Bella Rakha is a retreat centre and creative venue, which also includes family homes. With 32 acres nestled at the base of the Waitakere Ranges, we have a mixture of native bush, open spaces, quiet secluded groves and a mixture of buildings of various sizes and uses.
Bella Rakha is ideal for all sorts of residential meditative retreats, team building workshops, creative endeavours, corporate events and outdoor activities. As a venue we host weekend, mid-week overnight and day groups. There are also options for longer stays. All this within 25 minutes of Auckland CBD and 5 minutes of Waitakere City. 
In late 2007, Simon, Yvette and Marion (who is Simon’s mother), fell in love with this property with its long winding drive and journey of discovery, with the sneak peeks around each bend of what the landscape has to offer. The mix of maturing native bush and well established trees on park like slopes, with the Oratia stream winding its way along the valley, make a wonderful place to explore, contemplate and feed the creative spirit. We were hooked. 
The property, previously called Knock Na Gree, has hosted many generations of children, families and retreat groups since its beginning in the late 1930’s. We thought that this feeling of peace and inspiration would be wonderful to continue to share with others, and we are evolving the property and facilities to cater for retreats, personal growth experiences, corporate escapes, creative workshops and .
We are developing our own culture for creative and sustainable living. We seek to live with ecological awareness, with respect for the land and her and preservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of our living space. We seek to with our vision and energy, within the greater community of life. We invite others to share our vision while living here at Bella Rakha, respecting and caring for the safety and well-being of oneself, others and this beautiful place.