SOLD: Beautiful Happyzine

(As I raise my son and grow my good news website)

Today Kahu the gorgeous two year old, Maia the Golden Dog and my good self stopped by the Sandcastle here in Golden Bay, to have a chat with my friend Steve de Feu.  We had a stroll around the grounds as he’s pledged two nights accommodation for two adults as part of a new Happyzine draw that I’m just about to announce (tee hee hee, how exciting).  The Sandcastle Chalet Accommodation is nestled in the bush up in the Pohara Valley of Golden Bay.  Steve says it’s on it’s way towards becoming a park and the sprawling paddocks (resided in by over twenty happy lawn-mowing sheep), gardens of native bush, random sculptures and abundant fruit trees – all nestling around the six neat chalet – certainly make for a the feel of getting away.
For those of you who are reading this from an inner city apartment, let me remind you of the Good Life style of existence.
The Sandcastle is home to a flock of chickens and beehives, the ‘fruits’ of which, Steve readily shares and enjoys.  The land pumps out naturally produced veggies and fruits from it’s rather large garden plot (complete with a huge compost pit, because, I assume, the Sandcastle produces too much organic left over food for a mere compost bin).  A tinkling stream runs through, crossed by several bridges, including a large arching one that I personally enjoy spending time on in the sun-shine, watching the water eddy up a metre beneath my feet.  Spindly ferns grow alongside the stream, criss-crossing the water with their large fronds, and I wonder if eels reside in the shadows.
I first came to the Sandcastle around seven years ago when the course Planet Organic was running and using the whole of Golden Bay as its ‘living classroom’.  I would join my eco-change-making  friends for saunas and spas there, learning to sing and jam, as we lay sweating in the steamy room.
Speaking of organic, the whole property is spray-free, and the Sandcastle is registered with the WWOOF organisation, so he regularly hosts people in a work-exchange arrangement.
When I arrived there today Steve and a friend were in the throws of weed-eating back bramble bush to make way for more paddocks for their sheepy lawn-mower friends.  I felt rather respectful of them, as I realised I found it enough of a mission to keep my own small extremely low maintenance urban property in good order, let alone the several hectares that Steve maintains.
There’s a bona fide Medicine Wheel at the Sandcastle.  For all his well-spoken English good manner and charm, Steve’s surprisingly passionate about helping people to reconnect with the seasons and with the earth and her cycles.  Come every new and full moon, people gather at the wheel to celebrate the changes. Check out this great image of Steve’s sheep keeping the grass beautifully in order.
Though Steve said that he feels the Bay has a reputation for hippidom and he has to maintain that belief, he keeps his chalets in fine order and runs a well organised yet family orientated ‘ship’.   The rooms are self-contained with little kitchens and bathrooms, and also have attached bunk rooms for kiddies and friends.  They’re quite lush too, as you’ll hopefully see from the You Tube video.
I thoroughly enjoyed taking a stroll around the grounds  today and catching up with the vision for the Sandcastle.
Today’s rating: 8/10

PS to my delight, last week one hundred more people subscribed to Happyzine.  635 down, only 999, 365 to go!!! Come on, can’t you feel the gap closing!?)

365 Days of Fun and Chillaxation (as I raise my gorgeous son and grow my good news website to a subscription base of 100,000 people).  The Low Down on this Blog.

Check out yesterday’s blog.

Tags: dreams, Environment, good news