J&J Te Awa Glamping

Glamping really is a culmination of all my favorite things. Nature + luxury accommodation + outdoor bathtubs + campfires + gourmet food.

So what else could a girl want to do for her birthday?

We love to travel around New Zealand and love to share our favourite spots with you. This one you can find situated on the mighty Whanganui River in the Manawatu. It’s one of New Zealand's longest rivers and is of immense significance to Māori.

If you are like me and love adventure as much as you love luxury, Te Awa Glamping was literally built for you! Here you enjoy private access to this majestic river with the glampsite on the banks of one of the few accessible beaches.

Te Awa Glamping is situated on a working sheep and beef farm, so you get to experience a glimpse of authentic Kiwi farming, while you drive through a beautiful rolling landscape to reach your glampsite.

Ready to explore?

The glamping site has been impeccably designed and lushly furnished. The tent itself is custom-designed. The only one of its kind in New Zealand, which emulates the countryside's rolling hills with its fluid lines and spaciousness, using full-size doors and large windows in order to maximise stunning river and rural views and total privacy.

Once inside it is like walking into a luxury hotel room. This one, however, just has thin walls allowing us to enjoy the memorable aspects of camping while appreciating the finer comforts of five-star private accommodation.

Equipped with a kitchen, plush king-sized bed, dining area, sofa and bathroom you quickly forget your inside a canvas structure. The vintage trunk conceal goodies like yoga mats, games, books and magazines along with some toys for children.

Upon arrival we welcomed with this huge welcome hamper. full of breakfast supplies including muesli, butter, fruit, jam, peanut butter, eggs, milk. Along with homemade chocolate salami, cookies and even some yummy snacks and a jar of marshmallows for toasting over the outdoor fire. It is easily the best welcome hamper I’ve ever received.

Along with this freshly baked bread which was still warm from the oven! The owner Louise is quite the baker and we could not get enough of her delicious homemade treats!  

You will also find an information folder with all the information you need and also contains the start of a fun treasure hunt that will take you around the property.

We really enjoyed the treasure hunt and figuring out each clue.

The treasure is definitely worth finding!

I love booking little escapes for my birthday rather than receiving gifts. We tend to do this every year and have been to some amazing places over the years. Honestly it was so nice just to switch off and enjoy some whānau (family) time. Jake also loved cooking our meals on the outdoor fireplace.

As you can see Arlo clearly loves the camera! 

As night falls all the stars come out, your'll find extra blankets galore inside the tent handy when the sun goes down and temperatures in the valley drop. Falling asleep to the sound of the river while tucked up in a cosy tent is one of life's great pleasures. 

I woke up on my birthday to a beautiful misty morning.

It’s not a birthday without pancakes right? This little tradition we do in our family is one that Jake's mum started. All our birthdays start with pancakes! Our specialty is pancakes with bacon, peaches and cream! Best combo ever!

Louise the owner found out it was my birthday and dropped off this raspberry and lemon homemade birthday cake for me! Honestly so nice and so delicious, we want to come back again just to get some more of Louise's baking!   

Off to the river we go!

Spot the cute water little fall in the background.

Te Awa Glamping gives you a glamping experience that is not just luxurious and relaxing, but also fun and exciting. They offer adventure packages which include jet boating down the river however, if you're looking for something a bit more laidback there are also canoes available for a more peaceful paddle down the river. We spotted a tour group enjoying a canoe ride down the river whist enjoying our time down by the river.

We also love to do a birthday platter, or grazing table full of the person's favourite food for everyone to enjoy. 

Relaxing is one thing that's not hard to do here. Grab a drink next to the outdoor fireplace or take a soak in the outdoor bath under the stars before climbing into the super king bed while falling asleep to the sound of the river. Heaven!

Arlo loved roasting marshmallows on the outdoor fire that we were supplied with from our welcome hamper.

 Thank you to Louise the owner of Te Awa Glamping for thinking of all these little touches which made our stay so wonderful! We had a wonderful time and cant wait to come back again.