Experience the magic of Escarpment Domes

Kia ora 

As you will have heard by now, we've hit our $50,000 fundraising target on PledgeMe with more than a day to spare. Holy moly.

Kia ora

The sun is about to set on our little PledgeMe camapaign.

We’re now reached more than 95% of our fundraising target, with just over $2000 left to go before Sunday night. Thanks so much for your support so far, we couldn’t realise this dream without you.

Because we’ve had a few questions about creature comforts, we thought we might take a bit of time today to introduce you to the Gallery Dome. 

Are you ready to wake up to the best view in the country? 

While all of our domes offer views across to Kāpiti Island, there’s nothing quite like the mezzanine master bedroom in the Gallery Dome. 

Curved staircases take you up to King Size bed in the loft, where you can lie in comfort and drink in the panorama before you. 

A perfect night away for two, but still with room to sleep another four people downstairs. 

The Gallery Dome really is our showstopper. It also features: 

• A wall sized art installation, newly commissioned, by Anna Muirhead. 

• Our glorious, late 19th century century, colonial outdoor bath 

• An audiophile grade sound system (find a better one in any accommodation anywhere in Aotearoa NZ and I’ll eat my hat)

And of course, like all three of the accommodation domes, it comes with: 

• Your own shower, toilet and kitchen

• Specially curated music playlists to soundtrack your stay

• Access to the finest second hand reading library this side of Alexandra 

What more could you possibly want from a retreat away from the daily grind? 

If this sounds perfect for someone you know, please send them a link to our PledgeMe page. It would be great to have them on board and get one step closer to hitting our $50k target by Sunday night. 

Arohanui, 

Aaron & The Floruit Team 

Kia ora 

We've got a shade over a week to run on our PledgeMe campaign, and a shade over $15k left to raise by next Sunday night. It's the final push!

We've talked about about our plans for native forests. Our off grid self sufficiency. Our early 90s luxury Japanese van. 

But today we wanted to share with you another big part of the kaupapa - our art and storytelling programme. 

If you're spending the night in the Gallery Dome you'll be treated to a floor to ceiling cutout work by Anna Muirhead, exploring the forest (from canopy to mycelium level). 

We're working with our friends at Creature Post on a new sculptural centrepiece for the site that will build connections between you and the whenua. 

Outside, you'll find an array of speakers. Stare out at Kāpiti Island at sunset and enjoy a lush, surround sound, ambient journey composed just for us. 

Inside, each dome comes with a series of playlists curated for us by some very special guests. 

In the months and years ahead the programme will evolve and grow, rewarding repeat visits and having you coming back for more. 

Thanks again for your support of Escarpment Domes. Please help us in this final week by sharing this page with your friends and whānau, particularly those who are creatively inclined!

Arohanui

Aaron & The Floruit Team 

Kia ora koutou

One of the questions we get asked the most (given how gloriously remote the views are) is: "How do we get there?"

(One of the others is: are there showers. Yes. Every dome has a shower). 

But I digress. 

The beauty of Escarpment Domes is that this remote paradise is still so close to civilisation. You'll find us just 35 minutes from Wellington by car or (preferably) by train. 

Jump off at the Pukerua Bay Station, and we'll come collect you ...

In our 1991 Mitsubishi Delica Super Exceed. 

Because what good is a weekend getaway without being chauffered in the height of early 90s Japanese van luxury?

Some of you may be Super Exceed aficianados, so to cut to the chase: 

1. Sadly, we haven't managed to get the built in karaoke system to work yet. Yet. 

2. Yes, it still has its factory issue, temperature controlled beverage compartment. 

3. The seats are even more comfortable than you would imagine early 90s van seats to be. 

You can still drive your own car to our carpark, but if you're up for minimising your footprint as much as possible, the Pukerua Bay Station pickup is a good option. 

Either way, fear not! It is the trusty Super Exceed that will take you from the carpark; up the track; and over the crest of the hill to your acommodation. 

Just wait until you see Hugh's passenger drivers' license. Our excitement is truly palpable. 

There are just ten days left on our PledgeMe campaign. Thanks again for coming with us on our journey so far. We need to hit $50,000 by Sunday May 19th or we all go home empty handed! 

Keep sharing the page with friends and family, and jump on our Facebook and Instagram to give them a nudge, too. 

Arohanui

Aaron & The Floruit Team 

Kia ora 

We're now a week and a half into our PledgeMe campaign, and are stoked to have nudged past 70% of our fundraising target this morning. 

It's exciting to have so much support for this project, and for this kaupapa, when nobody has even seen the finished product yet. 

We're looking forward to sharing a bit more of the interior world with you later next week though, so keep an eye out for that. 

A big part of the Escarpment Domes journey is reimagining what visitor destinations and tourism can be, and designing experiences that tread more lightly on the planet. 

The domes themselves are all off grid. Solar arrays provide the power, and we're pumping water from a natural spring on the farm, but it has to live somewhere before it gets filtered for drinking and showering. 

Which means we needed a pretty big water tank, and there was only one way of getting it up there. 

Last week the team at Wellington Helicopters picked it up and plonked it into place for us. It's now in position and ready to provide loyal service to our first guests in June. 

Thanks again for your support of Escarpment Domes. Please keep sharing our PledgeMe page with friends and family, and follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook, it really does help us make this thing fly. 

Arohanui

Aaron & The Floruit Team

Kia ora 

Another day, another milestone. There are now fifty (and counting) of you who have reached into your wallets to help us make this magic happen. 

Which seems as good a time as any to introduce you to some of the people we're working with to transform this beautiful piece of land.

Floruit (the business behind Escarpment Domes) is a social enterprise. Which means we're always looking for this project to support the wider wellbeing of our community - socially, culturally, economically, and environmentally. 

It makes sense for us, then, to work with other outfits with those same values. 

Te Rito Gardens in Porirua is also a social enterprise. It was great to host Yolande and Steve on site recently when we put our first plants in the ground. 

Te Rito is a social enterprise co-operative that grows and sells native plants. They provide a training environmental that supports people into horticultural careers, particularly those who have barriers to maintaining meaningful employment. 

Beyond this, they deliver community education programmes; support the local EnviroSchools kaupapa; and do their own seed sourcing. 

The perfect fit for us, we reckon, as we put together our five year planting plan for the site. 

If you're in the Porirua area show them some love. 

Otherwise, please keep sharing our PledgeMe page with friends and whānau as we continue out fundraising push. 

Arohanui, 

The Floruit Team

Kia ora

Wow. A truly humbling couple of days seeing people swing in behind this kauapapa and get us to the point where we're already halfway to our fundraising target!

Which means we're halfway to the bit where everyone who's pledged so far gets to claim their rewards. 

But to make sure that they do, there's plenty more room at the inn! If you support the kauapa, please keep sharing our PledgeMe page with friends and whānau. Likewise, we'd love it if you could follow us over on Instagram and/or Facebook. 

Thanks heaps to Tom McKinlay from the Otago Daily Times for having a chat with Aaron in The Weekend Mix. Truly a pleasure to have such a wide ranging kōrero with someone who gets what we're trying to do. 

The story is currently paywalled here, but if you were in the Deep South you should still be able to grab a physical copy and have a read. 

Arohanui,

Hugh, Blair & Aaron 

Kia ora!

Thanks for getting on board early and supporting our pre-sale campaign. We appreciate it more than you could ever know. 

Our PledgeMe page is now public, which means you're now welcome (nay, encouraged!) to spread the word far and wide. 

We'll keep you posted over the the next three weeks as this campaign progresses, but in the meantime a very TGIF to you from the Escarpment Domes crew. 

Kā mihi nui

Aaron