Unique glamping and eco-style luxury holiday accommodation

May 2018 Kissing Gate glamping, rated by TripAdvisor in the world's top 14 most awesome glamping sites, is ideal for a winter getaway. With a new 15kW Studio woodburner, an outside fireplace, electric heaters and electric blankets then this luxury is a lovely complement to star-watching and sipping bubbly in the outside bath. Nelson's best dining is just 4 minutes down the road at Mapua seaside village Wharf.

Accommodation for up to 19 with 4 delightful accommodations on 7 acres near Mapua seaside village
July 2017 We are really chuffed that Kissing Gate has been rated by TripAdvisor in the world's top 14 glamping sites. Check our new-but-still-being-tweaked website www.thegates.co.nz for details and bookings. Stay at Copper Gate (luxury 4 bedroom eco-house) or Corru Gate (quirky/artsy 3 bedroom cottage) or Kissing Gate glamping (sleeps 2 - with settlers cottage kitchen bathroom, toilet plus retro-award winning caravans Pearl and Ruby) or The Briar Rose Suite (French provencal style).

Kissing Gate - the most quirky stylish glamping you'll find!

June 2016: Hopefully soon to be featured in NZ Life and Leisure magazine is Kissing Gate - our just-opened glamping site with Pearl and Ruby. Pearl is the winner of the 2013 Beach Hop competition. She is a lovingly restored caravan - a 1967 Jackson in BEAUTIFUL condition. She is the lounge caravan; Ruby is the 1964 Classic caravan which Adele has done an amazing renovation on. Ruby has a sumptuous Parisian-themed boudoir with a super-comfortable queen bed . And the luxury cottage has a kitchen, lounge (yes, another one) and 2 person shower in luxury bathroom and separate loo. Let's not forget the outdoors bath on the jetty overlooking the pond, the outdoor fireplace, the bar, the decks - camping was never like this!!

Feb 2015:  The blue-sky days and starry nights just keep going on. Relaxing on the 7 acres of citrus groves, pipfruit orchards and farmland is SO nice. Briar, our 17 year old, has moved to France for her 6 month stint on her Language Immersion Award. Rowan is studying business at nearby NMIT. Adele and I are working on our business. We are developing Kissing Gate - our glamping (glamorous camping) site complete with 2 gorgeous retro caravans (Ruby and Pearl) and outdoor bath, pond, jetty, shower/cooking/toilet block - and actual kissing gate of course. What a beautiful site it will be - available from May 2015.

The Gates is launched!

Dec 2014: 60 guests enjoyed 1960s finger food, a tour of Corru Gate and Copper Gate and - most importantly - the unveiling of our new brand last Saturday 6th December. Gone is Corru Gate Accommodation and instead we are now The Gates Accommodation. This was also the official opening of Copper Gate. Thanks to Ursula from Blackenbrook Wines for sponsoring the wine (their Sauvignon is to die for); to Darryl Frost of Playing With Fire for the entranceway design/construction; to Bryson Moulton from Global Magnet for the website (to be launched soon), to Bryan and Brian for gardening and construction, to our business/tourism people attending, and of course to our friends and neighbours.

Ta da! The unveiling.

1960s food - lamingtons, scotch eggs, asparagus rolls

Socialising on Copper Gate's deck

Paris comes to Nelson!

Nov 2014 The low season option of the 'Paris Room' at Copper Gate has been popular. A romantic stay for 2, the Paris Room option means guests have the other 3 bedrooms locked off yet they retain sole occupancy of the building for a special 'romance rate.' Adele delighted in sourcing exotic trappings. Awake to the sun rising over Tasman Bay.

Copper Gate and Corru Gate: the best of Nelson

Oct 2014 Copper Gate and Corru Gate are a popular destination for a combined group or for separate bookings. They are 90m apart and private from each other.

"Top location, amazing views, great house in an extremely lovely semi-rural location. Nothing was too much trouble for Adele and Roger, the cheerful and warm landlords. Highly recommended (but we'd be jealous of it getting too popular and not being able to get into the place for a return visit...)" Jules, Jacinta, Hugo, Sophie and kids.

