http://www.tewhenuaretreat.co.nz/

Te Whenua Retreat, 2277 Gibbston Highway, Gibbston (2026)

13/10/2026

Day three. There are things that I see before you do. But as I reflect them back to you over coffee (it’s day three of retreat - I know how you like your coffee) you also see yourself and smile in recognition.

We arrive on retreat with our inner dial tuned to a radio station that we know very well indeed. Maybe it’s the competence channel, or the people pleasing channel. By mid retreat, you are beginning to tune to new frequencies. Not because we workshopped anything (10 Steps To Joy does not have the frequency of joy after all) but because your nervous system has much more availability. Wisdom, support, sharing and laughter comes naturally as friendships form. We begin to see ourselves with new eyes.

By day three, you know exactly how Pema likes to be patted. It’s a small relationship that reveals your growing sense of belonging, of care, of relaxed connection and presence.

You’ll likely be experiencing more energy. Maybe you’ll choose to go for a longer walk, to sit by the Kawarau River for a while. Perhaps the afternoon yoga class will reveal how much more embodied you already are (and how good that feels.)

Over dinner, someone will dare to talk about something that they’ve never discussed openly before - a dream that felt too big, a truth too scary to see, a hurt that still smarts. We all benefit from the sharing, because we recall feeling that way too. We witness more layers of our inner world - always with love, with welcome, with blessing.

Day three of five - the dial has shifted. Tomorrow we listen even more deeply.

🌿🧡

12/10/2026

Think of a ceiling fan you’ve only just switched off. It keeps spinning for a while. So do we, as we move through day two of retreat here. The energies of our life prior to retreat are still moving in our bodies, our minds, and expressed in our actual body chemistry. We are still getting to know each other, and find new rhythms. Restlessness is welcome, it’s normal. Might you simply allow yourself to be however you are?

Day two is truly a threshold. Will we give ourselves permission to slow down, to receive, to daydream, meander, to not be productive? It’s ok to feel like you need a seat belt to stay put in the hammock. Is not being productive in any way, actually, productive, we wonder?

The ceiling fan is still spinning a little, and that’s not wrong.

Many of us choose to have a massage on day two, and I recommend that whole heartedly. Massages support the unwinding that’s already in process.
At some point today, perhaps you notice your breath is deeper. You put your feet up without feeling guilty. You enjoy lunch, with no footnotes.

Evening yoga nidra guides us to sense the breath, energy and aliveness in our bodies as we shift even further; from analysing, planning and strategising, into feeling, sensing and welcoming. By bedtime, the deepest shift has often happened. Your Oura ring confirms what surprises you - your ever-vigilant nervous system has stood down.

This is the quiet magic of day two. Without it, the downstream benefits of days three, four and five would never materialise.

Tomorrow, something quieter begins to speak.

🧡🌿

12/10/2026

You’ve done the hardest part. You’re here. What comes next, once you’re sipping our welcome tea, effortlessly attuning your microbiome and your trillions of cells to this land, this sanctuary, this retreat?

We often arrive to retreat pretty tired. Some of us feel our exhaustion clearly, others are so used to pushing through that it goes unnoticed. Yet once the initial buzz that comes with meeting new people and finding your way around the house and gardens - your home for the next 5 days - is spent, the genuine invitation to rest while I prepare our evening meal often results in a glorious pre-dinner nap.

Later, we chat about the retreat. Anyone expecting forms to fill out, weights and measures to be taken and goals to be set, may be disappointed. This is where you start believing that performance isn’t necessary. Some guests like to share intentions for coming on retreat. Sharing intentions is a beautiful way to express our hearts - in whatever ways feel natural and beneficial. Perhaps this is the first time we really feel into why we came… what reveals itself might surprise you. But there is never pressure to speak, no “your turn next”. It’s so much more relaxing that way.

