Fits like a Fox's Glove....

Valentine's Day. Rather more manic than romantic for us this year....

For some time we have been keeping an eye out for property around Central Otago or Arrowtown, which we adore.  (Strangely, I recently discovered Arrowtown was once known as Fox's!)   Nothing had come along that ticked all the boxes, however, so we widened the search to the Waitaki Valley in the north, and to the Catlins in the south.

Then one day an email from husband pinged in - a listing had caught his eye in Lawrence.  He had never been to Lawrence (which is on the main route up to Central if you were coming from Dunedin) - had I?  Was it nice?

Yes, I had been to Lawrence, albeit very briefly.  Richard and I drove through the town in 2007 in our rented Kea Campervan, and I made him drive up and down all the roads that seemed to lead up hills behind the main street.  My memories were of some very interesting architecture, lots of big trees, some quite grand homes that had been built just after the turn of the century.  Yes, it was nice.  Why?
He had spotted an early miners cottage for sale on Whitehaven Street.  And he sent me a picture.....

The Miner's Cottage - circa 1870

On the evening of February 13th we flew to Dunedin, arriving at around 9pm.  We picked up our rental car and found a motel in Mosgiel for the night.  In the morning we were up before the lark and on the road to Lawrence before 7am.  It took about an hour of easy driving to reach our destination, through open farmland, and then winding gorges.  And there it was.  We peered in the windows, finally tearing ourselves away to go for some breakfast and coffee, and a wander up and down the main street.

 Lawrence was born in 1861, when Gabriel Read found gold in what is now Gabriels Gully, the first gold to be discovered in Central.  Miners flocked here from America and Australia and the Rush began.  The town celebrated it's 150th anniversary last year and is so pretty with hanging baskets and tubs of flowers everywhere.  There is a decent smattering of cafes (with proper coffee!) and a couple of restaurants, a bistro bar, and a pub, and some interesting shops including art galleries, homewares, collectables and retro furniture, a plant nursery, farm supply store, hardware store, and a chemist which most amusingly is not named in the American vernacular as "Something Pharmacy" but called, instead, The Medicine Depot!


We had a great breakfast at the Coffee Mine Cafe (which opens at 8am - excellent!) and eyed up the Wild Walnut cafe for later....  then we met Jill, the agent, and went to view the cottage.  It was all that we had hoped it would be.  It has been partially renovated, needs a new kitchen and bathroom, but has had quite a lot already done structurely.  Long story, short - we made an offer and it was accepted later that afternoon!  We settle on Friday, and then its all ours.

Foxglove Cottage - Ours!

It may take a while - what with the 1700km's between here and there - but Watch This Space for updates, as eventually Foxglove Cottage will become another of our accommodation options.

A Strange Sort of Summer....

A year ago it was sweltering - we were in full drought with a total fire ban in the Whangarei District.  Gaping cracks fractured the land and we constantly kept an eye on water usage. 

Not so this summer.  December was very wet - the poor Swiss couple who stayed in the Cabbage Tree for three weeks till just after Christmas kept saying "do you think it will stop raining tomorrow?"  I think they had about three really hot and sunny days.  At least it didn't stop them exploring the region and having some great walks out at Whangarei Heads, as well as the Matakohe Kauri Museum which they loved so much they went back the next day!  Our own Heritage Park and Museum here in Whangarei also got a very strong thumbs up.   They joined us for Christmas lunch - which we had hoped to have outdoors - but instead was around the kitchen table as it rained yet again.

All this rain has meant great grass growth on the farm - and fat, happy cattle.  It's also meant a lot more lawn mowing for me, but I simply haven't looked back since replacing our old mower with the USA-made Hustler Sport - it has more than halved mowing time and produces a great cut - I love it!  I've already clocked up nearly 50 hours on it.  We have had our fair share of hassles with the water pipes that feed the troughs on the farm over the past 6 months and as David had a three week break over Christmas we planned to replace a large chunk of it.  The wet weather actually made for good working conditions as the ground was easier to dig, it was cooler and we weren't fed up having to work on the farm instead of lying on a beach!  So we have completed Stage One.  The ground is hard again now, so will wait till the rains come again.

