Six days in Wanaka
to fall back in love
Not as you were. As what you’re still becoming.
Apply for the next retreatYou can love each other and still feel lonely
You can share a life and still feel like flatmates. You can be in the same bed and feel a kilometre apart. You can do everything right (the marriage counselling, the date nights, the weekly check-ins) and still wonder where the spark went. Where the laughter went. Where the bodies went.
We’re not going to fix you with one more communication tool.
We’re going to take you to the bottom of the world, out into the mountains, and remind you both of something you forgot: long-term love isn’t a slow fade. The deepest love is still ahead of you. You haven’t missed it. You’re just at the entrance to it.
This is for couples who:
- Have been together 10+ years
- Still love each other but feel disconnected
- Want more than couples counselling has given them
- Are willing to do honest, embodied work
- Are open to adventure and movement as part of the work
This is not for couples who:
- Are in active crisis (an affair just discovered, abuse, separation already in motion)
- Need traditional weekly therapy (we offer that separately)
- Aren’t both ready to engage
- Want a holiday with light coaching on the side
If you’re in crisis, please book a couples therapy intake instead. The retreat is for couples who are ready to go deeper, not for couples in survival mode.
What you’ll learn
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy)
The gold standard of couples therapy, based on attachment science. We teach you to find the emotional cycle you keep getting stuck in, and how to step out of it together.
Sex Therapy
Tarisha is a trained sex therapist. We teach you that sex isn’t a bonus, it’s a barometer. The work happens in the bedroom too.
Polarity
The masculine and feminine charge between you isn’t outdated, it’s the engine of desire. When polarity dies, sex dies. When it returns, everything returns.
Erotic Embodiment & Tantra
Bodies matter. Pleasure is medicine. The body knows things conversation can’t reach. We work somatically, not just verbally.
Adventure
Long-term love stays alive when you keep choosing each other into the unknown. We use NZ landscape, hiking, and shared challenge as part of the work, not the reward.
What six days in Wanaka actually look like
Arrival
Arrive Wanaka by mid-afternoon. Settle into the lodge. Welcome circle at 5pm with all six couples. Opening dinner. Early night.
Coming Home
Morning: somatic group work, attachment cycle mapping. Afternoon: moderate alpine hike (3 hours), couple integration walk. Evening: erotic embodiment introduction (clothed, somatic, safe).
The Pattern
Morning: deep dive into your specific relational dynamic, EFT-based. Afternoon: free time or private couples session with Tarisha. Evening: sex therapy group session, candid and held.
The Adventure
Optional helicopter flight to Mount Aspiring National Park (weather dependent), or alpine hike with packed lunch. Afternoon: rest. Evening: polarity practice, shared meal at a new venue.
Embodiment
Morning: erotic embodiment and tantric practice (somatic, clothed, in couples). Afternoon: free time, optional private session with Tarisha. Evening: fireside circle, the stories you don’t tell anyone else.
Integration and Closing
Morning: integration circle, what's coming home with you. Closing ceremony. Lunch together. Departures from 2pm.
Wanaka. The lodge. The mountains. The table
A few frames from where six days actually happens.
Everything in one investment
The Wanaka Adventure
Six days. Six couples maximum. Wanaka, New Zealand.
Let’s talk first to make sure it’s the right fit.
- 5 nights luxury lodge accommodation (private room with ensuite)
- All meals, prepared by chef from local NZ produce; dietary requirements catered for
- Full retreat curriculum led by Tarisha and Mark
- Two private 90 minute couples sessions during the retreat (with Tarisha)
- Daily group work, somatic practice, and partner exercises
- Two guided alpine hikes (full safety briefing, all gear provided if needed)
- One half-day adventure outing (helicopter flight to remote location, weather dependent)
- Closing ceremony and integration session
- Post-retreat 30 day group voice channel for ongoing integration
- One private follow-up couples session within 60 days (online)
- Flights to Queenstown (closest airport)
- Travel insurance (required, please arrange separately)
- Optional individual add-ons (massage, individual sessions)
Couples therapy and adventure retreats
Tarisha is a trained relationship and sex therapist with over a decade of clinical practice. Her training includes Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples (EFT), Hakomi somatic psychotherapy, Gottman couples therapy, somatic trauma work, sex therapy, tantra, and biodynamic breathwork facilitation. She has a Master’s in Counselling and a postgraduate degree in psychotherapy, and is registered with the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. In a past life she was a chartered accountant, before she found her real work.
Mark co-leads retreats and brings the embodied, masculine grounding to the work. Twenty years as an IT project manager gives him the operational mind that keeps the behind-the-scenes machine well oiled. He’s also the founder of Wild Sky Coffee, designing coffee gear for the outdoors. His own deep work runs through men’s work, polarity, breathwork, and tantric training. On retreat, he holds the men in the room. The harder parts. The places that need a man to look another man in the eye and say I see you. Keep going.
They live and work together in Auckland, NZ. Together they love mountain biking, swimming through the winter, and dancing salsa and bachata.
Read more about us →From couples who’ve done this work
From couples I’ve worked with in private practice. The retreat launches in 2026.
“We came in flatmates after 22 years. We left lovers. Not because of one breakthrough conversation, but because they showed us how to keep choosing each other every day.”
“I didn’t know how much I’d been bracing. The work moved through my body, not just my head. Something in me let go that hadn’t let go in a decade.”
“What sold us was that nothing about it felt soft. Tarisha is clinical, direct, and warm. We got real work done. We also laughed more than we have in years.”
Frequently asked
How is this different from a regular couples retreat?
Most couples retreats either do therapy in a hotel ballroom, or they take you on adventure trips with light “communication” thrown in. The Love Adventure puts the two together on purpose. The trail is part of the work. The therapy room is part of the adventure. They are not separate.
Is this only for couples who are struggling?
No. We work with couples in crisis (referred to therapy first), couples who feel disconnected, and couples who are loving life and want to go deeper. The retreat is for the second and third categories.
Do we have to be physically fit?
The hikes are moderate, around 3 hours, with elevation gain but nothing technical. If you can walk for 90 minutes on undulating terrain, you can do this. We adjust pace to the group.
What if my partner isn’t ready?
This retreat needs both partners 80%+ in. If one of you is being dragged, please don’t book yet. Tarisha offers a women’s solo course (SERW) for the partner who’s ready to do the work first.
What if I’m not into “spiritual” stuff?
This isn’t a spiritual retreat. There’s no chanting, no plant medicine, no woo. It’s clinical therapy + somatic practice + adventure, in beautiful surroundings. If you’re allergic to wellness culture, you’re our person.
What about food and dietary requirements?
All meals included. All dietary requirements catered for. Tell us when you book.
What if we get there and it’s not for us?
Refund policy: cancellation more than four months before the retreat: full refund less a NZ$500 administration fee. Two to four months out: 50% refund. Less than two months out: no refund, but we’ll work with you in good faith on a credit toward another retreat.
Is travel insurance required?
Yes. We require travel insurance for all participants, including cancellation cover, medical, and adventure activity coverage.
The deepest love is still ahead of you
Six couples per retreat. Three retreats per year. Apply now to be considered for the next intake.
Apply for the next retreat