Rewild
Nature, in all its glory, presents a unique and rewarding platform for reconnecting with life, yourself and others. Envision this scenario: as the sun descends below the horizon, you’re feeling proud from a days activities and you and the other guests gather around a crackling campfire. Together, you share stories, laughter, and camaraderie under the starlit sky. This embodies the very essence of being part of our community in nature, where the rejuvenating air, inspiring scenery, and serene surroundings allow you to step out from our fast-paced everyday life and have a moment. This enables individuals to interact on a more personal level, thereby fostering more profound and more meaningful connections.
Ways to Rewild in the Koppany Valley
WALKING & HIKING
The Koppany trails network traverse the five villages of the Nature Park, but we also are within striking distance of the DDP hikes (red walk). “Beautiful nature – and cultural landscape. Hill with wine houses, forests and fields. Healthy wildstand and beautiful flora. Walking kilometers without encounter anyone on the most fantastic paths and amazing views.” Abel Stok recommends Koppányvölgy Natúrpark –
FISHING
We have three lakes within the local area. Our personal favourite is a beautiful private lake owned by a local villager, who let’s us fish for a small charge. Then we have Andocs lake where tickets are purchased at the pub in Andocs village ( opens at 7a.m.) and Kocsola lake purchase tickets on the bank. Both lakes are day tickets and have carp, catfish, zander and pike in. (Own tackle required). A fishing trip to Lake Balaton is another suggestion, you have Siofok within 35 minutes drive.
PADDLE BOARD & KAYAKING
We are super lucky to have the beautiful lake Balaton or lake Deseda within a 45 minute drive. Bring your own equipment or Lake Deseda also offers the opportunity to hire equipment. There are plenty of stopping places along the lake edges and places to launch. A great way to enjoy a natural peaceful escape in areas bursting with wildlife.
STAR GAZING
The unpolluted dark skies of the Koppany Valley offer ideal star gazing opportunities and we have telescope available for guests so if we aren’t already out staring at the skies then just ask us to set it up. Within 1hr 30m drive is Zselic Starry Sky Park. which offers an astronomy program for visitors that includes a planetarium, a meteorite collection and a telescopic observation.
BIRD-WATCHING
Birds you might spot or hear are Woodpeckers, Cuckoo, Skylark and Goldfinch and the European Bee-eater which is one of Hungary’s most beautiful birds. Its colourful plumage is breathtaking. A short drive from the site we have the nature reserve of Pacsmags Lakes of Regoly with it’s marshlands and fishponds, 10 km to the south-east of the town of Tamási. Waterbirds such as ferruginous ducks, Nyroca n. nyroca, and herons (Egretta), as well as predatory birds including hawks (Accipiter sp.), bald eagles, and Heliaeetus leucocephalus, are observed in the nearby Pacsmag Lake area.
Get creative and have a go at a wide range of craft & art techniques, wild craft workshops & .rewilding activities. You’ll be guided, develop new skills, and learn new ways of thinking to inspire your creative process. Our workshops are relaxed and informal.
HANDCRAFTED PICNIC AT THE LAKE A great way to spend an afternoon tasting a variety of different platters produced from our garden set in a beautiful setting at a local private fishing lake.
FORAGED AFTERNOON TEA (Book at reception) – Foraged Afternoon tea to really test those taste buds all served with a teapot of your choice of tea. We even make our own herbal tea bags. Less adventurous, no problem, just select the classic afternoon tea option.
COCKTAILS & FOLKTALES – Fridays – HIGH SEASON ONLY A night making foraged cocktails (alcoholic & non alcoholic), finished with folktales around the campfire or high on the hill depending on the temperature!
BOOK A WORKSHOP Bushcraft – Naturecraft – Wildcraft – Wild Wellness – Family Wild
NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT (SELF GUIDE SCRIPT)
BUTTERFLY WATCHING If you are a lepidopterist you will not be disappointed.
LAKESIDE MEDITATION (SELF GUIDE SCRIPT)
CYCLE the local villages – It’s Hilly!
THERMAL SPA VISIT (PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR DRIVE)
WINE TASTING: 35 minutes drive https://szappanospince.hu/en/borturizmus/
QUAD SAFARI
BUSHCRAFT BENEFITS
Bushcraft is about survival and developing an increased ability to adapt and overcome difficult challenges. Becoming more self-sufficient and less reliant on technology, building confidence and self-reliance. Increased confidence helps develop leadership skills and build an understanding of the value of community. Learning to solve problems creatively with minimal tools translates well to many other areas of life. We cover four of the six fundamental skills: wildcraft, firecraft, finding and purifying water, den building. For us bushcraft is not only about the lesson but also about being mindful of the natural world around us.
ROCKET STOVES AND FRICTION FIRELIGHTING
SPOON WHITTLING & KNIFE SHARPENING
AXE THROWING
TREE ID BY BARK RUBBING
FINDING & PURIYING WATER (Bushcraft Escape only)
NATURE CRAFT BENEFITS
Crafting has been found to help relieve stress symptoms and stimulate the neurological system to help enhance your health and well-being. It can help build self-esteem and confidence. Simply visualizing, working on, and then creating a product can make you feel better about yourself. Add to that it improves memory and concentration skills and it’s better for the environment than using synthetic craft materials, reduces waste and promotes sustainability, should leave you with an all round feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
WIRE SCULPTURE:
GLASS PAINTING:
PINECONE ART:
LEAF ART:
NATURE DYES (TRADITIONAL HUNGARIAN EGG DYING):
MANDELA CANDLES BOXES:
WILD CRAFT BENEFITS
Cooking and baking meet the criteria of a type of therapy known as ‘behavioural activation’, which are activities that alleviate depression by increasing goal-oriented behavior and reducing procrastination. This is why psychologists now believe cooking can be classed as therapeutic, even better when it’s outside! Wildcrafting, gathering (herbs, plants, and fungi) from the wild, brings joy in the satisfaction that we are supporting our own wellness as well as improving out connection with the natural world. It’s a free supply of food and medicine and a great survival skill. We have a particular interest in herbs, edible weeds and flowers and plants growing in your own back yard. Wild dining is said to improve your physical health by reducing your heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and muscle tension. Mentally should boost your mood and improve relaxation, creativity and concentration. It can encourage you to be more active, pursue hobbies and socialize with others and help you connect and appreciate with nature.
Our activities include (click for more details):-
- CULINARY WALK An introduction to edible flowers and weeds, followed by a tasting session, includes a walk around the campsite foraging.
- HERBAL TEA FORAGING AND TASTING An introduction to the different flavours of herbal teas including a tasting and a chance to make your own teabags and a discussion of the beneficial elements of the herbs. In the summer, we create iced-teas!
- HONEY TASTING & PAIRING Do you know your honeys?
- INFUSED VINEGAR WORKSHOP An introduction to flavours, pairings and how to create you own flavoured vinegars.
WILD WELLNESS BENEFITS
Our wild wellness is about restoring and rebalancing, to reduced anger, fear, stress and increase pleasant feelings. This rebalance improves attention and allows us to focus better. Not only to focus on those around us but also ourselves. To look inward and start looking at our needs, desires. Who we are? What do you want from life? To see what we need to maintain better health, both physically and mentally, and enable us to identify those moments we need to look after ourselves and create a personal pathway to ensure mental well-being so you can live your best life and thrive! The key is to focus on being mindful not just in nature, but in undertaking all life tasks. Finding out what is necessary and de-cluttering your life to find a simpler path emotionally and physically. We include fire gazing which is deeply meditative, inspiring and awakening experience. The trance-like relaxing effects of a campfire are well documented but now scientists have found that an open fire reduces blood pressure – the longer people sit in front of a roaring fire, the greater the relaxing effect it has on them.
The purpose of or wellness activities is to show you techniques to relax and de-stress in nature leaving you feeling refreshed, energised and benefitting from quaility time away from the stresses of every day life with new found friends and great memories to keep for every – with a little learning along the way. We often incorporate these activities with an afternoon tea or handcrafted picnic.
In summary,
- Being outdoors motivates you to be physical, social, more energetic even if your choice is just to sit and take in the surroundings. It helps alleviate feelings of isolation and builds connections with nature and hopefully new friendships. Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues may all be eased by some time in the great outdoors – especially when it’s combined with exercise.
- Stress reduction is one of the most well-known benefits of being in nature. Consequently, it may also help reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. Even viewing nature out of a window is associated with lower stress and reduced mortality although we would hope you’d do more than that!
- Believe it or not, being in nature can help improve your short-term and working memory.
- Inflammation is a natural process the body uses to respond to threats, but when there’s too much inflammation in the body, it’s associated with other illnesses, like inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cancer. Spending time in nature may be one way to help keep it in check.
FOREST BATHING
SIT, SPOT & JOURNALLING
THERMAL BATH VISIT
LAKE SIDE MEDITATION (SELF GUIDED)
FAMILY WILD (Family Specific Activities)
So many studies are now supporting the benefits of nature and advocating rewilding as a family the way forward. Let’s start with calming, children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. Having the space to play protects children’s emotional development, whereas the loss of free time and a hurried lifestyle of today can contribute to anxiety and depression. Nature makes children nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community, and close relationships. Taking play back to basics and re-building through task work and challenges allows families to reconnect in a very natural way.
Activities
NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT (SELF GUIDED)
NATURE ART
DEN BUILDING & CAMP OVER
HERB FORAGING & TEA MAKING
FIRELIGHTING
CAMPFIRE BUILDING
TREE ID BY BARK RUBBING
Rewild Escapes
New for 2025 – More details to follow
If you’re hoping to re-wild as a family, build on your own bushcraft skills or looking to learn skills to relax and unwind in nature through wild wellness, we are sure it will offer the respite and reconnection you need. We will run family, adult, women & men only, single and couples escapes, so be sure to keep an eye on the diary and let us show you how to be nurtured by nature.
Our Rewilding Activities
WILDCRAFT
SPOON WHITTLING
WAYS WITH WATER
FIRECRAFT
CAMPFIRE COOKING
AXE THROWING
NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT
FORAGED TEA MAKING
NATURAL ART SESSION
PHOTO WALKING
CAMPFIRE CIRCLES
FOREST BATHING
THERMAL SPA WELLNESS
SIT & SPOT
GO WILD KITCHEN
Tony Simons 5/5 8 months ago on Google Fantastic weekend here with my 5yr old. Getting back to nature, walking through the woods seeing all the wildlife. The owners made us feel very welcome, and the evening around the campfire was really enjoyable. We will be back
Péter Wolf 5/5 6 months ago on Google (Translated by Google) Beautiful landscape, complete tranquility, clean and equipped with all the necessary equipment, a small, family-friendly campsite. And Debs and Mark are fabulous hosts. (Original) Gyönyörű táj, teljes nyugalom, tiszta és minden szükséges eszközzel felszerelt, családias kis kemping. Debs és Mark pedig tündéri házigazdák.