This is an oassis of tranquility in a picturesque rural spot. We want a bolt-hole where we could relax and unwind and it was perfect. We recommend the characters at the Awakino Pub for dinners. If you are lucky you might get pyrotechnics---an amazing thunder and lightning display. Deb and Pete are very approachable "good buggers" and were very helpful and informative. Growing up on a farm, the quad bikes, utes, and dogs were a nice addition to the soundscape. The lodgings were warm, cosy and very spacious. This poem sums it up better:
Approaching Gully Farm
We take the turning
just before where the Mohakatino River
passes in chicanes into the Tasman
baches clumped like limpets around a rock
at the top of the valley road
we past the turquoise embassy
with its great trees of moss
three flashing kingfishers
observe the pilgrim’s progress
high in the canopy of kahikitea
The river itself, silent and unbowed
dark and silted, the shy keeper of secrets
wends and winds to the heart of the matter
long after we go, it shall remain stoic.
deeper in, the tarsal track might have
been specifically laid for us, a tranquil byway,
the little lane engenders a smile,
at a country oasis, by graduations,
we are unwound.