, Zorb, Canopy Tours

📍 15 min » Rotorua Airport



✅ Sleeps 8 across three houses

✅ Private sauna and cold shower

✅ Stoked stainless spa bath

✅ 250 Mbps WIFI



The Space:

One bush block at Okere Falls, three separate houses, and the whole thing is yours. Tui Cottage sleeps four among the tree ferns, Kākāriki Tiny House has its own deck and an outdoor sauna, and Kōwhai Studio has a stainless spa bath sitting in a walled courtyard. Everyone gets their own front door, their own bathroom and their own outdoor space - then you all meet up on a deck somewhere with a drink. The Kaituna River and the Okere Falls track are a walk away, and the footbridge takes you across to the store, the rafting base and the zipline.



PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU BOOK

Kōwhai Studio's bathroom - toilet, shower and basin - is in a separate outdoor pod about 3m from the studio door, with no internal access. Guests who get that room step outside to reach it. Most people barely mention it afterwards, but it is worth knowing before you book. Access to Kākāriki Tiny House is down a set of stairs and along a boardwalk, so it is not suitable for anyone who cannot manage stairs.



HIGHLIGHTS

⭐️ Three separate houses on one private bush block - sleeps 8

⭐️ Private electric sauna with a cold shower alongside, looking into native bush

⭐️ Stoked stainless spa bath in a walled courtyard, hot whenever you are

⭐️ Walk to the Kaituna River, the Okere Falls track and the Tutea Falls lookout

⭐️ Footbridge across to the Okere Falls Store, Rotorua Rafting and the zipline

⭐️ Four bedrooms - two super kings and two queens - plus three bathrooms

⭐️ Two full kitchens and a kitchenette, so nobody is queueing for the oven

⭐️ Yoga and relaxation room in the cottage

⭐️ Decks, a brick courtyard and a lit timber boardwalk through the gardens

⭐️ Heat pumps, Smart TVs with Netflix and free off-street parking

⭐️ Lake Rotoiti at the end of the road, Rotorua 25 minutes away



- BEDROOMS -

TUI COTTAGE

Bedroom 1 (ground floor): Queen bed, doors opening to the deck

Bedroom 2 (upstairs): Super king bed under the gable, timber floors



KĀKĀRIKI TINY HOUSE

Bedroom 3: Queen bed



KŌWHAI STUDIO

Bedroom 4: Super king bed in the open studio space



Sleeps 8 in total. All bedding and linen supplied.



- BATHROOMS -

Three bathrooms, one to each house. Tui Cottage has a ground floor bathroom with a shower and vanity, plus a separate toilet next to the laundry. Kākāriki Tiny House has its own full bathroom with a shower, and a cold shower outside by the sauna. Kōwhai Studio's bathroom is the outdoor pod described above - shower, toilet and basin, about 3m from the door - and there is an outdoor shower in its courtyard for rinsing off after the river.



- LIVING AREAS -

Each house has its own. Tui Cottage has a carpeted lounge with a heat pump, a TV, a sunroom nook with floor cushions, French doors to the deck and a dining table for six, with a full kitchen alongside - electric oven and hob, dishwasher and timber ceilings. Kākāriki Tiny House is open plan lounge, dining and kitchen, catching the afternoon light, with a proper kitchen (oven, hob, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, microwave, plunger coffee, cookware and wine glasses), a heat pump and a Smart TV with Netflix. Kōwhai Studio is a single open room with a sofa, dining space, a Smart TV with Netflix and a kitchenette with an electric hob and oven.



- SAUNA -

The electric sauna sits just off the Kākāriki deck and looks straight out into native bush, with a cold shower beside it so you can run the full hot and cold cycle. It sounds like a nice extra until you have done it, and then it becomes the reason you come back.



- SPA BATH -

The Stoked stainless spa bath sits in Kōwhai's private walled courtyard, sheltered from the wind and ready to use on arrival - no heating time, no fuss, just get in. The BBQ and outdoor dining table are alongside, so dinner and a long soak can happen in the same evening.



