Couple's
Retreat

Heart Country Programme™

Take some time out for your relationship.

It may be good to have some time for yourselves, some time to focus on your relationship, perhaps you would like a rest, or maybe you want some help with more serious concerns. This residential retreat provides both time out to rest and reflect as well as some experienced professional support. The programme involves learning about relationship matters, it includes private assistance with personal couple issues, and has periods of both activity and rest for participants.

The location is in the stunning southern lakes and mountains of New Zealand, where the retreat programme runs from Monday evening to Thursday night. Everything, meals and accommodation, are fully catered for in the very comfortable Valley Lodge. This is the venue for the "learning" periods, and the base from where ventures into the surroundings begin.

The retreat may help you to save your relationship or just to understand and enjoy it more, either way it will be informing, encouraging, and restful.

The Location

The Heart Country™ Retreat takes you away from "all that," the city, your work, the family, the pressures and the "never enough time", and puts you into a world heritage environment that can be incomparable and certainly eases stress for a while. You will be in the Southern Lakes and mountains between the Waitaki Valley and the McKenzie Country including the Mt. Cook National Park. The lodge is very comfortable, with large rooms, luxury bathrooms, great catering, views up to the Alps, and quiet. From the programme venue you can be taken out onto the Alps to Ocean cycle way and meander through trees at Pukaki lake side looking at Aoraki and Mt Tasman, an invariably awesome view. As well we will take you to Omarama for a rest in the wood fired hot tubs, you get your own sheltered corner beside a pond with your own change room, it is a great way to relax. After that there is hot coffee at the Tubs or across the highway at the Wrinkly Rams, all of this is close to the Gliding Venue, and again impossible not to enjoy.

We may even take you out onto one of the lakes, here you may find yourselves on a small beach or even an Island for half a day, again with scenery to die for and privacy to enjoy together as a couple and with time to think over the learning and support you have had in the last few days.

Once you are in the area everything is available, snow sports in winter, every form of tramping, climbing, walking, flying, fishing, and in the summer, which is just plain hot and never muggy, swim, ski, ride, picnic, swim some more, or simply drive around the Mt Cook area, Glentanner, Tekapo, Ohau, everything is magic, or awesome, or beautiful, and it all becomes rather healing in its own way.

The Programme

It is not unusual for this retreat experience to bring some healthy life changing growth to your relationship or marriage, hopefully it will always be enabling and rewarding.

An overview of the programme indicates a mixture of a "couples boot camp," with some concentrated real work, and then periods of time in the beautiful and luxurious surroundings. By offering a mid week retreat it allows you to have a nine day period altogether and to add some travel or touring to get there, and possibly to fit in some other holiday or adventure either side of the programme.

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Getting There

The Heart Country™ Retreat Programme begins on a Monday evening, with arrival and settle-in expected between 4-6pm when you will be greeted at Valley Lodge in Otematata. Peter Frost, who leads the retreat, and his wife Joce, will join you for dinner at about 7pm and the programme follows. The first evening looks closely at what we are talking about with regard to the idea of loving.

Tuesday morning begins with private interviews with the couple on the retreat. Tuesday afternoon is a period of learning focussed on the way in which couples develop and provides an overview of many of the ways we can understand human relating with its problems and wonders. This is a quite focussed days work and concentrates on providing knowledge and insight.

Each evening reviews the days experience and shares some more knowledge.

Wednesday morning adds awareness to learning about our sometimes frustrating differences and gives resources that are remarkably helpful but not usually easily found, the sort of stuff we should all have had long before we married, and really need now.

Again this is a kind of hard work bit, so we follow that with a half day out. Wednesday afternoon is set aside for an excursion around Pukaki, Ohau, or Ruataniwha, and a look at the Alps to Ocean trail. This is an opportunity for a cycle ride for those who are keen, or perhaps a Hot Tub at Omarama. Back to work in the evening.

Thursday is structured to fit the now-known needs of the couple. This becomes a review and consolidation of all that has been learned. The day usually includes an excursion possibly by bike for those who are keen. Thursday evening involves gathering all of the new experiences and awareness as well as sharing the farewell.

It is not unusual for this retreat experience to bring some healthy life changing growth to your relationship or marriage, hopefully it will always be enabling and rewarding.

For North Island people, flying into Christchurch, Dunedin or Queenstown and driving a rental to "Heart Country" is the most obvious option. South Island people are able to fly or drive as works best for each couple.

The fly-drive options provide by most airlines will probably work best, allowing travel in on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Always allow three-and-a-half hours driving time from each airport. Returns can be Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so visiting/touring is possible, one could fly into Queenstown and leave through Dunedin or Christchurch, each place has quite different and remarkable attractions.

Peter Frost B.Th., reg. MNZAC

Peter is a full time professional clinical therapist with thirty years experience and with the skill to work with people who are prepared to recognise issues on the way to growing closer.

"It doesn't matter if you think it's all over bar the shouting. Getting it wrong, even badly wrong, is not the issue, it is what you do now that matters. Screwing up is human, it's 'giving up' that is the tragedy. We do not do too much growing when it is easy, it can be the crisis that is the start of vital change. Being tired or hurt is an opportunity not to be lost or squandered. It can be the turning point for real healing."

Peter Frost is married to Jocelyn and lives on a small farm on the Taieri Plain near Dunedin. A graduate of the University of Otago, he has taught and trained students for clinical practice, parish ministry, industrial and tertiary counselling, and supervises a range of practicing professionals. Peter has experience as moderator/mediator for groups of countries working together on international peace negotiations and cooperation. This work has involved travelling to Israel and Jordan and working in Korea and Washington and has led to wide experience in serious conflict resolution management. Peter has been closely involved in the establishment of the Aoteoroa Peace and Conflict Studies Centre at the University of Otago, is a member of the Presbytery of Otago, a Member of the NZ Counsellors Association, and has been Chairman of a Prisoner Rehabilitation Program, Tuakiri, at Milburn Prison. He has a history of Seminar and Workshop presentations on Industrial Stress, Reactive Grief including Military Post Trauma therapy, and Relationship Counselling and Development. This is underscored with twenty four thousand hours of interpersonal clinical counselling practice, a life time of practice and experience.

In Peter's words - "No one ever knows everything, including me, but decades of experience certainly grounds you in reality, and that becomes a huge help when reality hits."

Register your Interest

The program fee is $5,700.00 incl, per couple, and includes four nights accommodation at Valley Lodge, all meals including lunches, transfers to and from Cycle Journeys, and Omarama Hot Tubs, and includes your fees and access to these venues. The provision of the "Heart Country™ Program" and all interpersonal counselling during your stay is covered within the fee.

Alternatively, you can contact us via phone: +64 3 486 1606 or +64 27 210 4162