Stay and Play at Makora Manor
Stay a little longer. Make a little space. See what emerges. Stay and Play combines a relaxing break in The Cottage at Makora Manor with a private creative experience hosted by Jordan in the Studio or the surrounding landscape of Otaihanga.
Choose from four summer experiences designed to help you slow down, experiment and reconnect with your creativity. Come on your own, share the experience with someone special or gather a small group for a creative weekend on the Kāpiti Coast.
No previous art experience is needed. Everything is gently guided, all creative materials are provided, and there is no pressure to produce a particular kind of finished artwork.
Summer Stay and Play season
The first Stay and Play experiences will be available from mid-January to mid-March, on most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Because accommodation availability changes quickly, the first step is to book The Cottage through Airbnb and confirm your stay dates. Once your accommodation is secured, complete the Stay and Play enquiry form to tell us:
- which creative experience you would like
- how many people will be joining you
- your preferred day and time
- whether you would like to include any extras, such as a catered cold lunch
We’ll then confirm the availability of your chosen experience and help you shape it around your stay.
Choose Your ‘Play’ Experience!
Creative Ramble with Jordan
Duration: 3 hours Cost: $180 + $30 per additional participant
Step out from Makora Manor for a gentle creative ramble through the landscapes of Otaihanga. Depending on the day and the weather, we might explore the Waikanae River, estuary, beach or nearby reserves, making time to notice the small details and shifting perspectives that are easily missed.
Jordan will guide you through a series of simple observational and creative activities using drawing, mindful mark-making and watercolour. This isn’t about covering distance or creating a perfect picture. It’s an invitation to slow down, look again and experience the landscape differently.
The Power of the Pause: Mindful Mandalas and the Awesomeness of Awe
Duration: 3 hours Cost: $220 + $30 per additional participant
Make space to pause, become present and reconnect with your capacity for wonder. This gently guided experience combines mindful mandala-making with simple practices for noticing and exploring awe. You’ll step away from constant verbal and analytical thinking and spend time experimenting with colour, pattern and form.
There is no right answer and no artistic expertise required; just an opportunity to slow down, pay attention and discover what becomes possible when you give yourself permission to pause.
Shoebox Studio: The Art of Creative Reinvention
Duration: 3 hours Cost: $180 + $30 per additional participant
Discover how scraps, fragments and creative leftovers can become the starting point for something completely new. You’ll create your own portable Shoebox Studio filled with painted papers, marks, textures and found materials, then experiment with cutting, layering, rearranging and reimagining them into an original mixed-media artwork.
Shoebox Studio is playful, resourceful and full of possibility. It’s especially suited to anyone who wants to loosen up creatively, move beyond the blank page or rediscover the pleasure of making without having everything planned in advance.
7 Ways with Acrylics: Make an Abstract Intuitive Painting
Duration: 3 hours Cost: $180 + $30 per additional participant
Explore seven playful ways of working with acrylic paint before bringing your experiments together in an abstract intuitive painting of your own. You’ll try different approaches to colour, layering, texture, mark-making and composition, building confidence as you go. Rather than beginning with a fixed plan, you’ll learn to respond to what is happening on the surface and follow the directions that interest you.
It’s a lively, liberating introduction to acrylics for beginners, and a refreshing creative reset for anyone who wants to paint more freely.
Make a day of it
Your Stay and Play experience can be kept simple or turned into a more leisurely part of your Kāpiti stay. Add a catered cold lunch to enjoy in the garden, on one of the terraces or in our Piazza after your creative session.
Availability and catering options can be requested through the Stay and Play enquiry form