Father-daughter duo Faryn Ngawaka (left) and Teilah Ferguson launch The Sauna Project in Napier.
Father-daughter duo Faryn Ngawaka (left) and Teilah Ferguson launch The Sauna Project in Napier.
Leaping into something new this leap year, father-daughter duo Faryn Ngawaka and Teilah Ferguson are bringing The Sauna Project to Hawke’s Bay.
Ngawaka and Ferguson are both Napier-born and bred and are sports-mad sauna lovers. Ngawaka said sports has been a big part of his life, playing “footy” in his earlier days, followed by “a bit of representative stuff” in the rugby league space moving to endurance triathlons after rugby.
Now at 43 Ngawaka is an avid runner, running daily if he can.
Like her father, Ferguson has been involved in sports almost as long as she has been able to walk and started playing rugby aged 5.
She left Hawke’s Bay to study food science and psychology at Otago University and worked in Wellington for a bit before moving home to focus on her rugby.
Now an up-and-coming womens’ rugby star, the 23-year-old currently plays for the Hawke’s Bay Tui and the Hurricanes Poua.
While this is Ferguson’s third year signed with the Hurricanes Poua, she is not playing this season as she has an injured back. But she’s looking at the bright side and says it gives her more time to focus on the new business with her dad.
“I’m the brain behind it. Dad just does the things and I do the admin behind everything,” she joked.
The views from this portable sauna window are perfect to help you unwind.
With the amount of contact and competitive sport the pair take part in, health, wellness and recovery are a big part of their lives.
The father and daughter duo love what saunas do for their health and have been using them for several years, so buying into The Sauna Project franchise was a perfect fit, Ngawaka explained.
The Sauna Project was created by three flatmates living in Mt Maunganui who wanted a better option when it came to saunas.
The trio came up with a portable sauna powered by a wood fire so it can be used anywhere people want it.
Now, with The Sauna Project outlets popping up across the North Island, Ngawaka and Ferguson are joining the team and have officially opened in Napier.
Ngawaka said, “I am an avid sauna person and I have been for about seven or eight years. So it’s not just a trend I am pushing, it’s something I am really interested in and I have been doing every day as a regular practice for my health, well-being and recovery from sports.”
He added, “Sauna in general has been around for thousands of years, with different cultures and religions using it in the well-being space.
“There is so much literature and research out there that suggests it’s really good for you in terms of your physical health, mental health, cognitive ability, cardiovascular health and lowering blood pressure.”
While saunas are good for your health, Ferguson said, “our sauna is an experience from start to finish that we facilitate, and we can use different oils to provide different functions.”
The pair use the Aufguss sauna method, which has a German background. They pour water on rocks to create steam, then use a towel to “wish-wash” the air around.
“It’s not a sauna we just pop up and let you just sit in it, we are there beside you guiding you so it’s definitely an experience and something that I think everyone should try, even if it’s just once, and then see how you feel,” Ferguson said.
Ngawaka and Ferguson said they have met many new and different people using saunas in the past, and believe their sauna will be a great space for the community and a diverse range of people to gather and connect.
The father and daughter officially kicked off their sessions with paying customers on Leap Day this year, February 29.
Napier is the latest spot that's getting mobile sauna options from The Sauna Project.
Currently the pair have two locations they are working from, Breakwater Rd near the port entrance next to the sandy beach and another along The Esplanade in Westshore.
The sauna has a “massive” window that gives people a view over the ocean while they are relaxing and experiencing the sauna.
Ngawaka and Ferguson both work full time and have been running their portable sauna business on the side, planning to hold sessions four times a week.
Each session runs for an hour, will cost each user $20 and can be booked online.
The team also have lease options available for full and half days for events such as sporting events or sports teams that would use the saunas for recovery.
Ngawaka said, “We have just had our first one of those last weekend where an local MMA gym who had a two-day workshop used it for recover after sparring.
“They were really stoked and loved having the sauna there.”
To keep up to date with the father-daughter duo’s sauna adventure follow it on Instagram and Facebook.
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffarea@nzme.co.nz.
