Aro Hā Retreat walks the ‘wellness’ talk through the restrained and considered nature of its architecture and a thorough-going commitment to sustainable design. The sculpted forms of the buildings allude to the rocky outcrops of the local topography and their siting – a necklace of structures laid out along a path – is suggestive of the Aro Hā journey to wellbeing. Rewarding moments on this ‘journey’ include the spa area and the delightful greenhouses which are an integral component of a sustainable strategy founded on permaculture principles and a large measure of self-sufficiency.