Until a few months ago the large 'Welcome To Marokopa' sign on the edge of this remote village on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island had a smaller hand-painted homemade sign attached below adding "The Home of Hide and Seek". Until the sign was smashed into pieces one night by persons unknown. 

Marokopa is an idyllic coastal town 250 km south of Auckland. Reached by winding roads, some just made of gravel, through rolling hills and wild bush so typical of Waikato. It is a scenery that is instantly recognisable to fans of the films of 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' as this whole area played a large part in Peter Jackson's adaptation of the films.

The black sand beaches and pounding Tasman seas are a massive drawcard for Fishermen.  The small campsite is full at the weekend with 4WD vehicles loaded with fishing gear and crates of beer, while the wood-burning smokers behind the showers prepare the daily catch for dinner.

A Quadbike on the black sand beach

Yet it is not the scenery or the large and plentiful tasty Snapper and Kingfish that have brought the tiny village, with a population of only 69 at the last 2018 census, to the world's attention but the strange and remarkable story of local resident Tom Phillips and his three children.

It is a story that is destined to make a great Netflix documentary or classic New Zealand movie when it eventually concludes. 

Tom Phillips is a respected member of the local community with his family owning a farm in Marokopa over several generations. His marriage to his wife, Catherine, was troubled and he was fighting for custody of his three children Jayda, Maverick and Ember when he disappeared from the small village on the 9th of December 2021.

Phillips had great experience in bushcraft and outdoor survival, and despite a major search using dogs and helicopters with heat-seeking equipment, no sign of Phillips and his children was found by the New Zealand Police and the story slowly disappeared from the news. The occasional sighting, such as Tom by himself shopping for outdoor gear at a Bunnings in nearby Hamilton re-ignited interest but it soon faded away again as the news dried up.

What brought it right back to the front pages was an armed bank robbery in nearby Te Kuiti in May 2023. The CCTV videos showed a man resembling Phillips and his eldest child holding up the local ANZ branch. So much cash was stolen that the street outside was layered with banknotes, an old lady helped pick up the notes and handed them to the girl who she thought had dropped them before she realised a robbery was taking place. 

Marokopa was sealed off with Police descending on it from across the North Island including Auckland, roadblocks being set up and house-to-house searches carried out. 

This did not result in the family being found but did cause unintended headaches for the Marokopa residents. Being a remote town many residents did not bother with an annual rego (car registration or MOT as it is known in the UK) and while the roadblocks remained they were unable to drive anywhere in case they were fined!

A successful catch on the beach

They are a hardy lot as I discovered, self-sufficient in many items such as milk from the dairy farms nearby and with a loose system of bartering fresh bread and other vital foods. But not beer, which was only available from bottle shops a thirty minutes drive away. A desperate situation indeed.

After a week, with no sign of the Phillips family, the roadblocks ended and the Police drifted away again and life (and beer supplies) returned to normal.

Yet the sightings continued, each time resulting in more Police activity, searches and roadblocks. A Quad bike was stolen from a smashed shop window in PioPio in November 2023, a family matching the Phillips description were seen soaking in hot pools at Okoroire in June 2024, and wild pig Hunters spotting a family similar to them in the hills behind Marokopa on October 3rd 2024.

Not all sightings have been confirmed by the Police, as they are all generally distant encounters rather than close up. "I recognised them because the kids had home haircuts" one witness said, although with the lack of barbers for miles around here most children, and also the adults, are sporting 'Home Haircuts' around Marokopa.

The locals are very supportive of Phillips and the children. "If they came to my door I would give them a feed and a bed for a night" one resident told me. Many feel the same way. An $80,000 NZ Police Reward for information on their whereabouts not surprisingly drew little interest from the residents of Marokopa, and it was later withdrawn. When they are seen, and not reported to the media or the Police, they are "Very polite, well dressed and are enjoying life".

The mother is seen to be the one at fault by the locals, not Tom, but for legal reasons, I cannot go into details as to why.  

I was told that Tom is an experienced home school teacher and that the children are "Well ahead of their year" in their results and homework assignments, which still make their way on a convoluted path to and from the children to the education authorities. 

Undoubtedly the small community is helping the Phillips family evade the Police. And the Police themselves do not seem to be putting that much effort into finding the family, particularly as the game of 'Hide and Seek' continues now into its fourth year. The children are getting schooled, and learning a lot of bushcraft. The situation is still far from perfect for them and as they grow older they may well not wish to continue their current lifestyle which may bring this story to an end, or not.

The village is incredibly hospitable, although perhaps less so to the Police and tabloid Journalists. With no shop around, and not enough provisions for my stay in town I was overwhelmed with their generosity. Their self-sufficiency was shown in the gift of some of the best homemade sausages I have ever had, made of freshly caught Wild Pig and Venison. The offered payment by me was firmly and politely refused.

While I was there I kept seeing local children around, most with, not surprisingly 'Home Haircuts', but none that resembled the Phillips Kids. They were off somewhere else, maybe in a cave, or an unused holiday home, or staying with friends.

