After 16 years building iconic off-grid escapes, the family behind Kokomea is putting their paradise on the market
Comprising a fully off-grid family home, Airbnb’s award-winning LoveBus, the Treehouse and the Cottage, owners Guillaume Gignoux and Tara Wrigley are proud to offer this spectacular Whaanga Road property to the next kaitiaki (caretakers).
A bare block with no way in
When Guillaume first bought his half share into the land in 2010, it was pine forest, native bush, and bare paddocks. Life on the gravel side of Whaanga Road means off-grid living: no power lines equal no power.
“When we met in 2012, we spent a lot of our time on the property in a house bus,” Tara says. “We just loved the peace, tranquillity, and having the whole place to ourselves.”
Building a life off the grid
As the relationship grew, the couple decided to build a family home for their growing family.
The house site itself is sheltered from the prevailing south-west wind, and positioned to catch sun from morning until evening. The four-bedroom home is entirely self-sufficient with solar power, a large rainwater tank, and its own septic system.
“Living off-grid was a huge learning curve,” Tara says. “But it runs just like a normal house, we just don’t get power bills. It’s a relief knowing we’ve got power all year round, and that we’re not affected when the town loses power in a storm.”
From house bus to an award-winning stay
With a family home established, the couple decided to list the house bus on Airbnb to bring in a little extra income. It was booked out immediately, with guests drawn to the privacy and seclusion of the property.
But the bus, with its composting toilet and dated interior, wasn’t the experience Tara wanted to offer. Once the demand was clear, the couple fully renovated it, transforming it into the LoveBus, a calm space designed to make the most of its ocean views.
Over time, Guillaume and Tara added two more stays, the Treehouse and the Cottage, turning what began as a side project into Tiny House Escapes, a business that became a key income stream for their family and allowed them to reshape their working lives around it. It also allowed them to buy out the other owner of the land.
Designing spaces they’d want to stay in
When it came to designing each accommodation, the brief was simple: create spaces they themselves would want to escape to.
“There really wasn’t much like this in 2016,” Tara says. “We just designed the kind of romantic escapes we’d want to stay in ourselves.”
With Tara leading on design, Guillaume, close friends and neighbours plan and execute the build.
“We’ve learned to use finishes that are easy to clean and that’ll still look good years down the line.” The goal with every stay, she says, is that each guest feels like they’re the very first to experience it.
Each stay is completely unique. The Treehouse is built up in the pines, a tiny space with everything you need, and it’s especially magical in the evening when all the little lights are twinkling. The bus is more spacious, and the cottage is perched up high on the property, overlooking everything. Both the Treehouse and the LoveBus have gone on to become two of Airbnb’s most wish-listed properties.
One of the realities of living so remotely, no mobile coverage and no internet, has become one of the accommodations’ defining features. Guests return the same feedback again and again – that the stay gave them real time to reconnect with each other.
Guests are also drawn to the property’s bush walk that winds down to a spot nicknamed the ‘Picnic Tree’, a favourite among visitors looking to explore beyond their accommodation. Nearby, a cedar barrel sauna with a glass window at the front looks straight out over the bush and the ocean, giving guests one of the property’s most memorable views.
An established business
“We’ve built a really great home and a really great business,” Tara says. “It’s taken years to get the systems and processes right, but everything runs the way we want it to now.”
Today, Kokomea stands as a fully self-sufficient family home and one of the country’s most sought-after off-grid escapes.
With the children now mostly independent, Tara and Guillaume are ready to enter a new chapter knowing they are passing on a piece of paradise that is not only a family home but a thriving business.
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