At the core, when I started this blog, I meant for it to be for reviews hence the name. It's morphed into more of a travel blog where I store my thoughts. However, I try to put an in-depth review out there every once in awhile when the time and place is right. This week, I'll take a break from my travel diary and review one of the coolest places I've lived at so far, Solscape.
Travelling and visiting Solscape and actually living and working there are two pretty different experiences in my view. Therefore, I am going to split the review into 2 parts. The first will be your traditional travel-blog review from the eyes of a traveller spending some time there. The second part will be more for the backpackers who are planning to do a little volunteering and have a bit more time to spend in Raglan.
one.
Solscape is designed as a place for rest, rejuvenation and playful inspiration, to nurture our connection with each other and the natural world.
That's what it says on the Solscape website. They are actually a BBH and YHA hostel although it bares almost no resemblance to any of the YHA and BBH backpackers I've stayed at before and after. At it's simplest form, owners Phil and Bernadette want to spread a positive message through the hostel. After acquiring the place over a decade ago, they figured that close to 30,000 tourists pass through Raglan through out the summer and decided that by using the hostel itself, they could spread a message of sustainability by having the entire place be a working model of sustainability and carbon footprint reduction.
That's the theme that you will find running through-out the entire place. Speaking of the place, Solscape is comprised of several forms of accommodation. Starting at the bottom, they have campsites, followed by cabooses, tipis/tents, earth domes, and fully self-contained houses. They also have an organic no-meat kitchen next to the reception called The Concious Kitchen and their own surf school which predictably also rents out surfboards. Rounding it off are a yoga space and a massage room.
Let's start with location. Any serviced-based business owner will preach location, location, location. If there's one thing Solscape has got locked down, it's location. Set into the side of Mt. Karioi, Solscape sits between Ngarunui Beach and the world famous Manu Bay, about 8 minutes drive from Raglan Town. Driving up the road which hugs the coastline, you could be forgiven for not knowing that a sprawling 10 acres worth of accommodation lies hidden above the myriad of cutbacks that form the Solscape driveway.
As soon as you get up there to reception though, do yourself a favour and turn around to drink in that view. A view to rival any other, treat your eyes to the crashing waves along Ngarunui beach that stretches into the horizon, flanked by lush green rolling hills on one side and nothing but blue sky on the other.
Your next task will be to pick your accommodation. Let me try and help you with that. As stated earlier, your cheapest option will be to rent a campsite to either sleep in your tent, or in your car. If you're a backpacker there's a good chance this will be your option. Unlike any other campsite or hostel I've lived at since, sleeping in your tent or car here does not take anything away whatsoever from the Solscape experience. With all the facilities like several kitchens, and bathrooms scattered around the place you're not far away from anything and because everyone hangs out in the central kitchen where there's a fireplace, I really think Solscape is one of the few places where sleeping in your tent or car takes nothing away from your experience.
Next up are the cabooses. They're repurposed train carriages and are the closest you'll get to the traditional multi-bed backpacker room. Each caboose holds from 3 to 8 people and I believe there are 12 carriages in all, including a huge overlander that is self contained. The majority of beds in Solscape are in cabooses and are the option I'd recommend to most people. Sleeping in a train carriage is definitely a novelty.
In the summer, Solscape opens up a tipi/tent section which is a small walk on gravel through the forest from the main area. The tipi area has it's own set of bathrooms and kitchen, including a really cool wood-fire pizza oven. Everything in the tipi area is built to be self-sustainable. The hot water runs on solar power and so do the lights. This also means there are no plug points but if you're looking for plug points whilst sleeping in a tipi I think you've missed the point. The tipi area definitely evokes the strongest opinions, especially from the volunteers who've been at Solscape for awhile. On one hand, it's the coolest area. Who wouldn't like to live in a tipi and make pizzas every night while lounging around in the open kitchen? On the other hand, if the weather is damp, things get rough pretty quickly. I could be wrong, but I believe tipis were not made for wet weather and this becomes very apparent very quickly. The interiors get very damp and there won't be hot water as it's purely solar-powered. Also, as it's about at 10 minute walk uphill and downhill from the main area, forgetting to take something becomes infuriating, especially when it's the third time in a day. It's still a really awesome option, you just maybe want to check on the weather before you book your tipi. Also, small tip to pack light. You are not be able to drive your car to the tipi area.
I unfortunately did not manage to live in any of the self-contained options. However, the earth domes are extremely interesting. Built to be sustainable and sourced from the earth (hence the name), they're the only ones of their kind in the world. The walls were formed mainly by sacks if my memory serves then covered by clay. The houses, luxury options in Solscape, give you the best views. Instead of sitting in the area behind reception where it's relatively flat, the houses sit alongside the winding driveway up, giving unobstructed views of the ocean. There are interesting stories to how most the rooms and houses were conceptualised and built and if he has the time, ask Phil about them.