After dinner there is yoga nidra, a style of guided meditation which we practise lying down, in a cosy nest of pillows and blankets. Afterwards, as we say goodnight, someone adds ‘I feel this is exactly where I need to be’.

Perhaps because unconditional acceptance is rarer than it should be.

This is day one. Tomorrow, the ceiling fan begins to slow.

🧡🌿

10/10/2026

I can tell you about rest, about massage, about nourishing food…. But that doesn’t really tell you what a retreat feels like.

I’ve loved hearing from some past guests these last few weeks, women who have unexpectedly reached out to share life updates. It’s prompted me to reflect on recent retreats; how unique they were, and also how there is an arc that unfolds.

Just as a pond agitated by wind and rain will settle completely when nothing more disturbs it, so will our nervous system, heart and mind. Does this mean that Te Whenua does nothing? Not exactly. Our global culture is so packed with the message that you need to compete, achieve, perform, and definitely not get left behind, an environment that welcomes you just as you are does not happen without consideration and design.

I’ve been hosting retreats here for 6 years, and have been through the assault course of other retreats around the world for more than 20. I know what works. Our retreats land differently, not because we have secret knowledge to share with you, but because more learning isn’t the answer.

What follows is a composite of course, and there is no right or wrong way to experience a retreat. I hope though it paints a picture of the pathway through a 5-day all-inclusive retreat, which is our signature offering.

Thanks for being here… More tomorrow! 🌿🧡

03/10/2026

FAQ 🌱

(I’m going on retreat myself later this month - I have a long list of my own questions in my head. The more interesting ones are the ones I won’t send….)

Will I fit in?
Will I be too much, or not enough,
too sad, too together, too weird, too early?

Will I have to speak
when I have no words,
my life-long tactic of silencing my dreams, my tears, my rage.
A strategy I know not how to retire.

How will doing nothing help?
What is the strategy, the framework,
the evidence-base for rest?
Mightn’t I just stay home,
my beautiful house, my own full pantry?

What if I reach the last morning
and nothing has changed?
What if I am, still and forever,
the same person who drove down the gravel road
five days ago?

?

What if I reach the last morning
and I’ve opened a door
I can’t close again...

What if love is on the other side?
What if forgiveness was never needed?
What if there is nothing I need to get right?

[And then, last of all,
the question underneath every other question.
The one you haven’t said to anyone.
The one you almost didn’t admit to yourself]

What if I don’t believe
that showing up each day as me,
with no performance or protection,
Is enough?

💚

Visit our website for details of our 5 day all inclusive retreats, offered every month of the year. You won’t ‘belong’ here, because there is absolutely no code of belonging. 💓

27/09/2026

Wondering about joining one of our plant-based cooking retreats? Here’s how a recent guest experienced our NOURISHED 4-day all-inclusive retreat…

🌸TESTIMONIAL🌸

“My experience of the Nourished Retreat WAY exceeded my expectations, and in so many ways.

Jenny has a special gift for holding space and making sure everyone feels heard and seen. The physical environment is perfectly balanced - serene, stunning, safe and highly functional.

And then there’s the food! Oh my goodness! Three days of cooking and eating plant based meals (for a full carnivore) was the biggest surprise. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and stunning to look at too.

I could not recommend Te Whenua more”

All our retreats are listed on our website - I’d love to hear from you!

🏡🧡

18/09/2026

One of the more interesting and sensitive junctures I find I have to cross as a host and facilitator, is recognising when I have to ‘update’ my position on something that I’ve previously shared, or taught, and certainly been quite attached to in the past.

Cooking and diets, something I’ve become known for, is an example. For many years, from around 2017 to 2023, I would often say that plant-based diets were, idealistically, the best way to eat.

It’s a little uncomfortable for me now to think back on how certain I was about plant-based diets. What’s changed in me isn’t a broader, newer, understanding of one type of diet vs another. It’s that I now think that certainty, and rigidity, rarely are the ‘best’ stance.