Sheep, chickens, space to safely roam, Great Taste Trail cycle guides and cycles - and only 25 mins Nelson or 25 mins Abel Tasman.

Hand feedable sheep

 

December 2013 Copper Gate is now open and our first guests are loving it (yes, they were actually gobsmacked at the amazing heritage design and enthused to us that "everything is perfect - wow, what an incredible job you have done"). The landscaping is well on the way. So, enjoy the view!

The Big Shift Ends

November 21 2013. This is a spectacle. Copper Gate took 5 hours to be trucked out from NMIT, Nelson. It is now snugly sitting on site awaiting 5 weeks of feverish completion. Check out the video and the PERFECT placement.

The Big Shift begins

November 2013 Copper Gate begins it's journey to Mapua. Today, 19 Nov, we watched with bated breath as 57 tonnes of crane plus 41 tonnes of counterweight plus 24 tonnes of Copper Gate interacted. Just one wee hiccup - the strops weren't wide enough so holes had to be put in the surfeits for the cables to pass through. Tomorrow night the 5 hour trip begins. On Thursday a 40 tonne digger pulls the truck up to it's resting spot on the spur overlooking Seaton Valley and Ruby Bay.  We are 2 weeks behind schedule and have guests staying in Copper Gate from 23 Dec. Stress? What stress?! There's only painting, floor-sanding, curtaining, fitting the kitchen, gibstopping, installing Biolytix, revamping the entire property's electrical infrastructure, setting up the photovoltaics, building the deck, forming a drive, landscaping, finishing the 3 bay shed etc.

Copper Gate - 4 bdrm/2 bthrm sustainable home takes shape

 

August 2013. Copper Gate is roofed and almost clad. 25 people toured it (lower photo) as part of an Ecofest sustainable home workshop organised by Hybrid Homes, NMIT and Corru Gate Accommodation. The roof shout with the students and tutors (upper photo) was great fun.
Adele is having a fantastic time sourcing items for Copper Gate's artistic theme of heritage domestic life. We have a butter churn, washboards, a wooden wringer washer and lots of copper ware. Of course, the actual appliances at Copper Gate are ultramodern - induction hob and smart eco dishwasher etc.
Bookings are already coming in - Xmas/New Year is booked and also 3 months from mid-February.

Bookings for Copper Gate are open!

April 2013. 4 bdrm/2 bathroom Hybrid Homes and Living 'Copper Gate' already has its first booking - from Dec 23rd for 12 nights - and that is without advertising and without it being built yet. We'll get our new website up and running and will list, as we have done for Corru Gate, in Holiday Houses, Bookabach, Holiday Homes, TripAdvisor etc. With Adele's Mum having just died, things have been 'on hold' for a while.

Copper Gate will be on the spur where the sheep can be seen in the photo

Copper Gate joins Corru Gate!

March 2013. We are embarking on an exciting project -  building a 4 bedroom/2 bathroom  eco-holiday home on a spur at Corru Gate. Built by NMIT carpentry students and designed by architectural award winning Hybrid Homes, it will be available for guests from mid-December 2013. Featuring state-of-the-art sustainable design (photovoltaics, high R-value, thermal breaks, low VOC), it will command beautiful views of the valley and Tasman Bay - and will be close to the Great Taste Trail. The 4 bedroom home will be called Copper Gate and themed around heritage NZ domestic life (washboards, coppers etc). Check out progress on Facebook in Corru Gate Accommodation and Cycles. 

We are taking bookings for Copper Gate - contact us on corru.gate@xtra.co.nz  

Corru Gate chickens are SO lucky...

November 2012. Corru Gate guests think this chicken coop door opener is WONDERFUL and oh-so-Kiwi-number-8-wireish (but they might just be flattering me...). Check out my solution to letting the chickens free-range from 12.30pm each day - and shutting them up at night. OK, the video needs a bit of editing - any volunteers? Contact us here. Enjoy life on the farm at Corru Gate with sheep, quiet meadows, native trees, and lots of SPACE. And why not check out Mapua Country Trading Company - this has got to be the best 'Kiwi lifestyle' shop and online store in New Zealand.