Attractions wise, the obvious one is the surf. I won't bother going into that as it's more a Raglan attraction instead of Solscape in particular. It is really convenient to be able to rent your board and walk down to the beach in about 10 minutes though walking back up is another matter. In fact, you can walk all the way to town on the beach when the tide is out. It'll take you about 2 hours probably. I also believe Solscape is the only backpackers that sits between Ngarunui and Manu Bay, giving you loads of options based on your ability level.
Almost as big an attraction though, are the yoga activities on offer. There's yoga sessions every morning and some evenings. I participated in a meditation session by Venu and it was an amazing experience. The fact that you step out onto the deck and have the ocean spread out in front of you when you're feeling super zen does not hurt at all. Even if you don't go for the actual classes, there'll be bodies littered all around the place in various states of yoga, more than happy for you to join in.
After your activities, make use of the huge open spaces and hopefully good weather, grab a huge pillow and just lounge in the sun. Book in hand, just relax away into the evenings, where on the colder nights there's usually a log fire in the kitchen. For the more social, you could just as easily replace the book with a guitar or cards or even drop it all and just talk to people. I had many an interesting conversation in my time there.
The only reason I would discourage you from staying at Solscape is if you are a party person. There is Karioi Lodge up the road for that. With the 10-11pm lights out / no alcohol policy, there are hardly any parties and if you're staggering around drunk, you will quickly be casted out anyway when compared to the chill vibes of everyone else. The other type of person that I would advise against staying at Solscape is the business type who's stuck to their laptops and emails. Whilst there's free wifi at reception, it closes at 8 so you'll be sitting outdoors to connect to the wifi. There are also very few plug points around the place and in most areas there's no wifi even if you want to pay for it. If you're that desperate for plug points and wifi though, you're probably missing the point, which is to disconnect from technology and reconnect with yourself and others for a while.
Rest, rejuvenate, inspire they say. I guarantee you, when you leave Solscape you'll have all 3 in bucketloads.
two.
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| Inside a tipi. |
I unfortunately did not manage to live in any of the self-contained options. However, the earth domes are extremely interesting. Built to be sustainable and sourced from the earth (hence the name), they're the only ones of their kind in the world. The walls were formed mainly by sacks if my memory serves then covered by clay. The houses, luxury options in Solscape, give you the best views. Instead of sitting in the area behind reception where it's relatively flat, the houses sit alongside the winding driveway up, giving unobstructed views of the ocean. There are interesting stories to how most the rooms and houses were conceptualised and built and if he has the time, ask Phil about them.
Attractions wise, the obvious one is the surf. I won't bother going into that as it's more a Raglan attraction instead of Solscape in particular. It is really convenient to be able to rent your board and walk down to the beach in about 10 minutes though walking back up is another matter. In fact, you can walk all the way to town on the beach when the tide is out. It'll take you about 2 hours probably. I also believe Solscape is the only backpackers that sits between Ngarunui and Manu Bay, giving you loads of options based on your ability level.
Almost as big an attraction though, are the yoga activities on offer. There's yoga sessions every morning and some evenings. I participated in a meditation session by Venu and it was an amazing experience. The fact that you step out onto the deck and have the ocean spread out in front of you when you're feeling super zen does not hurt at all. Even if you don't go for the actual classes, there'll be bodies littered all around the place in various states of yoga, more than happy for you to join in.
After your activities, make use of the huge open spaces and hopefully good weather, grab a huge pillow and just lounge in the sun. Book in hand, just relax away into the evenings, where on the colder nights there's usually a log fire in the kitchen. For the more social, you could just as easily replace the book with a guitar or cards or even drop it all and just talk to people. I had many an interesting conversation in my time there.
The only reason I would discourage you from staying at Solscape is if you are a party person. There is Karioi Lodge up the road for that. With the 10-11pm lights out / no alcohol policy, there are hardly any parties and if you're staggering around drunk, you will quickly be casted out anyway when compared to the chill vibes of everyone else. The other type of person that I would advise against staying at Solscape is the business type who's stuck to their laptops and emails. Whilst there's free wifi at reception, it closes at 8 so you'll be sitting outdoors to connect to the wifi. There are also very few plug points around the place and in most areas there's no wifi even if you want to pay for it. If you're that desperate for plug points and wifi though, you're probably missing the point, which is to disconnect from technology and reconnect with yourself and others for a while.
