{"id":475582,"date":"2026-06-13T15:57:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/475582\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:57:35","slug":"sunlive-inside-the-secret-cave-in-the-hills-above-te-puna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/475582\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Inside the secret cave in the hills above Te Puna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hidden in a hillside above Te Puna is something you would never expect to find on a working farm.<\/p>\n

Step through curved wooden doors and you enter an underground space carved deep into the earth \u2013 part workshop, part retreat, part invention lab. Inside are thick timber beams, a blacksmith\u2019s forge, a bar, dining area and kitchen, and a waterfall just outside that hums quietly in the background.<\/p>\n

It is the creation of John Carmichael, a farmer who decided that, if he needed a space like this, he would simply build it himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started when we were doing a small development up there,\u201d Carmichael says, gesturing up toward the hill. \u201cThe digger was already on-site and I thought, \u2018Well \u2026 now\u2019s a good time \u2013 dig me a bloody big hole in this hill\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John

\nJohn Carmichael turns his blacksmith’s fire into a barbecue. Photo \/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

That hole became something far more ambitious. Cut roughly 15 metres into the side of the hill and about 8 metres wide, the space was excavated, reinforced with a retaining wall, lined with timber and concrete, and then engineered with heavy beams spanning the roof. The whole structure is covered and concealed under around a metre of earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically like an old silage pit, but turned inside out,\u201d he says. \u201cWe just kept building from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

What sits there now is a fully functional cave, complete with power, lighting and water. A cable runs nearly 300 metres from a pump shed down the hill to supply electricity.<\/p>\n

Carmichael is quick to point out it was properly engineered. \u201cWe got advice on the structure and then overbuilt it. Bigger posts, stronger than required. I wanted it safe \u2013 100% safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Inside

\nInside the cave is a large space with workshop, forge, bar, dining area and kitchen. Photo\/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

Inside, the space feels more like a handcrafted lodge than a farm building. Massive timber beams stretch overhead. Rustic steel artwork hangs on the walls alongside salvaged farm machinery and pieces of wood shaped into sculpture. A small lounge \u2013 just four chairs tucked into an alcove \u2013 sits beside a photograph of the surrounding farm.<\/p>\n

There is a blacksmithing forge, complete with anvils, vices and tools. There is also an old shearing plant, still used on occasion, and a sharpening grinder that once came from a shearing station in the Kaimai range.<\/p>\n

Then there is the unexpected twist: the forge converts into a barbecue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019ve had a day working and we\u2019re all done, we just lift the plate off and turn it into a barbecue,\u201d Carmichael says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got all that heat there anyway \u2013 it\u2019s a shame to waste it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside the entrance, a large table made from macrocarpa overlooks sweeping views across the Bay of Plenty. On a clear day, Carmichael says you can see from the Coromandel to White Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty special up here. No houses in front, just open views. You can sit out here and it\u2019s just \u2026 quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"

\nThe view from John Carmichael\u2019s cave in Te Puna. Photo \/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

But the cave was never meant to be a tourist attraction. It is, he says, a place for friends, family and the occasional celebration. Birthdays, pony club gatherings, small events \u2013 nothing commercial.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t build it for that. It\u2019s just for us. A bit of fun, a place to work, and somewhere to switch off.\u201d<\/p>\n

And \u201cswitch off\u201d is something he takes seriously. Between the forge, the farm, and his various projects, the cave had become a kind of creative escape.<\/p>\n

\"

\nJohn Carmichael at work in the blacksmith area of the cave. Photo \/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

That creativity shows up across the property.<\/p>\n

On the farm, he still works cattle on what he describes as a runoff block \u2013 land used to graze young stock away from a dairy operation in Bethlehem.<\/p>\n

It is also where many of his more unusual ideas begin. One of them came when moving sheep became difficult. \u201cI googled it, and there was nothing like it in the world. So I thought, I\u2019ll just have to build one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A

\nA photograph hanging in the cave shows John Carmichael\u2019s custom-made sheep wheelchair invention. Photo \/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

The result was a custom-made sheep wheelchair designed to hold an animal safely while it is checked, treated or shorn. It now sits in a shed, fully functional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they\u2019re in it, they\u2019re completely relaxed,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can check their feet, teeth, everything. Then you just put your hand behind their neck and they\u2019re off again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another invention \u2013 a catapult used for local kids\u2019 events \u2013 can launch hundreds of lollies at once during fundraisers and A&P shows. And a large brazier once owned by a friend now has wheels.<\/p>\n

\"Carmichael

\nCarmichael has turned pieces of wood, rustic steel and salvaged farm machinery into artworks and sculptures. Photo \/ Kelly O\u2019Hara<\/p>\n

He laughs at the list of projects as if they were all perfectly normal farm activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just like making things work. If there\u2019s a problem, I\u2019ll usually end up building something for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The

\nThe kitchen area features cabinetry and a benchtop he built himself. Photo \/ Rosalie Liddle Crawford<\/p>\n

Back in the cave, the fire flickers against timber and steel. The space feels both hidden and strangely open \u2013 like something built not to impress, but to be used.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a hobby,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s one I\u2019ve had a lot of fun with.\u201d<\/p>\n

And sitting beneath a hill in Te Puna, it is clear this is one hobby that got very, very out of hand \u2013 in the best possible way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hidden in a hillside above Te Puna is something you would never expect to find on a working…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-475582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}