Whare Kōtare

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Whare Kōtare Kaitiaki | Rongoā | Toi
Empowering People through reconnection with Nature.

Rongoā | Breathwork | Hypnotherapy | Time Line Therapy | NeuroLinguistic Programming | Creative Artisan Pieces | Handcrafted Soap | Workshop Facilitation | MHFA Instructor

15/10/2026

It’s been awhile between weaves with harakeke. Life gets full, new mediums pop in, but harakeke has been there in the background always as a space I return to. Familiar and steady. Consistent and strong, til I feel the call through my hands and return again each time, picking up where I left off.

Gosh it’s lovely to be back in the literal weave.

After a perfectly synchronistic moment I came home with a stash of offcuts from a Pa Harakeke clean up.

Felt great to make use of all these pieces and to be weaving again.

Couple of Kono, some Muka and a lovely long plait making use of all of the ‘scraggly’ bits.

Happy as 💚

14/10/2026

Had a fab time delivering a Rongoā workshop to a group of Scouts!

Always enjoy hearing how much our kids already know / observe / listen cos they always bring the yarns about the knowledge they already have.

We chatted through Breath connection, Karakia, Harvesting Tikanga, Plant ID and uses and of course finished with hugging a Tree.

Always love seeing the ‘mess’ afterward of leaves that have been smooshed and scrunched and munched.

Tactile connection with our Plant Friends is the best.

Thanks for the invite in again team, loved it

13/10/2026

The joy of hand sowing this seasons vege and plant seeds 💚

Most of this lot is saved seed stock from last years growing season.

🌱 Hue - 2 diff sorts from diff gourds
🌱 Corn - black popping corn and bloody butcher corn - both from last years crop
🌱 Ringa ringa - saved from seed heads from my garden (from plants gifted from a friend who grew them from her own seed)

🌱 Moringa and Cannolini beans from purchased seed

Tararua Mountain Race memoriesThis was the most soulfully empowering run I ever did.To cross the Mountain Range that has...
03/10/2026

Tararua Mountain Race memories

This was the most soulfully empowering run I ever did.

To cross the Mountain Range that has always had my back, in 11 hours with only a small bag and runners on my feet, really let me meet the Mountains and Myself.

I chose to do this adventure as an event. So I could make use of the support network of the race organisers and the amazing volunteers out on the course. It made it feel a bit safer to be able to do the big thing.

I’ve still got many moments locked in my memory from that day.

The awe in my mind of looking up the Main Range realising how vast it is in there. And how small I am in comparison.

(Those mountains always give me the best perspective.)

The zoomies just before Alpha Hut.

Realising the Tops aren’t flat was hilarious🤪 waaaaaaay more undulating than I imagined.

Happy tears at Hector

Sulky tears at Dennan

Determination at Fields

And the surrealness of finishing

Kaitoke to Ōtaki 🥰

36km of personal growth and development with lasting ripples

And we’re back into Soap production for the year, yahoooo.We’ve been formulating recipes and dialling in our supply lin...
02/10/2026

And we’re back into Soap production for the year, yahoooo.

We’ve been formulating recipes and dialling in our supply lines over Winter.

And we present to you our . . .

Aotearoa treasure (def needs a better name if you have any suggestions)

Totara infused Waikōkopu olive oil, Beef Tallow and H**p seed oil, all grown and processed in NZ and purchased direct from the Producer. Supported by Coconut Oil grown in the Pacific Islands and Processed in NZ.

With NZ Glacial clay for its mineral properties and colour (hiding in the bar till tomorrow) and activated charcoal for the swirls on top.

Absolutely smitten with this formulation and the whakapapa of the ingredients.

Will cut it tomorrow when it’s set up, and they’ll be ready for purchase in early November 🥰

Found a stash of the medals from all my Trail Running adventures.And it flooded back a whole bunch of memories of 7 year...
29/09/2026

Found a stash of the medals from all my Trail Running adventures.

And it flooded back a whole bunch of memories of 7 years of epic events.

From starting out super unfit, to locking in for some epic training blocks.

The events are a minor part of the puzzle. They’re the thing you do at the end when all the work has been done.

They were the goal to lock in on, to have an outcome to achieve.

