Challenge Yourself to a Wellness Adventure at Queenstown’s Aro Ha

At Queenstown’s new wellness retreat Aro Ha, five and seven-day retreat programs offer guests “an unexpectedly rewarding journey of denial and depravation.”

“I am on an amazing journey that goes beyond the picture-postcard views of the Southern Alps and the glacial-fed Lake Wakatipu, the daredevil jetboat rides and the bungy jumps that define Queenstown,” guest Robert Upe writes for the Sydney Morning Herald. “It is a wellness adventure. A journey of denial. Of detoxification. Of breathing deeply.”

“The programs are filled with raw vegan cuisine and a regimented program of Vinyasa yoga, meditation, massage, strength and circuit training, cooking classes, and workshops on everything from nutrition to permaculture.

“‘There is no doubt it is challenging for people,’ says Damian Chaparro, the American managing partner of the $30 million retreat that opened in December and who formerly ran The Ashram in California.

“‘A lot of people come here wanting to get back on track and to lose a bit of weight,’ Chaparro says. ‘That is often the initial goal, but as they experience the program they recognise there is more depth to it.

“‘The goal for us is to create genuine deep-down health.’

“The writer lost 5.4kg during the retreat week and one month later has lost a further two kilograms. He still hasn’t had a coffee, or even a chocolate eclair.”

Original article by Robert Upe, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 19, 2014.