It’s border line archaic to me now to think that adhering to any particular label is helpful (this is not medical advice! Some therapeutic diets, for example for diabetes, is another conversation entirely).

But for the most part, the benefits of being flexible, curious, and deeply in attunement to our bodies is what’s needed. I ate coconut yoghurt for some years - like a good vegan - ignoring that my body was quietly saying ‘no’. 🙈

These days, I love hearing that someone is vegan + eggs. Or pescatarian but not tuna or shrimp. Plant-based + probiotic yoghurt. Vegan + real butter, and occasionally-salmon-if-I-feel-like-it. Someone last month told me they were vegan plus bacon on their birthday 🎂

Be you. Don’t follow the rules. (This also means, I won’t rebel against the rules just to be a rebel. That’s the same energy as following the rules.) Take care of yourselves! Be happy. Never stop changing.

💛🧡❤️🩷

02/09/2026

I often joke that on retreats here, the invitation is to do a giant quantity of absolutely nothing. But I also love reminding myself and others that it’s actually impossible for nothing to happen. Our bodies, minds and nervous systems are too magnificent for that. They are wired, literally, to do their most essential work when we are at true rest.

We commonly think of ‘rest’ as being what we do between activities and commitments. And our ‘rest’ might involve all kinds of things, from hanging out with family and friends, cooking & eating, watching Netflix, and yes, scrolling. Yet when our downtime is still active, our nervous system doesn’t get the ‘rest’ memo - we can remain in states of vigilance, concentration, even mild anxiety. When our nervous system stays ‘on’ (our brain waves in a mid- or high-beta frequency), we cannot heal or learn. Living in a constant high beta state is what crystallises into the pattens of reactivity, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness.

On retreats here, we re-attune to the rhythms of nature, spend periods using our creative and generative imagination, connect to each other and our intuition, take care of our physical bodies and Slow. Right. Down. Our nervous system rests. Our brain waves slow to ‘alpha’ frequency, and daily yoga nidra on retreat gently holds and entrains us to this relaxed and healing state of body and mind. Alpha is the seat of healing, ease, feelings of flow, self-awareness, centering, optimism, connection, and engagement & attentiveness without needing to control. After a busy day of ‘doing nothing’, we sleep deeply - our brains slow to delta and theta states, and deep restoration occurs.

So - doing nothing. But letting our body, mind and consciousness do the essential, beautiful job of balancing our ability to do our meaningful work in the world with the ability to learn, heal, integrate and grow. And be present to this enchanting world, which often exists outside of our constricted awareness. You might find you like it 💫

🏡🧡

Next retreat Oct 6-10.

Full details of all our retreats on our website, dates for 2027 now also up. All welcome.

16/07/2026

5-day, all inclusive retreats, monthly, all year round.

For guests looking to not simply retreat from life, but find the doorway back to it.

Delicious plant-based food, based in the stunning Otago mountains.

All welcome 🏡🧡

02/07/2026

“I recently attended the four-night retreat at Te Whenua Retreat and it was an amazing experience. The atmosphere was calm, nurturing thanks to Jenny, whose warm and considerate nature sets the tone. Jenny’s vegetarian meals were a highlight, thoughtful, and utterly delicious.
The four days gave me exactly what I didn’t realise I needed — the space to disconnect, reset, and breathe. The surroundings are stunning, and there’s a profound sense of being held by the land and the environment around you.
I left feeling genuinely refreshed, grounded, and deeply grateful. I would wholeheartedly recommend Te Whenua Retreat to anyone looking to step away from everyday life and invest some real time in their wellbeing. It is a special place and worth consideration.”

We host retreats each month, and year round.
Please see our website for details.

🏡🧡

Te Whenua Retreat

13/10/2026

12/10/2026

12/10/2026

10/10/2026

03/10/2026

27/09/2026

18/09/2026

02/09/2026

16/07/2026

02/07/2026

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