There’s a moment, usually somewhere over the Hauraki Gulf, when the Auckland skyline disappears behind you and the deep green of Great Barrier Island comes into view. The noise of the office — the emails, the meetings, the relentless pace — starts to feel very far away.
That’s the moment your retreat begins.
Great Barrier Island — Aotea — sits just 90 kilometres from Auckland but feels like a different world entirely. No traffic lights. No supermarkets. What it does have is 285 square kilometres of rugged wilderness, some of New Zealand’s most beautiful beaches, and a night sky so dark it’s one of only a handful of certified Dark Sky Sanctuaries in the Southern Hemisphere.
It also, as it turns out, has everything a serious leadership team needs to do their best thinking. Starlink WiFi, and amenities that you would not think possible for an island that has no main power.
Introducing 175° East and the Boardroom at Mason Canyon
175° East is a collection of three private houses at Medlands Beach — Pītokuku, Ruru, and the Tree House — sleeping up to 25 people in total. Off-grid, architecturally designed, and sitting above one of New Zealand’s finest beaches, it’s the kind of place that makes people exhale the moment they arrive.
In collaboration with our neighbours at Mason Canyon, we’ve created something genuinely rare: a fully equipped private boardroom with sweeping ocean views and a covered outdoor deck for breakout sessions.
Serious work deserves a serious setting. This is it.
Three Days That Will Change How Your Team Works
Day one is arrival and decompression at Medlands Beach. Drop your bags, pour something cold, and wander down to one of New Zealand’s most beautiful stretches of sand. No schedule, no notifications, no noise. Self-catered dinner on the deck as the sun goes down, and your first night under a sky so dark it stops conversation.
Day two is where the work happens. A full strategic session at the Boardroom at Mason Canyon — with ocean views, whiteboard, and a covered outdoor deck for breakouts. Mason Canyon takes care of catered lunch so you don’t have to think about a thing. When the afternoon session wraps, the island is yours — kayak the coastline, hike up to Windy Canyon for views that’ll reset your perspective, soak in the Kaitoke Hot Springs, or grab a cold pint at Aotea Brewery just minutes away. Evening is dinner at The Currach, Great Barrier’s legendary Irish pub — good food, easy conversation, and the kind of unwinding that only happens when everyone’s properly away from their desk. End the night with a private stargazing session with Good Heavens under one of the world’s few certified Dark Sky Sanctuaries.
Day three closes the loop — final boardroom session, capture decisions, assign actions, then a last swim or walk on the beach before flying home. Back in Auckland by early afternoon. A different person than the one who left.
Getting Here Is Part of the Experience
Barrier Air flies direct from Auckland in 30 minutes. Sunair connects from Tauranga, Whangarei, and Whitianga. Groups of 10 or more can charter the whole plane. A rental car on the island gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace — and on Great Barrier, that’s very much the point.
Door to door from central Auckland: under two hours.
What Makes This Different
The off-grid setting does something to people. The absence of distraction creates the conditions for real conversation. The physical beauty of the island — the beaches, the bush, the stars — reminds teams why the work matters in the first place.
Teams leave 175° East with clarity, with energy, and with the kind of connection that no team-building exercise can manufacture.
Ready to Plan Your Retreat?
Whether you’re a leadership team of six or a company of 25, we’d love to help you create something extraordinary on Great Barrier Island.
View our full retreat offering → or get in touch and we’ll take care of the rest.
175° East is located at Medlands Beach, Aotea Great Barrier Island. Three houses, sleeping up to 25. In collaboration with Mason Canyon.