The Gully Hideaway apartment

Kia ora! Welcome to our little eco retreat in the city. Located on the edge of the Ranfurly gully nature reserve, It's a peaceful, beautiful and special place where you’ll wake to native bird song, not traffic noise. If you're on holiday, a work visit, romantic rendezvous, or just seeking somewhere calm & quiet away from the crowds, the Hideaway is a perfect place to rest & recover. The space The 30m2 apartment is solar powered, fully insulated & double glazed. Inside, it has cool white walls, lofty trusses, recycled native timber & hardwood finishes. The bedroom has a queen bed with nice linen (guests tell us it's v-e-r-y comfy), a TV & fast fibre. The living room has a couch & table, but the main feature is nature itself - a lovely peaceful intimate view out through the gully, where native birds sing & your eyes are treated to every shade of green. There’s also a small deck where you can relax on warm evenings, soaking up the gully ambience. The kitchenette includes a fridge, convection/microwave & induction hob, tea, Raglan Roast coffee, organic milk & everything you need to self cater (byo food & wine). The bathroom has a shower with super efficient heat pump hot water – and a skylight that opens to the stars. Did we mention there's a 7KW EV charger you can use too? We have an ongoing project restoring our bit of the gully, transforming it from a jungle of rubbish (trash) & invasive weeds into a green paradise of birdsong & native flora. Over the years we’ve cleared out thousands of weeds & noxious plant species - not to mention old car tyres, home appliances, bottles, china & broken glass, concrete, and even a cute little brass owl figurine! They've been replaced with a network of natural pathways and many hundreds of native seedlings, which are busily growing into mature trees and bushes. We think it’s an inner city paradise in the making. Come and see for yourself! Guest access The apartment is adjacent to the main house, with off-street parking and access. You have separate access, and complete private use of the apartment during your stay. Other things to note Your hosts are locals. Jeff potters around & fixes things. Callie loves gardening & is interested in permaculture. We both love to travel, enjoy food & wine and meeting people from all parts of the globe. And there are the pets. Awhi the Staffordshire terrier puppy is impossibly cute & full of energy. So is Willa, our daughter’s stripey cat. Whereas Trev the cat is black & white, older and very laid back! The gully is home to a bunch of NZ’s native bird species. The tūi is an amazing songbird, broadcasting its mellifluous tones from gully treetops. Fantails (pīwakawaka) swoop & dive in the afternoons & around sunset. Moreporks are our native owl. Also known as Rūru, their distinctive mournful call (“ruuuuru ruuuuru”) can often be heard in the dead of night. Kōtares (Kingfishers) visit from time to time. Riroriros (grey warblers) and year round residents: their arch nemesis Pipiwharauroa (shining cuckoos) fly in every Spring. Recently, Pūkeko have started inhabiting the gully too. You'll often hear their raucous call in the evenings. Each winter, a bunch of ducks arrive to enjoy the wetland conditions on the gully floor. There's a stream at the bottom of the gully. It can be a bit boggy and jungly below the apartment, but if you'd like to explore a little bit we can show you a safe-ish way down. You'll definitely need to be mobile and confident on sloping terrain. This is Aotearoa/New Zealand so don't worry about snakes, poisonous insects or other dangerous creatures. But do be aware if you stay in our apartment you’ll be up close & personal with nature. That means sometimes an occasional daddy long legs spider or native bush cockroach will put in an appearance – both harmless & signs of a healthy ecosystem.