CHRISTOPHERS COMMENT MAY 2018
Its almost 6 months since I put pen to paper and although I don’t think many people in the world will have noticed there MAY be one or two that are wondering if we are still alive and kicking. I have to put MAY in capital letters because that was and is still the month that my dear wife of 47 years turned 70. Although we haven’t had the big birthday party we have had many small celebrations; coffees, lunches and dinners with dear friends which has been very nice. And of course many messages. And I don’t believe it’s over yet.
We have had a very successful year on the farm. In my last Dec Comment the point was made about how dry it was getting and the worry was this could be another early drought. That did not eventuate for us. The rain came at the right times and although it got very hot at times we managed very well. Lambs did well (all averaging well over $100) cull ewe prices were good and wool – not so good.
We changed our cattle over on the Ist May and still have an abundance of grass. So much so that we still have 100 lambs ready for the processors but enough grass not to panic.
Our one major worry at the moment is a disease called Mycoplasma Bovis which was found in NZ for the first time in July. This is a disease of cattle and affects their joints, causes untreatable mastitis and arthritis. It is a slow spreading disease and is spread mostly by contact through saliva. The source of the outbreak appears to be a farm in the South Island and so far all 39 farms affected relate back to this one farm. Unfortunately a farm in Cambridge has now tested positive. This is a wakeup call for us all. We now realise we all need better biosecurity on our farms. So we are setting up a series of protocols to limit access to one entry point, no outside vehicles over our farm and a scrub and disinfect policy for all vehicles and people.
I mentioned in my last letter about fencing off areas of native bush and also some one wire electric fences around swampy areas. With a very welcome subsidy from our regional council we were able to erect nearly one km of 9 wire fences around two areas of native bush. This will continue next year where we are planning to erect about 1.5 km around three pockets of native bush. It will be great to see all those areas start to regenerate.
We have also been able to catch up on some maintenance this year. The farm homestead has been repainted thanks to (“I’ll never paint another roof”) Geoff and what a great job he has done. Also the entry to the farm has been ripped up and re-sealed which also is a vast improvement. We have also been having trouble with our water reticulation system and hopefully that will be fixed and upgraded as well.
Enough about the farm
This year we had a Gardner Christmas at Whangamata complete with our Aussie family. Several trips had to be made prior to the big day often with the trailer to get everything in place. But it was all well worth it. We all had a wonderful time including an amazing actual Christmas Day complete with all the trimmings. And it was wonderful to have everyone together even though it was only for a week. Beggars can’t be choosers!!
In late March Janet and I set off on another South Island adventure. Our first stop en route was Wellington where we were at last able to see and touch both the Baring Head and Matiu Island ( Somes ) lighthouses. It helped that the weather was perfect. Matiu Island is now a sanctuary and DOC are very fussy about biosecurity. This old farmer was the only one to have to have his pack cleaned. Embarrassing!! Still a lot of the quarantine buildings there which were interesting to look through. Baring Head was a pleasant walk of one and a half hours some of which was over farmland; a lot of abandon buildings around the lighthouse plus back up the hill old WW2 bunkers. All very interesting. Also had another catch up over a meal with my old Southwell school mate Doug Bent and his wife Laraine. Still hopeful they will head north for a visit at some stage.
Next morning we were catching the ferry to Picton and driving to Kaikoura. What an eye opener that road is and what a truly amazing job those road workers have done in rebuilding the road and reinstating the rail line after the earthquakes. I don’t think nearly enough recognition has been given to what has been achieved so I will be nominating this group for New Zealanders of the Year. The rail line is only open at night so to prove that trains were running at night I woke Janet at 2.30 am as one went past our campsite just so she knew that was the case. Whoops.
Headed to Christchurch the next day and the first part of the trip was still very slow due to a lot of road works and stop/go all over the place. On our way we had lunch with Anne and Ken. They had just moved into a new house and were very welcoming. Funnily enough we first met them at a lighthouse and Janet and Anne have corresponded ever since. Lovely things can happen at lighthouses. Also visited Julian who used to farm in Cambridge but is now living in Amberly. Lots of work to do at his place but he has big plans so hopefully they will all come to fruition.
From Christchurch we headed straight to Timaru (might have been the odd quilt shop on the way) and to the lighthouse on BenVenue. Not a ‘proper’ lighthouse (well, it used to be) but worth the stop. Later on we hired bikes and rode out along the Coastal Walkway to the Jacks Point lighthouse. This was a ‘ proper’ lighthouse and was being painted which made it look very smart. Janet symbolically held a paint brush. Later that afternoon we caught up with Doug and Laraine’s daughter Anita. Lovely to meet her as well.
Next stop was Oamaru but on the way a pause at Riverstone Cottage to view the amazing castle that Dot has built. It’s unbelievable but amazing. Just shows if you put your mind to something you can achieve anything. That afternoon we walked out to the lighthouse at Patiki then onto view a seal colony further down the coast then that evening dinner at Fleurs. That was truly amazing. A fish platter consisting of 5 fish ( Terekihi, Flounder, Groper, Gurnard and Munk ) served on a bed of vegetables. We waddled away feeling well fed and with a signed book to remind us of how fish should be presented.