Marokopa is a beautiful laid-back Kiwi village. The black sand beaches amidst the rolling green hills make it a picture-perfect destination and its inhabitants will be very happy when it is back to being known for this rather than for the escapades of the Phillips family.

Update: Sept 8th, 2025.

Sadly the search for Tom Phillips and his children ended in a shoot out today near Piopio. Tom was killed and a Police Officer was seriously injured.

What would you do if you became a multi-millionaire? Buy a Ferrari, a yacht, maybe a bigger house? Or just buy a massive farm and fill it with gigantic outdoor sculptures by some of the worlds best modern artists and let exotic animals roam the grounds. This is what the reclusive New Zealand businessman Alan Gibbs chose to do.

Gibbs made his money wheeling and dealing in transport companies and most lucratively in the privatization of New Zealand Telecom in which he had a substantial stake. With his new400-hectarefound wealth he purchased a 400 hectare (900 acres) block of land in Kaipara Harbour, 47 Km north of Auckland. He built a large home by the sea and filled the landscape with giant works from local and overseas artists. 

It was not just a case of sticking pieces of art all over the farm without any thought. He worked with the artists to incorporate the landscape into the art itself, and even to change the landscape when necessary to make the art more spectacular. This is particularly noticeable in Anish Kapoor's Dismemberment Site I, a massive ear trumpet that required a hill to be cut in half to place it to great visual effect. 

Alan Gibbs home, artificial lake with boat and the sea based Arches by Andy Goldsworthy

Although a very private man, Gibbs was persuaded to share his beautiful farm with the public. He does this very much on his own terms. opening it for approximately 4 random days a year and not making a profit by granting access to selected charities to sell limited numbers of tickets to use to aid their funding.

I had wanted to see Gibbs Farm for a number of years but could not match the occasional openings with me being able to fly to  New Zealand.  So when it was announced that on a Friday in November, Gibbs Farm was to be open to the public on behalf of the Skin cancer charity Melanoma New Zealand I immediately bought a ticket (it sold out a few days later) and arranged flights.

It was an easy drive up the coastal road and there was already a small queue of vehicles waiting to get in 15 minutes before the official opening time (10:00 to 16:00). Once in, with a map in hand it was time to explore the private sculpture garden. Despite typical New Zealand weather, cloudy skies with warm sun and then a torrential downpour about every thirty minutes, it was an easy walk past the Giraffes, Yak, Zebra and Bison, not roaming free today, to the sculptures.

The Trumpet, officially known as Dismemberment I by Anish Kapoor

I loved Anish Kapoor's Trumpet, or Dismemberment Site I as it is officially known, a piece that is associated with GIbbs Farm in almost every photograph about it, including this blog! And it does not disappoint. About thirty minutes uphill from the car park takes you to a position in front of the largest end of the canvas covered sculpture.

The size of an eight storey building, the red canvas over metal sculpture looks incredible whether you see if rom a distance or up close. His largest ever sculpture, it does look like it belongs here. It neatly bisects the hill it is carved into and I imagine it would have great acoustics. I would love to set up a band playing on one side and hear it through the other end of the trumpet.

Horizons by Neil Dawson

Neil Dawson's Horizons sits on top of a nearby hill. I saw it has a page from a book, although the Kiwi artist actually designed it as a giant piece of corrugated iron that had blown in from a collapsed water tank on a nearby farm. Either way it looks majestic and is enhanced by a wandering Bison grazing nearby.

On an often wet and cloudy day the Dutch/New Zealand artist Leon Van den Eijkel's coloured blocks set on the valley floor, known officially as Red Cloud Confrontation in Landscape, just worked well. The bright colours are offset by the green landscape. Up close it was not so impressive, definitely one to be seen from a distance.

Red Cloud Confrontation in Landscape by Leon Van den Eijkel

The last piece that really worked me was Sentinels by Andrew Rogers. minimalistic, austere and uniform, the 15 metre metal poles are already starting to be tarnished by the unforgiving New Zealand weather. Sure, they dominate the landscape towering above the native trees, but their outsized presence is impossible to ignore. 

There are a large number of works that Gibbs has commissioned, not all are shown here. Some I appreciated a lot more than others, but the giant sculptures work in the giant area that they sit in. 

Sentinels by Andrew Rogers

Unlimited by the normal limits imposed by a museum or home, the artists have used their imaginations to produce some beautiful pieces of work that look great from a distance, while towering above you as you get close. 

Of course, if I was a multi-millionaire, and as a massive fan of Deadwood, and Alias Smith and Jones (anyone else remember that classic Western from the 1970's?) and happened to have a large property I would also build a mock wooden Western town with bars and a hotel. Gibbs has beaten me to it and has already built one on another party of the farm where he has themed parties there with friends and family. Sadly this part of the farm was not open to the public. 

I will have to wait to build my own.

Up close looking into the canvas clad metal sculpture of The Trumpet