- OUTDOOR AREA -

The block is wrapped in native bush, and every house has its own outdoor space. Tui Cottage opens onto a wide deck and a brick and paver courtyard with tree ferns and cabbage trees right up to the rail, and a covered porch with a BBQ off the living room. Kākāriki has a private deck reached by a lit timber boardwalk through landscaped gardens. Kōwhai has the walled courtyard with the spa bath, BBQ and outdoor dining. Between them there is somewhere to sit in the sun and somewhere to sit out of the wind at any hour.



- YOGA AND RELAXATION ROOM -

The third upstairs room in Tui Cottage is set up as a yoga and relaxation space rather than a bedroom - mat, roller and exercise ball, a desk under the dormer window and bush views on two sides. It doubles as a quiet corner to work from.



- GEAR STORAGE & DRYING ROOM -

Lockable storage for mountain bikes and fishing gear at Kōwhai Studio - wheel them around the side of the house - plus an indoor drying room for wetsuits and wet gear after a day on the Kaituna.



- LAUNDRY -

Washing machine, tub and drying space in Tui Cottage, next to the separate toilet, and a washer and dryer combo in Kōwhai Studio.



- PARKING -

Free off-street parking on the property for the whole group - the sealed drive off Okere Road at the cottage, a marked spot beside the stairs for the tiny house, and parking in front of the studio on the shared driveway.



Guest Access:

Your group has the entire property - all three houses, all four bedrooms, all three bathrooms, both kitchens and the kitchenette, and exclusive use of the sauna, the cold shower and the spa bath. The decks, the courtyard, the gardens, the boardwalk and the off-street parking are all yours for the stay. Self check-in, so you can arrive when it suits, and everyone can come and go on their own schedule without walking through anyone else's bedroom.



The Neighborhood:

Okere Falls is a real Rotorua lakes community rather than a resort strip, sitting where Lake Rotoiti meets the Kaituna River about 25 minutes north-east of Rotorua on State Highway 33. The Ōkere Falls Scenic Reserve track drops through native bush to the Tutea Falls lookout and the old hydro tunnel, and the Kaituna itself runs Grade 5 through the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. Cross the footbridge from the property and you are at the Okere Falls Store - cafe, deli and one of the best craft beer gardens in the country, with live music most weekends - with Rotorua Rafting and Rotorua Ziplining a few steps further on. Lake Rotoiti is the calm end of things: kayaking, swimming, trout fishing and the hot pools you can only reach by water. Twenty-five minutes into Rotorua puts you at the Redwoods Forest, Te Puia, Polynesian Spa, Wai Ariki Spa, Skyline Gondola & Luge, Zorb and Canopy Tours. The Bay of Plenty beaches are about 40 minutes the other way. This is a lived-in neighbourhood with neighbours and the sounds that come with them - guests who like that tend to love it here.



Getting Around:

You will want a car, and there is free off-street parking on the property for the group. Rotorua Airport is 15 minutes away on State Highway 33, and central Rotorua about 25. Redwoods Forest, Te Puia, Polynesian Spa, Wai Ariki Spa, Skyline Gondola & Luge, Zorb and Canopy Tours are all in the 23 to 27 minute range, so call it 25. Tauranga, the Mount and the Bay of Plenty beaches are roughly 40 to 60 minutes the other way. The river, the Okere Falls track, the store, the rafting base and the zipline are all walkable, so plenty of groups find most cars stay parked.



Other Things to Note:

Kōwhai Studio's bathroom - toilet, shower and basin - is in a separate outdoor pod about 3m from the studio door, with no internal access. Please factor this in when you decide who sleeps where.



Kākāriki Tiny House is reached down a set of stairs from the driveway, along a timber boardwalk and up a second short set of stairs, so it is not suitable for anyone who cannot manage stairs. The boardwalk is lit at night, with switches at both ends.



The sauna is electric and simple to run - instructions are inside. The spa bath is ready to use on arrival, no heating time needed.



WIFI runs at around 250 Mbps. The property is on tank rainwater and mains sewerage, with gas hot water and electric ovens and hobs.



The driveway is shared, so please park considerately and keep an eye out for vehicles and people coming the other way.



Interaction with Guests:

If you need anything at all during your stay, just send us a message 💬 - happy to help 😊