Brian and his family made us feel very welcome. They invited us for dinner, which we unfortunately were arriving too late for, and breakfast in the morning. We chatted for a while and Brian took us out to see glow worms in the forest - very cool experience, different feel than in the caves. He talked to us about great past and future construction ideas, and we learned a lot.
We were very excited about learning more about being self-sustaining, and have enjoyed camping throughout NZ. While the bed, our huge room, and the gorgeous house we were welcomed into are much more luxurious than camping, there is still an outdoor compost toilet and we were asked to turn off lights when not using them and to leave a light footprint. We appreciate conservation and plan to build a similar house one day, but I know this style of living may not be for everyone. Also, the floor plan is open for ventilation - this means no door on the guest room we were in. It was quite private with the plants but again, a unique style.
Overall a great experience and would recommend!