Tena koutou e nga hau e wha…Greetings people of the four winds.

Tapu Te Ranga Marae is a living Marae.  It is the home of Bruce Stewart, his family and their descendants and anyone else who desires to live in a sharing way.  The Marae concept of sharing is central - sharing with people of all races and creeds.  Also, the importance of sharing with the natural world by the non-ownership of The Whenua (land).  Bruce said he bought the land to set it free. “It is time to give back.” Our role is not as owners, we are Kaitiaki (nurturers, protectors caretakers).  Tapu Te Ranga Marae is listed as a Heritage site.

The Whenua is 24 hectares - two thirds was set aside for native trees and birds.  It is being restored by collecting seeds from the few remaining trees of the original forest. Over 100,000 seedlings have been planted.

The other third is Tapu Te Ranga Marae.  The main Tupuna Whare (ancestral house) is Parehinetai o Waitaha.  The Whare rambles up the hill on many levels - it is a strong social, environmental and artistic statement.  She was built out of need by young maori unemployed. 'They who build The Whare are built by the Whare' is the whakatauki (proverb).

She has been built on multi levels from recycled materials and sleeps up to 300 people. She has several kitchens, a dinning-room and ablutions. There is free parking for up to 150 cars and space for buses. There are spaces for a marquee, tents, house buses and caravans.

There are areas for passive recreation including a circular historic walk of one and a half hours up to the Pouwhenua (sculpture) on top of Maunga Kawakawa.

The Marae is ten minutes from Wellington city and only ten minutes from the International Airport.  The drive from airport to The Marae is along the famous wild south coast.

It is so close to get so far…

I drive around our South Coast several times a day taking my kids to school at Seatoun. It is easy for us locals to take it all for granted …drift into robot mode, not see anything.

We make a conscious effort to stay focused by commenting on what we see.

There are no sunsets like the sunsets at Te Rae Kaihau. They are never the same...sometimes the sky is different changing kinds of blues and purples mixed with changing oranges and pinks and reds…at those times if the sea is in a soft mood it mirrors the redness even brighter than the sky…with the night coming, the houses slowly disappear until only outlines of rocks and land forms remains…huddles of seagulls on warm all-day-soaking-up-the-sun-rocks…no street-lights…there is an air of mystery.

Te Rae Kaihau is young and female…the meeting place of many winds...they play together, sometimes in a robust teenage way… whips the sea into a frenzy, especially in a strong southerly...driving row after row of curling-topped mountains…huge pounding surf so close the aquatic boom shakes the rocks again and again…exploding on jagged pinnacles...sending geysers of froth high into the air…a fine mist drifts inland.

Other times she is gentle like small children playing together…on a clear morning the color of the sea is blue-green until you turn the corner at Te Rae Kaihau and the whole of Lyall Bay changes into a blaze of platinum…

On a clear winters day to the East there is often a sprinkling of fresh snow on the Orongorongo mountains... to the south in the foreground…Tapu Te Ranga Island and far far beyond The White peaks of Te Waipounamu rise out of the horizon…Every now and again it all comes together…extreme beauty...ahhh it is indeed absolute beauty beyond words…if only I were a painter...it is so close to get so far…I go there often to refuel the soul…these days as I can no longer fish and dive or even walk…I wind down the window so I can hear and smell and feel this special place where surf, sand, seagulls, and the sky play together. I let the healing winds of Te Rae Kaihau wash over me…sometimes I snooze…it is my outdoor Cathedral.