One of the best presents I’ve ever bought myself is our Stoked woodfired hot tub. We originally planned to install a pair of outside baths, but then Mark discovered the stainless-steel hot tubs made in Wanaka. I was a bit dubious about whether I would like the experience of soaking in a stainless-steel tub, but it's delightful.

Because we live in a high wind zone, we decided to build a Bath House so that we could use the tub in any weather. We took inspiration from the Onsen spa complex near Queenstown. Having huge shutters that open up means we can enjoy the stunning view day and night. Whenever I go up to the Bath House, I feel like I’m on holiday. It’s one of the features of our property that makes going on holiday less appealing than it used to be.

The nice thing about this option over a traditional spa is that we don’t have to use any chlorine, so it’s much more eco-friendly. We fill the tub with water harvested from the roof of The Bath House. It takes a bit more than an hour to fill the tub, but we don’t need a pump since our tank is higher than the outlet. The water can be used up to three times; then we empty it into our grey water system, which we use to water our plants.