About Kaurinui
Hundertwasser arriving at Kaurinui. Photo Credit: Peter Femfert
A Living Legacy
Kaurinui was Hundertwasser’s NZ home for his last 25 years. He first discovered the property in 1974, with the help of the Fagen family who lived nearby. He later acquired this farmland property in the Kaurinui Valley, Bay of Islands, with bare landscape - returning it to nature.
It was here at Kaurinui where he could truly live and work in harmony with nature. This was one of his key homes. He continued to travel and work on international projects and painting. When at Kaurinui he lived and worked in regular communication with his Vienna management team, communicating mainly by fax from his farm house and later a converted pigsty.
The rudimentary farm buildings were reconstructed into functional spaces in harmony with Hundertwasser's ideas for a more humane living, while respecting the past use at the Shortridge farm.
Here he could put into practice what he preached, living amongst nature, and being self-sufficient using solar panels, a water wheel, and a biological plant purification plant among others.
Our aim
Living Hundertwasser
aims to raise awareness of Hundertwasser’s pioneering connection with, and respect for, nature.
We encourage others to gain a deeper understanding of his life by offering guests the opportunity to walk in his shoes. Experiencing for themselves how he lived and worked, decades before ecology arrived as a mass movement.
As a living ecological restoration project we are a heart beat for environmental leadership, inspiring positive change by offering visitors unique immersive experiences at Hundertwasser’s hidden, natural paradise of sustainable living.
Volunteers onsite at Kaurinui. Photo credit: Tristan Tuckey
Experience an Exclusive Preview
We would like to acknowledge supporters of Hundertwasser with an exclusive opportunity.
Hundertwasser’s New Zealand home Kaurinui has undergone significant restoration, a new gallery and Eyeslit House established onsite. Ongoing preparations continue towards the significant step of sharing Hundertwasser’s private New Zealand paradise with visitors.
Guided experiences for small groups will begin soon. This summer season, we are offering selected groups an advanced opportunity to ‘Experience Nature, Art and Creation’ - Living Hundertwasser. These exclusive previews will be key to nurturing and developing the unique visitor experience.
Minimum donation of $2,500 per group (maximum 15 people) for the day experience. This includes morning or afternoon tea and transport from Opua/Kawakawa.
Kaurinui is a short drive from Kawakawa, or a short boat ride from Opua.
Exclusive Preview Experience - Register your interest
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Hundertwasser sitting under a giant Puriri tree. Photo credit: Alfred Schmid
‘Paradises can only be made by the individual, with his own creativity, in harmony with the free creativity of nature.’
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1983
Our supporters
This project is funded to date by generous support from Lotteries, Foundation North, Northland Inc, bigfish, passionate volunteers, and major investment from the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation
