Imagine being in the middle of nowhere – the noise fades as you leave the city life, and you let nature take the lead. Annika Karlsen and Kevin Pentz explain how Wild Haven Farm allows you to do just that – it’s more than just a farm; it’s an experience that will leave you wanting to return, or even more, never wanting to leave.
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Wild Haven Farm is a peaceful escape that invites you to slow down and unplug with geodesic glamping domes designed for rest, reconnection, and fresh country air (no internet required). Wake up to wide open skies and laugh your way through a session of goat pilates – Wild Haven Farm blends rustic charm, relaxation, and a touch of playful memories into a one-of-a-kind getaway.
Annika Karlsen and Kevin Pentz had a dream to open an animal rescue – they both shared a love for animals and a love for nature, with Annika also experiencing working with animals in the past. Annika, originally from Nova Scotia, and Kevin, originally from Ontario, were living in Toronto and working in hospitality when an idea took root. By blending their shared love for animals, their dream of opening a rescue, and their hospitality experience, they created Wild Haven Farm in Maple Grove, Nova Scotia.
Unlike most businesses, Wild Haven Farm is all about affordability and being able to create those memories with your significant other, your family, or even your friends without breaking the bank. Annika explained that they are currently going into their fifth season. “We actually just lowered our prices. Every year is a blessing and has been even busier than the last, and with that kind of income, our choice is actually to lower it and make it more accessible for everyone.” Their goal isn’t necessarily to become rich with this project but rather to educate and touch more families with their experience.
The domes at Wild Haven Farm may not be your five-star luxury hotel, but you will be leaving with five-star memories. When booking the getaway, you can choose from three domes: the Fox Den, the Bear Cave, and the Bee Hive. All are very similar in design, but only the Fox Den offers hot water and is wheelchair accessible. The Bear Cave and the Bee Hive only have a cold-water option, which Kevin explains isn’t exactly freezing, but it isn’t warm either.
While Wild Haven Farm’s goal is to offer the experience of camping, they do offer all the necessary essentials for your stay, such as bedding, pillows, linens, towels, soap, shampoo, and conditioner. When asked about the amenities and what each dome has to offer – Kevin explained that each dome can sleep up to four adults and offers a queen-sized bed and a queen-sized futon. All the domes have electricity, air conditioning, a small heater, a mini fridge, a washroom with toilet and shower, and running water. There is an outdoor kitchenette with a propane barbecue for the guests to use, along with private firepits. You only need to bring your own kindling and (additional) water and food.
Wild Haven Farm celebrated its soft opening in 2022 with a single dome, followed by the addition of two more domes for its first full season in 2023. As part of the farm and sanctuary, they have rescued sheep, cows, hens, roosters, goats, and ducks. “We don’t take animals unless they’re rescues or getting rehomed for different reasons,” states Annika.
Speaking in person with both Annika and Kevin really allows you to see that this is much more than a business but rather a passion that they both feel so strongly about. “We really want to be educational – the big dream is that you can stay, disconnect, relax, all while being around animals, it’s not like a typical petting zoo. We take great pride in the fact that when you do come to stay here, the animals aren’t for your service, essentially.” The couple is very strict, yet passionate when it comes to the welfare of the animals. Annika, who also previously worked in wildlife rehab, believes that part of the educational experience is respecting the rescued animal’s space and allowing the rescues to approach you on their time, not yours. They want the animals to live a stress-free life on the farm.
Not only is the business located in Nova Scotia, but the domes they use were also purchased in Nova Scotia. When asked where they found the domes, Annika responds, “We bought them locally, we love her, her name is Yun, and she sells them here. We did a lot of research on them, and she has her own dome property here. We wanted to support someone from Nova Scotia.”
If you’re interested in booking a stay at this fantastic, adventurous getaway, you can do so on Airbnb with no limitations – single-night stays are also an option. With the new season upon them, Annika and Kevin are both looking into more options to use as booking platforms to make their getaway more accessible. They are getting repeat customers as time goes on, and the word is spreading.
Wild Haven Farm has also begun hosting weddings, with both full wedding and elopement packages available. The standard wedding package includes a two-night stay in their domes, the use of a wedding tent with tables and chairs seating up to 64 (available from April to October), an arbor for the ceremony, and benches for the ceremony – the venue also has electricity. The elopement package is as little as $500 and offers you the same options as the wedding package for a total of three hours. As part of the payment for the wedding, there is also a mandatory donation to an approved animal charity or eco-charity. Annika and Kevin hope to add more events to their portfolio in the future, such as school field trips, more pilates events, and co-op student opportunities.
Wild Haven Farm also offers a unique fitness class – Goat Pilates, with tickets available on Eventbrite with no stay required. As part of this experience, you get a 45-minute class taught by Annika in the pasture close to the animals, where you feel the grass beneath you, animals chatting in their own language in the background, and eagles soaring above you. After the class, you are given a mini tour of the property and potentially get to meet some of the happy, healthy, rescued animals that they have on site. By providing a mini tour, Annika says, “those taking the fitness classes know that their money for the class goes towards helping and caring for animals in need. We have really gotten a positive response to how good people feel after the class”.
Since opening in 2023, Kevin states that the biggest challenge has been the weather. In 2022, following their soft opening, they experienced a hurricane that knocked out the power for ten days and had a tree fall on a part of their first dome. A couple of years after the hurricane, they experienced a heavy rainfall that completely washed out their road in the middle of their busy season, which resulted in their guests traveling twice as long to reach the domes. Drought and wildfires have also been thrown into the mix of challenges for the couple.
When asked what advice they would give to someone looking to start up a similar venture, Annika said to just go for it, but know that it is a lot of hard work. Kevin’s advice was that most people think owning several Airbnb rentals is passive income, when it’s been anything but passive, and they need to learn to build things yourself. Unlike most business owners, Annika urges people to recreate their idea and open more domes as “there’s enough for everyone,” and if animals are involved humanely, it’s a bonus. While working with animals, Annika said that there are many happy, joyful moments, but there’s also some heartbreak that’s not for everyone. Annika says, “the worst part has been getting really attached to these animals – we get a lot of emails, which is great, but it also means that all these animals that are in need, being neglected, or people can’t afford to look after them anymore. We get these heart-wrenching emails asking for us to please take my rooster, my cat, or my dog, and we must turn them away because we can’t take something that we can’t take care of – it’s all about animal welfare for us.”
In the end, Nova Scotia isn’t just a place you visit—it’s a place you feel. It’s the quiet roads that lead to unforgettable views, the communities that cheer each other on, and the moments that make you slow down and stay a little longer than planned. The real magic happens off the beaten path, where nature, people, and experience come together in a way that stays with you long after you’ve gone. And once you find it, you never want to leave—that’s where you find Wild Haven Farm.
by Krista Legge-Wakeley