Green Living

Motueka family home embraces traditional and contemporary off-grid living

This off-grid home in an eco village just outside Motueka is an exercise in style and functionality for this Dutch family

This gorgeous yurt is an exercise in style and functionality. 

Meet Tessa Hiebendaal, facility manager and massage therapist, Remko Ros, 46 woodworker, Kiri Ana Ros, 8, and Olle Manu Ros, 5, plus guinea pigs Woezel and Pip, and six hens.

Many intrepid travellers reach our shores with plans for an exciting and memorable trip, but when Dutch visitors Tessa Hiebendaal and Remko Ros set foot on New Zealand soil in 2003, all set for a three-month tour, their lives were truly changed.

“We fell in love with New Zealand at the moment of touchdown at Auckland Airport,” reminisces Tessa. “Something mysterious stirred inside me, and that feeling has never left.

“After that first holiday in this beautiful, green, spacious land on the other side of the world, we wanted to come back and stay here for ever.” And after four years and several more visits, that’s exactly what they did.


Words by: Tina Stephen. Photography by: Daniel Allen.

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