It’s the training where the majority of the magic and growth happened. And most of it was about everything apart from the actual running.

From 5km to 50km and attempting a 100km. All since 2018.

What an absolute ride!!

While I’ve hung up my runners now. Actually, I threw out my last pair mid jog as they’d blown out and haven’t got any more. I realised I’ve done what I needed to do.

I love being in the forest, but now exploring my backyard with a different lens. What plants are where, what’s the Land telling me, and not rushing it.

I know I can lock in for a big event. And I kept pushing my limits til I pushed past them. As many learnings in a DNF as a completed adventure.

I’m super happy knowing I have all that awesomeness banked. I will always be an Ultra Runner.

Now I realise.

I’m the big event.

Figuring out how to make my physical strength a life goal. Not connected to a running event goal. Because before that I had zero relationship with honouring my physical health.

So.

Back to the drawing board on working out how to build ‘training blocks’ of Life habits that sustain long term fitness and 103 year old me will thank me for.

And this time I don’t need to keep pushing the boat out on what I can do. I just get to work out how to maintain a steady fitness level. And remember all the amazing skills, disciplines and other amazing things I learnt to do, to be able to do the big things.

What a blast.

Let’s see how this goes 🤪

Am loving this book - and on the literal application of directionality I found the circled paragraph in the second pic p...
26/09/2026

Am loving this book - and on the literal application of directionality I found the circled paragraph in the second pic particularly fascinating.

I thought I had a fairly good relationship with the Cardinal Directions for navigating physically through my daily life and in the hills.

As I continue to move further and further off trails and deepen my connection with navigating (reading the world) so as to lessen the times where I feel ‘lost’.

For I am in fact simply, ‘where I am’ and having the skills and awareness to reassess and keep moving, feels far more enjoyable than knowing exactly where I am / or exactly where I’m going all of the time. But to be connected enough to take a back bearing, adjust the path, and keep exploring toward the future.

Feels rather soothing for my logical mind.

To build deeper trust with my own abilities to navigate from each waypoint based on new info.

And to build deeper connection both physically and spiritually with the Cardinal Directions.

East, North, West, South

And all the spaces in between that help us create a map of sorts of our surroundings.

What’s your connection with the Directions like?

So stoked to get this Kōtare / Kingfisher beauty out of storage and be one of the first pieces to go into the Breathwork...
26/09/2026

So stoked to get this Kōtare / Kingfisher beauty out of storage and be one of the first pieces to go into the Breathwork Studio.

I was blown away to have received this custom piece painted by a family friend. She sent it all the way from Australia, and it sure was an absolute honour to receive.

I’m ever so grateful and glad that it’s found a home in our Hauora Hub - all focused around Creating Wellbeing through connection with Nature, Creativity and Rongoā

Thanks again Sharon Baird.

I absolutely love it 💞

23/09/2026

Natural colouring experimenting for the ‘golden threads’ I can see for my next korowai

Have been playing with Gorse flowers for colour.

Did some straight Gorse, and then mordanted with Mānuka first.

Love the slight colour tone difference between the two Yellows 💛

I can still taste the happiness of this rather simple, but very ‘full’ meal I made the other day.Full of happiness, reme...
22/09/2026

I can still taste the happiness of this rather simple, but very ‘full’ meal I made the other day.

Full of happiness, remembering the places I’d gathered the parts from. Joyfulness, of seeing that my plant knowledge and locations is expanding. Gratitude, for the people who share their knowledge so I can be inspired and find my own local places. Awareness, as the map in my mind of my local area expands and deepens. Appreciation, for the new layer of knowing that comes with doing the doing, not just knowing some knowledge.

I scope out wild foraging areas a few times before I harvest to eat or use in our Rongoā. Checking that they feel and look healthy to eat from. Developing an understanding of how they grow. Where they live. And checking them out in different seasons.

This yummy bowl full is:
🌿 Pikopiko / Fiddle Head shoots
🌿 Wild onion bulbs, shoots and flowers
🌿 Salt that I made from sea water collected at Split Apple Rock bay
🌿 Kawakawa infused grapeseed oil
🌿 Pasta from the company in the Wairarapa that’re growing the wheat and making the pasta

It was deeeeeeelisious 🫠

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Levin

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+64222647581

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