I always associate Aotearoa New Zealand with a distant, jagged horizon line of blue-green peaks. When I’m away from here, this image becomes cemented in my mind, and I can be found enthusiastically telling people that “you can see mountains on the horizon from anywhere in New Zealand!” That might not be entirely true. But you certainly can see them in a lot of places.

In a westerly corner of the North Island, however, one cone-shaped mountain stands alone.

When we arrived in Taranaki, the striking mountain that gives the region its name was veiled by cloud. We drove through farmland and small towns, squinting at the sky for any hint of its sharp peak or sprawling slopes, but no luck. It wasn’t until long after we arrived at the cabin, our base for the next couple of days, that it finally revealed itself.

We’d booked ecoescape, an award winning cabin in rural Taranaki, precisely because of its incredible views of the mountain. In fact, I’d booked it (before even checking with my partner - sorry James!) as soon was we knew we were coming back to New Zealand. It had been on my radar when we were last here three years ago, and since we both wanted to explore the Taranaki region on this trip, it felt like the perfect opportunity.

This might be a good time to tell you that I’m a bit of a cabin nerd. I love them. So much, in fact, that I used to work for a company who specialised in them. I’ve seen a lot of cabins at this point (and I’ve met very few that I didn’t like), but ecoescape has to be up there as one of my favourites.

It’s a fairly simple concept, but it’s been executed so beautifully. Both the main mezzanine bedroom and the second bedroom in its separate cabin have huge windows that look straight out over Mount Taranaki - which means if the weather’s on your side, you can wake up to the most incredible view.

Everything here seems to have been built with this view in mind. The outdoor deck and wood-fired hot tub also face the maunga, so you can soak, eat, and sip your morning coffee while gazing at the slopes.

My favourite thing about staying in cabins (when I’m not drooling over the architecture or interiors) is the opportunity they give you to disconnect from the busy-ness of everyday life and to reconnect to nature. This spot satisfied that craving perfectly. Though there are a few other buildings not too far from Eco Escape, we felt totally secluded in our own little corner of the bush. The only sounds were the symphonies of native birds and cicadas, and the occasional crackle of the wood burner.

When we ventured out to leave our little wood-clad haven (which we did do, I promise), we explored the nearby Lake Mangmahoe, took the short hike to the incredible Dawson Falls, and headed into New Plymouth to check out its wonderful art scene and sample some delicious vegan goods at Wild Pear Kitchen.

I feel like we’ve really only just scratched the surface of this incredible region, so if you have any more recommendations I’d love to hear them! Feel free to drop me a message or a comment below.

Helen x