Gary Little and Asta Wistrand invite you to spend a relaxing (or otherwise) stay at their home situated in Northland native forest.

Relax and stay a few days at our Far North, eco-friendly, snake-free, forest retreat. Spend your time touring the north of New Zealand from the tranquil base of the 56 acre native bush hideaway that we call our home. Accompany us as we carry out our predator control that has become part of our way of life as we work towards returning our forest to its former natural glory.

See how our activities under a Queen Elizabeth II Trust Open Space Covenant have changed the outlook of a previously logged (1930s) patch of forest immediately adjacent to the Herekino State Forest. Have a first-hand chance to stay at an eco-friendly self-sufficient home in the quiet back-country Northland area known for its beaches and kauri forests. Experience easy, or moderate fitness bush-walks in local forest areas.

A few years ago our bush was silent, now the early morning resounds to the calls of the ever-increasing native bird population, and the native flora is always surprising us with the changing textures and colours of the changing seasons. Our most fervent searches continue to produce small and large surprises each time we carry out a trek into our bush. Our favourites are the species of native orchids that that we find and cherish as the seasons change. Then there are the larger trees, our own 400 (circa) year old kauri, and the old rata reaching high into the sky, the groves of kahikatea and totara, the many types of ferns, and of course, the ever-present nikau palm trees.

These features of our everyday life make us proud to have our own paradise and we want to share it with you, so we welcome you to be part of our world for a while.

I could continue on, telling you more about the beauty that surrounds us, but also feel the need to tell you a little of how Te Ngahere Iti (The Little Forest) came into being.

For a number of years, Asta and I had been looking for somewhere to put down roots and prepare for retirement. One day Asta found an ad in the paper that indicated that a 56 acre native bush lot was for sale. We took a look and decided that this was the place for us. There were a couple of old buildings on the property and one of them was to become our home.

This home started off some time ago as single-men's quarters somewhere else and was transported to the site to be a sort of granny-flat. After some modifications, it had resulted in a bedroom, a shower, a toilet, and a small kitchen-dinette. Attached to this was a carport. Not long after we took over the property, we carried out our own modifications which resulted in the carport being changed into a garage and a new internal stairway then provided access to our main bedroom now situated over the garage. A couple of open porches were also enclosed and made into halls and an entryway became a small sunroom.

We are now set up with a double-bed guest-room with host-share facilities.

Owing to a limited water supply, the hot showers have to be restricted to five minutes, but this is usually long enough to relax the body after a day out tramping around the glorious countryside.

That project was only the start of what was to come.

Our nearest neighbours are two kilometres away in each direction and there were no phone or power supplies past these two points and as there is no suitable running water on the property, all of our water comes from the roof catchments. We were "in the sticks", as a local saying goes.

To get the power on, we would be looking at a bill of about $50,000 and a landline for the phone could set us back a further $20,000 or so. There is no cellphone coverage in the area, so we had no form of communication and no power.

When we began to set the house up, the first thing that we did was to install a small wood burner stove to provide heating and cooking facilities. A wetback water-heater meant that we could at least have hot showers so long as we rationed the water usage. Lighting was provided by a car-size 12v deep-cycle battery that we would charge up each week. We had lighting, hot water, heating, and cooking facilities. What more did we need for paradise to be complete? Well, we had no outside communication for a start!

The next project was to bring paradise into the modern age.

The roof now supports 8 x 120watt monocrystalline PV solar panels capable of producing 960 watts of power (at the best of times), which is channelled into 8 x 350 amp hour deep cycle flooded 6v batteries, giving us 17kw (at 24 volts) of electricity storage. A 3kw inverter along with a charge controller, provide us with power to keep the frig/freezer, washing machine, lights, computer (important thing this item), radio, and a few other bits and pieces, operating as if we were in the city.

As an added bonus, we have a solar water heating panel that provides our base water heating which can then be topped up with the wetback water heating while we cook our meals.

We do cheat a little from time to time during cooking, as we also have a small marine gas oven with two cooking hobs, one of which we usually use to boil the billy.

I mentioned that we have a computer and we opted for a laptop because of its power economy. However, it serves a two-fold purpose. I also mentioned that there were no 'phone facilities, no cellphone coverage and that it was going to cost a bundle to get a 'phone line. We also wanted broadband internet coverage as I use this medium for my links with the walking, running and race walking (racewalking) people that I coach. Therefore, internet, telephone and general outside communication did have some importance in our way of life.

These problems were overcome by organising a broadband satellite link and the setting up of a SKYPE communication system that permitted us to telephone our contacts. We didn't set the system up for incoming callers, but we can at least call out and if a contact is also a SKYPE user. We can call anywhere in the world for free. There are even rumours that in time we will be able to receive television transmissions via this medium. WOW!

All-in-all, we are pretty comfortable in our outback setup. Although the house is not a mansion, it is cosy with all the amenities we need, and the surrounding bush will always be there to look at, as it is under an open space protection covenant that we placed on it a few years back to ensure that it will always remain unsullied by bush removal.

Asta keeps the garden growing well, so we have fresh organic vegetables most of the year and the orchard will be producing fruit from 2007 onwards. Sound good? Come and stay a while, we'll make you welcome.