Next day was another highlight day for us. John picked us up from the motel and we spent the day with him on his 5000 acre farm. Drove round a lot of it in car and then ute, lovely lunch with his wife Lem and Amelia and Ross. More farm in afternoon, woolshed, pumpshed, you name it we saw it. Finally on our way home a visit to the Elephant Rocks. A bit like Stonehenge. Huge rocks scattered randomly. Truly remarkable. Thank you John and family for a truly amazing day.
Time to move on and this time on the road the Dunedin. Lighthouse time again at Taiaroa Heads. We weren’t able to touch this lighthouse because it’s in the middle of the albatross colony. So we took the albatross tour and observed 4 young chicks plus a lighthouse plus the WW2 gun placements. The highlight of this part being the disappearing gun which is an engineering masterpiece.
Early start the next day with lighthouses to visit at Nugget Point and Waipapa the latter we had been to before. Nugget point is as the name suggests out on a point and a good walk to reach it. Steep cliffs on either side make it very interesting. Between lighthouses we drove out to Slope Point which is the southernmost point in NZ. And to cap off another great day we visited Garry and Ange and three of their offspring. Garry and Ange have just sold their dairy farm and are embarking on a new phase in their lives. Having been dairying all these years they have now purchased a drystock block which will be mostly for fattening beef cattle. This enterprising family recently won a prestigious environment award and during our time there we tramped through his closed off bush to where they had set up a little hut with all the trimmings of a DOC hut. Billy tea and all!! Even a running water drinking fountain for the birds. This was a truly remarkable piece of kiwi ingenuity.
Then onto Bluff (oysters) and a light beacon plus a distant look at the lighthouse on Dog Island 6 km out from the coast. Then a quick visit to meet our Managers father Jim and Allison; also caught up with two of our ex grazers who had both left us in 1994 to try their luck at dairy farming in Southland. Both had done extremely well and had no regrets at making the move. We also caught up with our friends Shona and Rupert and had a day with them driving out through Glenorchy then Kinloch and finally to Elvin Bay where we had a picnic by the river. This is also the start of the Greenstone track so there was plenty of activity around the hut with trampers departing arriving. While in Queenstown I ticked off another thing on my bucket list by doing the jet boat ride on the Shotover River (one of us refused to go); exhilarating though it was over too soon.
By this time we were staying at the Aurum Winery Cromwell with a family of resident mice, not our first choice but because it was Easter accommodation was hard to find. But it proved adequate and very handy to our next bucket list tick off. Warbirds over Wanaka. This was amazing from the USAF F 16 to the Tiger Moths and everything in between. We luckily had seats in the silver stand and the weather was perfect so it was a day we will never forget. Janet was able to make contact with a former pilot of 485 Squadron who had known her father very well from the war so it was a special day for her as well. Had a day in Clyde where we hired bikes and rode to Alexandra ( 8km ) and caught up with Amy’s sister in law Jackie, Jay, Sylvia and Ethan then rode back along the river trail ( 13 km ). Also had time to drive out to Bannockburn to visit Joan who used to be in the Taruna Book Club. What a beautiful house she has built.
Finally left and headed up the west coast to Hokitika (just the coolest little town – we loved it) where we saw the light house at Seaview (not a proper one either) which was also the site of the original gaol and hospital. Greenstone shops everywhere so it was the right place to purchase a 70th birthday for someone special; she loves it, a pendant in a perfect circle with three koru engraved within it representing our three offspring. Then onto Westport and another Lighthouse at Cape Foulwind. Went to book on the Denniston Experience but found that it had been closed down by worksafe . Still drove up to the old mine and went over it all again while marvelling at the men and women who lived and worked there. Also found Seddonville where the Old Ghost Road starts/ends which may be our next adventure. While there we did a walk called the Charming Creek Walkway; walked as far as Watsons Mill and the waterfall. Beautiful walk and well worth the effort. Would have been nice to do the whole walk but it would have required having a car at the other end which we didn’t. Final drive to Picton , ferry next day and on the road home from Wellington by 2.15pm for a 9.00pm cup of tea in the villa. Good to be home; another wonderful South Island adventure and hopefully plenty more to come.
We are mindful and appreciative of how lucky we are to be able to leave things at the farm in the capable hands of our Manager Hugh who with some part time help from Amy and her new dog Wisp continues to keep the challenges of running a dry stock operation in this day and age under good management systems. My thoughts are that the recent appearance of a major biosecurity risk within our wider industry in the form of M. Bovis will be our biggest challenge in the months to come. This has been a wake up call for everyone and will hopefully result nationwide in better tracking of animals via the NAIT system, more attention to cleanliness of trucks and vehicles on the property and an overall rethink of how we keep our borders and farm boundaries safe; and thus keeping our stock free of disease. How fortunate we are that this recent scare was not something even more serious.
CMG
MAY 2018
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