He calls her “the boss”, she calls him “the bloke”. Over the past 40+ years they have worked, travelled, played, written a cookery book and raised a family together. He has always been the provider – bringing home meat and fish from the wild and fruit and vegetables from his gardens. She has become skilled in the art of creating wholesome delicacies from this fresh and varied produce.

He trained and worked as an ecologist, she had a career as an office administrator. For many years, they have owned and operated their own businesses - as diverse as a herb processing operation, a beef and sheep farm and now a Lodge by the sea. Somewhere in the middle of this they managed to find time to spend two years working for United Nations in the Pacific and another two years working for an aid agency in East Africa.

That is us – Ann and John Martin. We found and fell in love with Mahana a few years ago. How could we resist this piece of paradise? Here in the serenity of these surroundings, we can indulge our passions for environmental protection, gardening, and cooking. Managing the Lodge, developing the gardens, and encouraging the bird life and regenerating forest is our pleasure and one of our greatest joys is sharing the peace and beauty of Mahana and the Queen Charlotte Sound with our guests.