Rest, rejuvenate, inspire they say. I guarantee you, when you leave Solscape you'll have all 3 in bucketloads.
two.
Our volunteer programme has been designed for travellers who wish to spend time in this beautiful place in a meaningful way- contributing, learning, connecting to the place and people and enjoying what is on offer in a very affordable way.
Now is probably a time as good as any to put in a disclaimer about me having volunteered at Solscape which probably affected my views of the place. This is also where I review the volunteering experience there. If you're a backpacker going around New Zealand looking for wwoofing opportunities, this should be useful for you.
The policies Solscape have in place change over time and the woofing experience for me at the start and towards the end were quite different. I believe for a majority of the year, you work 2.5 hours, 6 days a week in return for accommodation. Solscape also seems to prefer you to be there from 2-4 weeks. This probably increases in the slower months like winter where the turnover is slightly lower.
Most of the work revolves around cleaning the place daily. You work alongside the full-time housekeeping staff cleaning up the kitchen and mainly the showers and bathrooms. The work is not difficult and at 2.5 hours a day, it breezes by, giving you a lot of time to indulge in the plethora of activities available or pick up another paying job in town. Apart from housekeeping, you can be rotated to be involved with gardening, laundry, or some maintenance around the place. Again, none of the work I would describe as difficult or back-breaking. It's all relatively enjoyable especially in the company of your fellow volunteers. More than that, learning about permaculture and how and why certain things work the way they do is great and if you spend an extended amount of time there, I believe even the staunchest of skeptics will slowly come round to seeing the logic. A little bonus from all the gardening and permaculture is you can use any of the herb, flowers or veg planted in the various gardens.
Amongst the benefits of being a volunteer is discounts at the Conscious Kitchen, where they serve up some incredible meat-free food and lots of interesting vegan and no-bake cakes and muffins alongside standard coffee fare and great fruit smoothies. You also get surf rentals at half price. Whilst I don't agree with companies charging their own staff for rental gear, it's better than nothing. Worth noting though that Raglan Backpackers in town gives their volunteers free rentals.
Now, if you've been reading my blog you'll have noticed that I mentioned I volunteered at Solscape for close to 7 weeks. Wait a minute, I just said 2 paragraphs ago the maximum period is 4 weeks. Towards the end of my time there, the policies changed to match the increase in occupancy. Instead of 2.5 hours a day, hours went up to 4 hours a day in exchange for breakfast in the cafe daily and dinners on what seemed like alternate nights. During my time we also had pretty fixed duties so everyone kind of knew what to expect. With the change though, I believe Phil wanted volunteers assigned to different tasks weekly for their 4 week period so they could experience all facets of the operation in their time there.
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| No pipi, sleeping doesn't count as a task. |
4 hours of volunteering a day means finding a paying job in town becomes significantly more difficult, so you probably want to keep that in mind. Volunteering is a great way to base yourself when you're new in the area though and finding your feet. You'll meet loads of people and especially in small towns, someone always knows someone who has a room for rent or is looking for help and that's how you move on from your 4 weeks. You could even start working full-time in Solscape itself should the opportunity present itself. Housekeeping, barista, kitchen hand, maintenance crew, reception. Just some of the positions you may find yourself in.
Accommodation-wise, you usually start off pretty fancy in one of the cabooses for a night or 2 before moving into "real" staff lodging. Yes, we got moved around quite a bit and some of the volunteers actually preferred to sleep in their cars through-out but you'll soon find out that it does not matter. At the end of the day it's just a bed to rest on at the end of the day as you'll be spending all your waking hours outdoors anyway.
If you've made it this far through this post, you will probably enjoy volunteering at Solscape. Lots of fun in the sun, deep conversations, music sessions, group dinners, random celebrations, pizza nights, and just all around awesome people to surround yourself with. Personally, their mission of spreading a positive message worked for me. I tried out some stuff I never would have had I not spent time there and the sustainable and permaculture message definitely affected some fundamental thinking in me. If you're a creative, chilled-out person, you'll easily fit into the hippie commune that's Solscape and all the good that comes with it. Good times.
I still have at least a chapter left for Raglan where I explore more of Raglan Town and the activities that come with it. My adventures surfing, German lessons, jumping off a bridge to ill effect, and awesome live music. I shall see you then.
All the better looking pictures in this post, including the header are taken by the super-talented Kali Garbaczeski whom I'm blessed to call a friend and part of the Raglan squad. Check out her website http://www.kaligphotography.com/ for more insane shots from around the world.
If you don't know how hyperlinking works and want to check out the Solscape website, it is http://www.solscape.co.nz/
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