About us

Kia Orana, our names are Paul and Louisa Belcher, and we are the owners of Mapere Retreat. When not in Rarotonga we reside in Christchurch, New Zealand.  

Louisa was named after her grandmother Louisa Harron née Short. Louisa first visited Rarotonga with her nana in 1998 shortly after she had met Paul. Louisa fell in love with Rarotonga and Paul and vowed to return and build a house one day.  

Over the next 20 years, we would travel regularly to Rarotonga visiting relatives and bringing our 4 children who in turn have fallen in love with paradise. Having helped Louisa’s father, George Harron build his home we were fortunate enough to obtain our own piece of land.

Covid 19 caused us some delays and we decided that given the shortage of building materials, the house would be predominantly built in NZ and shipped to Rarotonga. We combined our collective skills in construction and interior design to build this home, ship it and work with local tradespeople and family to put together Mapere Retreat. 

We are now excited that we can share this slice of paradise with others too. Kimberley looks after the property while we are in New Zealand. We hope that you enjoy staying in this beautiful spot and enjoy the comforts of our family home. The creation of Mapere Retreat is now available on YouTube.