
If there’s one factor we may all use proper now, it’s common unity – and also you’ll definitely get greater than an inkling of what harmonious residing is like on the Mahamudra Centre for Universal Unity within the tiny Coromandel city of Colville.
Based by Colville locals Roy Fraser and Sally Barraud with the assistance of their Tibetan Buddhist instructor Lama Zopa Rinpoche within the early eighties, the retreat centre welcomes anybody in search of a while out from their common routines, irrespective of faith.
Lorna Thornber/Stuff
Mahamudra Centre have to be among the many most inexpensive retreat centres in New Zealand.
You possibly can be part of one of many many retreats on supply, keep within the easy however comfortable rooms and cabins, participate in a guided meditation session, browse the spiritually and philosophically centered books within the library, or just stroll across the sprawling gardens with their statues and vibrant Tibetan stupa.
I found the centre, a charitable belief affiliated with the worldwide Basis for the Preservation of the Mahayana Custom (FPMT), after researching lodging within the space so I may lastly get round to tackling the Coromandel Coastal Walkway.
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For me, it ticked all the principle bins: it was inside cheap driving distance of the beginning of the stroll, peaceable trying, and unusually good worth – rooms value from $60 an evening.
Staying in a self-contained cabin, I may additionally cook dinner my very own dinner – a particular bonus when the one café on the town closes mid-afternoon.
DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF
The meditation corridor.
Arriving on a Saturday morning, I used to be mildly offended when fellow company sitting in companionable silence on the sunny deck didn’t return my “hello”, however shortly forgave them (and silently begged their pardon) once I learnt they have been on a silent retreat.
You’d be hard-pressed to discover a extra peaceable place to remain than a silent retreat centre, so I took full benefit of it, exploring the eight-acre grounds sheltered by the hills of the Coromandel Vary earlier than collapsing in a chair on my personal deck with a e book.
There was no TV, however the stars placed on a much better present than any actuality sequence I’ve seen recently, and the mournful cries of invisible moreporks proved a more practical remedy for insomnia than my pure sleeping tablets.
DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF
The backyard is filled with peaceable spots to follow meditation – or simply sit back.
The sealed street turns into gravel simply north of Colville, giving it a frontier city vibe, and, from right here, the surroundings simply will get extra spectacular. I observe the street up the western facet of the peninsula, which passes a string of calm bays shaded by pōhutukawa so massive and gnarly they’re absolutely geriatric specimens earlier than heading – considerably scarily – into the hills. Reaching the highest of the hill above Port Jackson stopped me in my tracks. Gray skies did nothing to dent the seaside’s creamy, curvy, golden hill-backed magnificence.
Fletcher Bay, my start line for the Coromandel Coastal Walkway is one other rural coastal dream, as is the stroll itself, which slices between farmland, native bush and the Pacific beneath the shadow of sacred Mt Moehau en path to sun-bleached driftwood-strewn, deliciously secluded Stony Bay.
Again on the retreat centre, I absorb the zen vibe, wishing I used to be on the retreat so I may be part of the group within the exquisitely embellished meditation corridor (company are welcome to affix meditation periods when retreats aren’t underway). Nonetheless, sitting on my deck chair listening to the cicadas sing had a equally soothing impact. Wouldn’t or not it’s great if a few of these threatening common unity at current may spend a while right here.
DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF
The centre sits on eight acres within the Colville Valley.
Necessities:
Staying there: You possibly can be part of a retreat or e book a non-public keep in a room, self-contained cabin or dormitory. Tenting can also be an possibility. Non-public rooms begin from $60 an evening, dorm rooms from $38 an evening, and cabins from $65 an evening. Tenting prices $20 an evening.
Getting there: The retreat centre is a couple of three-and-a-half hour drive from Auckland, and half-hour from Coromandel township.
Extra info: mahamudra.org.nz
Staying protected: New Zealand is at the moment beneath Covid-19 restrictions. Face coverings are obligatory on all flights and public transport. Proof of vaccination and vaccine exemption could also be required in some venues beneath the visitors mild system. Comply with the directions at covid19.govt.nz.
The author travelled on her personal dime.