Exploring Corru Gate environs

October 2012  Adele (L) and friend Christine on Corru Gate electric bikes at Katie Gold Pottery and Owen Bartlett Pottery in Upper Moutere. Guests can hire fom Wheelie Fantastic Cycles, using their tour routes and pickup and delivery service. Corru Gate also has electric bikes and a child trailer/gator bike as an option.  In the photo we were testing one of the many tour routes which are ideal for guests - this one takes in wineries, artist studios, Devonshire tea, a sculpture garden, local organic produce and quiet country roads.

The Great Icecream Challenge

April 2012 A challenge dreamed up over a wine. Could Northern Ireland’s cycling celebrity and ex-Corru Gate guest Lisa Mann beat Wisper-cycle-riding Corru Gate co-owner Roger Waddell?  The 'race' involved cycling from Corru Gate to Hamish's on the Wharf, downing an icecream, and racing back to Corru Gate. Who won do you think - electric-assist cyclist Roger or powerhouse Lisa? 

Roger powering down from Corru Gate to Mapua - 6 minutes.

Imagine eating ice-cream in the middle of a race! 


























Cycles supplied courtesy of Corru Gate Cycles and Wheelie Fantastic Cycles.

A tour of the inside of Corru Gate

November 2011 For a 'tour' of the inside of Corru Gate, click on the video. With summer around the corner, a holiday on 'the farm' is a must. With 7 acres to wander over, lots of trees and quiet grassy meadows, it is so relaxing to just enjoy the SPACE. The cottage still commands that WOW! WHAT A BRILLIANT DESIGN reaction from guests. We are just back from a walk down to Mapua and a coffee at Jellyfish Cafe and Bar - the ferry is busy taking cyclists and walkers and beachers over to Rabbit Island. Enjoy your summer!

Mapua seaside village: enjoy walking and cycling

October 2011. Mapua just keeps on getting better - now there is the Mapua Ferry running from the Wharf to Rabbit Island. Just 3.5km from Corru Gate, you can have a coffee and dine at the Wharf - for example at the wonderful Jellyfish Cafe and Bar - or explore the art studios and then catch the ferry over to the beaches and walking/cycling tracks on the island. This is part of the Great Taste Cycle trail which goes from Nelson to Mapua and beyond via inlet margins, countryside and beaches. From Corru Gate you can continue cycling past olive groves, vineyards and rolling countryside to nearby wineries like Neudorf or Woollastons and cruise to historic towns like Upper Moutere (Sarau).

You can hire from local provider Wheelie Fantastic Cycle Hire. Nicky and Lisa, who created this business, stayed at Corru Gate for 3 months - they will deliver and pick up from Corru Gate and provide a complete cycle hosting service.
To complement Nicky and Lisa's business, Corru Gate have electric bikes as well as a child cycle trailer. Electric assist push-bikes are WONDERFUL - just like ordinary bikes but they have an extra bit of push for that easy touring around the vineyards and cycle trails or towing the kids in the cycle trailer (Roger commutes to Nelson on an electric bike!)

Cycling from Corru Gate

February 2011 Last weekend we rode through vineyards and farms and native forest and beside streams as part of the Sarau Festival Gentle Cycling Company tour. OK, so we had to get our feet wet crossing a couple of fords but with temperatures in the high 20s who cares? At Corru Gate you can hire Wheelie Fantastic Cycle Hire ones and do their fantastic tours - we also can provide electric-assist bikes for towing the kids. The Great Taste Trail loop of the national cycleway network goes past the bottom of our drive!. Corru Gate offers secure bike storeage - after all, the cottage is not visible from the road 300m away.

Get a movie on! Corru Gate.

October 2010.
Some spring happenings at Corru Gate:

The sheep have been shorn this week - photo shows Sara and Eli (Corru Gate guests) watching on.

Below is a rooftop video view from Corru Gate showing the garden, farm and views beyond.

Roger has a new 'gullfriend.' We have had 'Gary' the black-backed gull visit us these last few days. He is very tame and loves to be fed cat food as you can see from the video and photo. He was raised from a fluffy chick at a farm up the road. Corru Gate must be a haven - we had 'Gee' the refuGEE chook wandering over the paddocks at our place so she has now joined the flock, and has earned her keep by laying.