Summer Gathering 2024-25 - El Rancho, Kāpiti

The 2024 – 25 Summer Gathering will be at El Rancho, on the Kapiti Coast, from 27 December 2024 to 2 January 2025.

El Rancho is a 40 minute drive from both Wellington and Palmerston North and borders the Waikanae River. It is a short walk to Waikanae Beach and Estuary. It has onsite facilities that provide great opportunities for recreation which include swimming, tennis, mini golf, disc golf, volleyball, basketball, pétanque and a water slide. Extensive coastal and riverside walks are available as well as the Paekākāriki Escarpment walk for the more energetic (click here to view an El Rancho promo video)

Our accommodation will be in the Elm Complex within El Rancho which has three meeting rooms with capacities for 20, 60 and 120 people and a separate dining room. There are ten separate accommodation units, each with a lounge and twin or triple rooms with single beds. 
Total 120 beds. All units have a kitchenette and internal showers and toilets and some have wheelchair access to the bathrooms. There is provision for some tents and campervans.

Our theme of “Meeting in the Middle” is both a reflection of having a venue in the middle of Aotearoa and of connecting young with old. It is also an invitation to explore how we, as Quakers, be effective in our involvement with the deep challenges of our country and world in a way that is consistent with the Quaker value that everyone is of equal worth.

Meeting in the middle points to a way of thinking and acting that reaches across divides, looking for the Light within everyone whilst remaining steadfast in our commitment to challenging injustice. How, for example, do Quakers with our Pākehā heritage, navigate the space between Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Whenua, at a time when that framework is politically challenged?

Booking arrangements, costs and other details will be released as they are developed but in the meantime, we invite you to make your arrangements for leave and travel.