Heritage Buildings. Secluded Forest Setting. Beautifully Hosted.
A gathering place in the forest. A former country school, built in 1933, set across five acres in the Bay of Plenty.
Heritage buildings. Walled gardens. A wildlife pond. Open lawns where the light moves slowly in the afternoon.
When you’re here, the whole place is yours.
Where Time Moves Differently
Here, time opens out. The day stretches gently. You arrive, breathe, and feel yourself soften, held by a place where beauty doesn’t need to be constructed, and nothing asks anything of you.
For nearly thirty years, an old schoolhouse slept beneath the forest canopy.The gardens left to wander. The bell long silent.
Then something wonderful happened. The doors opened again. The voices returned.
Down a quiet country road in the Bay of Plenty, Old Forest School stands as a rare kind of sanctuary, a place where time remembers how to move differently. Where history and wildness have reached a quiet agreement. Where you can feel the land respond to joy, as if it had been waiting all along.
This isn’t simply a venue. It’s a counter-cultural act.
In a world that demands constant productivity, Old Forest School offers pause. In an age of digital connection, we offer analog presence. Where perfection is performed, we celebrate honest imperfection. Where spectacle is expected, we give you intimacy at scale.
Come for a wedding that lets you be present at your own celebration. Come for a celebration that feels special without the weight of production. Come for a quiet stay that teaches you what your life could feel like at a different pace.
Come because something in you knows—you need this.
The Awakening
The schoolhouse was built in 1933, taught generations, then closed its doors. For more than 20 years it sat…weatherboards greying, gardens returning to wildness, the forest slowly reclaiming what had once been cleared.
When we found it, nature was winning. Hedges grown wild. Paths disappeared. The roof leaked stories onto the floor.
But the bones were extraordinary. And the land…the land was waiting.
Little by little, we opened the doors again. We restored the buildings with care, coaxed the gardens back to life, added and restored forest cabins for those who want to linger. Not to make it perfect, but to make it alive again.
And then the voices returned. Laughter, singing, celebration…spilling through the forest, echoing against the old weatherboards. You can feel the place respond, as if those thirty years of quiet were only a pause before this moment of renewal.
Old Forest School’s spirit, once sleeping, hums again. Not perfect, but alive. Proud. Beautifully real.
This is where time, love, and nature grow together. A wild romantic garden that celebrates authenticity over polish, history over trend, connection over perfection.
Every gathering here…every story…strengthens the spirit of a place that was never truly forgotten.
Read what our lovely couples have to say about their unforgettable day at Old Forest School
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What We Offer
Old Forest School is for people who want exceptional beauty without the overwhelm. Not a production. Not a performance. Just a day, or a stay, that flows effortlessly, wrapped in forest, heritage, and calm.
Weddings
In an era of 200-guest productions and performative perfection, choosing Old Forest School is choosing something else entirely. It’s choosing to actually be present. To have conversations you’ll remember. To celebrate love instead of impressing algorithms.
Exchange vows beneath the trees. Dinner in the Noshery as the light drops. Dancing in the Little Barn until you’re ready to stop. Up to 120 guests. Exclusive use. Fully BYO, no corkage.
Celebrations & Gatherings
Sometimes what you want is a long lunch with the people you adore, a birthday that feels special without the stress, an anniversary celebrated in beauty and ease.
Daytime gatherings for birthdays, anniversaries, milestones, and moments worth marking. Relaxed, beautifully simple, and wonderfully private.
Explore Celebrations & Gatherings →
Slow Stay
The forest cabins sleep eight. Come with your people, or come quietly. Walk the grounds at dawn. Sit around the fire pit. Leave slowly.
Photo & Film
The light here does unexpected things. Every season rewrites what’s possible. A place that brings something to your work rather than just sitting behind it.
For photographers, stylists, and filmmakers seeking more than just beauty, seeking a story that breathes.
Why Old Forest School
Exclusive use. When you’re here, it’s yours entirely. No other bookings, no strangers through your day.
The right scale. Thirty to one-twenty people. Intimate enough to actually connect, generous enough to feel like a real celebration.
Seclusion without remoteness. 45 minutes from Tauranga and Rotorua. You can’t see the road from most of the property. You’ll barely remember there is one.
Honestly itself. Things rust and age here. Roses grow where they want. We’re collaborating with nature, not fighting it.
Thoughtfully hosted. Warm staff, genuine care, and for weddings, a planning library and seasonal open days built from more than a decade of doing this well.
Location & Season
Pongakawa Valley, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Weddings and celebrations: October–April
Slow Stays: Available outside event days
Ready to Begin?
Whether you’re dreaming of a wedding, planning a milestone celebration, or craving a quiet night away, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in Touch via email at info@oldforestchool.co.nz
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OLD FOREST SCHOOL
795 Rotoehu Road, Pongakawa, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
info@oldforestschool.co.nz