Hiking, yoga & meditation by the lake.

Mindfulness, yoga, divine foods, thoughtful Zen-inspired luxury, stunning surroundings, graded exercise and a sustainable permaculture ethic are what Aro Ha Wellness Retreat near Queenstown is all about. If you care about your body, mind and spirit, the planet and our greater being then this delicious place is well worth visiting. Retreats vary from 5 to 7 days and offer a superb way to relax, refresh and cleanse in a beautiful space, while nurturing your body with nourishing cleansing food, meditation and mindfulness, yoga, hiking, strength training and massage.

Just 35 minutes drive from Queenstown (New Zealand’s Adventure Capital), Aro Ha has a spectacular outlook, set high on a wide sub-alpine terrace above Lake Wakatipu. Beautiful at any time of the year, the surrounding mountains are bright and sunny in summer and blanketed in snow in winter – take your pick.

At Aro Ha your days may look something like this –  do some early morning yoga before a healthy breakfast. After breakfast take an energetic hike until lunch – there’s plenty of stunning sub-alpine trails around the lodge and the nearby area. Then it’s time for lunch – another healthy offering – before some free time in the afternoon. Activities like raw food cooking classes, rejuvenation and spa time, and massage help fill the quiet times. Then enjoy a little pre-dinner yoga before the evening meal – yes, healthy again – and bliss out with an indulgent spa soak to end the day. As they say at Aro Ha – “Unlike most programs, ours is all‐inclusive and compulsory. Our small groups move through the bespoke experience together. They are challenged, they succeed, and they bond together”.

The Accommodation

• there are 12 eco suites and 8 single (monastic) beds in shared accommodation, all separate to the main lodge building

• rooms are luxuriously fitted in a sustainable, ecologically-friendly way with organic cotton linen, recycled timbers, woven natural dyed blankets and latex mattresses, and New Zealand woollen floor rugs

• a private eco suite with its own lounge area is also available on request
  the 5 – 7 day retreats usually have around 14 people so group size is not big

The Main Lodge

• the main building is a beautifully constructed, multi-functional timber building where guests can relax and mingle. Communal sharing and time together are actively encouraged at Aro Ha. Meals and socialising also happen in this area

• the separate Aro Ha studio space is also multi-functional, with a state-of-the-art AV system and stunning views across to the lake and mountains. This space is used for yoga, meditation and other health-giving modalities

• food is an important aspect of life at Aro Ha and is totally vegetarian, paleo friendly, gluten free, dairy free, and enzymatically active. The mainly raw food cuisine is intended to feed the body a diet rich in trace minerals, vitamins, and phyto-nutrients