This is a magical place! Jacqui and David are delightful hosts, knowledgable, helpful, funny and just lovely 💕 Yes, there are 140 odd steps up to the tree house so you need a certain amount of fitness, the accommodation is bijou and has everything you need (bathroom, outside kitchen, bathroom) including internet access. Breakfast supplies are more than a ample. Great meusli too. It was the ideal antidote to our jet lag and has set us up for the rest of our NZ adventure. Omata Vineyard (as recommended by Jacqui) is well worth a visit when you visit Russell. Lovely wines and platters, and they can arrange for a shuttle to get you there...ask at the Information Office on the wharf. We really enjoyed the trip up to Cape Reinga. Free parking and loos. If you are a walker there are lots of walks of various lengths, we also took a short helicopter ride over Cape Reinga for $90 per person which was great. On the way back we called into the Te Pake Sand dunes, well worth a visit. Wish we had brought or hired a boogie board and had a go! They are definitely impressive and we think they are larger than the much vaunted ones in France. We are certainly smitten with the sunny Bay of Islands. It’s a special place... go there! You won’t regret it! 😊