| 27 AGRI-TOURISM » Valley Views Glamping about it and proud of what we’ve created,” says Amber. “It really is magical with the fire going in the domes, fairy lights on and moon out. It’s a beautiful experience.” Guests are almost an even split of locals and international tourists. The nearby Alps to Ocean cycle trail, which opened in 2013, has opened up another market. Amber says people come to escape the pressures of modern life, engage with nature and have a “mental reset”. The couple has focused on offering a mix of accommodation in terms of size and facilities to cater to a variety of budgets from a dome with its own private outdoor baths and composting toilet to more simple domes which use shared toilet facilities in the lodge. Three domes have their own composting toilest, five domes have their own fire and one dome is wheelchair accessible. Amber and Patrick have endeavoured to make as little impact on the environment as possible by choosing sustainable materials and eco-products wherever they can. They have a septic tank worm farm and recycle everything they can. The Tyrrells do virtually all the work themselves apart from staff to clean the domes and bathrooms and love to be hands on with their glamping enterprise. Although they’ve chosen to make glamping their full time business Amber sees no reason why other farmers couldn’t benefit from diversifying their income into ecotourism on their land. “It’s a great business,” says Amber, “and there’s no shortage of people that want to go glamping. We really love it. We meet amazing people from all over New Zealand and the world every day.”
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