The History of Big Sky
Big Sky tells a mystical tale. The story begins from the ridge line between 111 Moores Road and incorporates Tuhiraki (Mt. Bossu). This story talks of a famous Maori explorer called Rakaihautu. He had been busy creating the lakes of Forsyth and Ellesmere, and when approaching French Farm he thrust his ‘Ko’ or charging stick into the ground at Mt Bossu and Banks Peninsula was born.
Nga Tahu Iwi sold their land to the French and the Peninsula started to evolve into the current settlement we know today. In the early 1840s French settlers set their sights on French Farm (historically known to Maori as ‘Te Rautahi’), and began cultivating land.
When you visit Big Sky you will see the acres of grape vines on our neighbours’ property who carefully tend the vines. It’s not unusual to see their sheep roaming freely through the vines.
About Yurts
The first written description of a yurt used as a dwelling was recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. He described yurt-like tents as the dwelling place of the Scythians, a horse riding-nomadic nation who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region from around 600 BC to AD 300.
Yurts have been the primary style of home in Central Asia, particularly Mongolia, for thousands of years. We wanted to create a unique space that you would remember. Falling asleep in a yurt to the sound of silence is a truly relaxing experience. We want you to relax, unwind and reconnect.
Sustainability
Our ethos at Big Sky is to ‘work with the environment’ and help reduce our carbon and plastic footprint.
Where possible we source all our produce from local suppliers.
We collect all rainwater and filter it with UV ray light. Here it turns into beautiful clean drinking water. We store all of the water in three tanks on the property. Due to this, we do ask you to consciously be aware of your water consumption, and please take short showers.