Buffalo Lodge Chronicles: Planting Roots and Cultivating Dreams

Here's a little rundown of our whirlwind year- let’s list it hey!

• Inked the deal and became the official keepers of a new Coromandel getaway, Buffalo Lodge. 🗝
• Within a fortnight, our water tank burst—initiation by maintenance mayhem! 💦
• Typed 'How to run an accommodation business' Into Google for good measure. 🖥
• Shared our space with the previous owner until she found a space to settle, toasted her new adventure with the respect it deserves. 🍃 
• Mapped out our dreams with Studio Sio, charting courses for the next 3-5 years. 🗺️
• Launched our website, complete with a booking system that's a breeze to navigate, thanks Preno. 💻
• Scored some SSCIF funding and waged war on invasive weeds with the Remnant Restoration crew 🌱.
• Gave the four rooms and private studio a facelift: think Rimu floors, NZ made furniture, and organic cosiness all around. 🛠️
• Carved out a cosy library nook, with the help from the wonderful Homewerk crew, where the top floor used to be just that—top floor. 📚
• Partnered with kindred spirits in sustainability, curating a collection from Real World to Baina towels, to Webster’s Tea to Studio Sutram to General Sleep. 💚
• Welcomed woofers into our fold, tackling to-do's and turning old linens into new loved meditation cushions, aprons, and yoga bolsters. 🛌
• Cultivated a veggie patch that's more 'help yourself' than 'look don't touch'. 🥬
• Got our hands dirty planting natives, learning the art of trapping from neighbourly gurus. 🌳
• Embraced the learning curve (and Googled 'how to run an accommodation business' just a few more times). 🔁
• Uprooted a tangle of weed mats from the citrus orchard, and oh, how the trees are smiling now. 🍊
• Rolled out the welcome mat to our first guests, a global tapestry including Germany, United States of America, Canada, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, France, England, weaving stories from across the world right here. 🌏✨
• Rode out storms, dodged cyclones, and weathered 62 road closure related cancellations with a mostly sturdy umbrella. 🌪️
• Opened our doors to a trove of local artisan goods, because who doesn't love a bit of local loot? 🛍
• Blazed trails on the whenua, finishing our very first path with dreams of many more for more good ol’ Coromandel tramping. 🏞
• Transformed an old hole in the ground into a budding flat venue space for gatherings, grand or intimate. 💒
• Played florist, redistributing blooms to dress up our newfound open spaces. 🌺
• Started the process of giving the gazebo a new lease on life as a massage haven and an alfresco office. 💆♀
• Decked out our decks, because outdoor living is life. 🌿
• Snapped by a pro photographer who we adore, Erin Cave, because even lodges need to strike a pose. 📸
• Collaborated with Made Studio , gearing up to unveil our shiny new website— Ain't she a beaut. 🌟

Here's to another year of growth, giggles, and 'Google how-to's'. Thanks for being here and following along with us.