Even though it's been a lot drier since, it is still cooler than previous summers - temperatures are mid 20's rather than late 20's and early 30's.  This morning dawned misty and cool - it was just like Autumn, with tiny rainbow encrusted spiders webs littering the grass when I went to move the cows.  I'm loving it, not being a fan of extreme heat.  The vegetable garden has delivered this year - again thanks to less heat, the lettuces have grown throughout the summer without bolting and turning  bitter.  The tomatoes plants are weighted down with fruit, I've picked courgettes constantly every few days, the apple cucumber is covered in fruit, we've had beans and snow peas a plenty for stirfrys, a lovely mix of potatoes including the heirloom Pink Fir, spring onions, and strawberries.  We pulled out the French lavender (Major) all down the eastern side of the house and replaced it with English (Dilly Dilly) as I'm sick of the Major going woody so quickly in our dry climate.  Each plant survived (fifty!) and they are in full bloom, and looking delightful.

I'm very pleased to relate some snippets regarding the wildlife here.  Our occasional visitor, the male Californian Quail has become resident this summer.  You will see him in and around the garden every day, and we couldn't be happier about this - he is truly magnificent as he struts his stuff.  Frogs are heard each evening in the distance - so our wetlands are providing a favourable environment for these little blokes -  when we decided to use underground drainage to dry out some wet areas of pasture instead of draining the water into the river we created a wetland in an unusable natural depression.  The herons and pukekos also love it.  But the big news is..... drum roll..... about a month back as we arrived home from a night out around 11pm-ish we looked up and saw a bat fluttering around!   We were aware that long tailed bats have been sighted in the district so we can only assume "ours" was of this variety rather than the even more scarce short tailed bat.  Either way they are rare and fragile creatures, so we were delighted to see one here.

The summer has seen a steady stream of guests come and stay (despite the weather in the earlier stages!) - and we have enjoyed the company of guests from here in NZ, as well as from Australia, the US, Britain, and our Swiss guests mentioned earlier.  Notably there has been a huge increase in numbers of people living in NZ staying.  Maybe due to our accommodation being "instantly bookable" here on our site now - seems that other people are just like me and Hate to Wait!  New artwork, crispy bedlinen, new big thick towels plus a DVD player & movies have all enhanced the stays of guests in the Cabbage Tree, our self catering option.

We got away to Arrowtown again in November and had our usual wonderful time down there - this time we explored Naseby, Ranfurly and the Wedderburn valley.  It was great to sit in front of the fire in the Blue Door bar in its rustic leather armchairs once more.  We had a stunning meal at Saffron - just so good in every way, and we loved the walks along the Arrow River.  And of course the sticky buns from Provisions - oh, yum!  Can't wait to go back soon.

Until next time,
Sammi (and Dave)

Green, green grass of home

Spring is well under way here – the flowering cherry is looking spectacular this year, its best display to date at now four years old. All the stone fruit trees are coming out with blossom too – the apples won’t be far behind them. We are enjoying some rain after a long dry spell, and it has washed away the dust, making everything seem brilliantly green – the grass is growing in the fields and the cows are happy. I'm thrilled to say that the Californian Quail have been resident in the garden for the past few weeks.  I often hear the male's distinctive call and have seen him almost every day grazing on the lawn - his plumage is wonderfully fetching.

Lots of hard work has gone into the veggie garden – my lovely friend and neighbour came to lend a hand with the weeding – it was very overgrown, a casualty of my busy life. Once it was weeded and dug over Dave and I added ten x 40 litre bags of compost and 20kg of gypsum to break down the clay, and continued to cultivate the soil every few days. Now we have a flourishing spring garden of lettuces, bok choy, tomatoes and onions. The cucumbers and courgettes aren’t doing so well – some type of bug has been eating the leaves but I can live with that for now. In my raised bed, and under the rabbit proof covers that Dad built last year, I have a thriving crop of broccoli, celery, beetroot, and oak leaf lettuce. The new Dilly Dilly lavender (Augustifolia) that I planted to replace the old, woody Stoechas variety, Major, all down the eastern side of the farmhouse has started to put out some new growth, so I hope it will thrive. I got a free baby camellia with the lavender so have planted that where I lost a coprosma to drought last year. Around the south side of the house we’ve planted Cineraria, Fuchsias, and Impatiens, with seeds of Foxglove to sow later on. We cut the roses back hard on the north and west sides so that we could give these walls a coat of paint, but they are starting to come away again now. All in all, the garden is quite respectable!

We had a fantastic time at the RWC opening back in early September, and have followed most of the games avidly. What a cliff-hanger of a final. And what a fabulous result! So proud of our All Blacks – well done. The B&B was busy over the two games Whangarei hosted, and the guests all reported that the new stadium was fabulous, and enjoyed themselves very much.

Split our sides with laughter whilst watching the National Theatre’s “One Man, Two Guvnors” – filmed live in London and broadcast to cinemas around the globe – we went to our favourite, the Rialto in Newmarket, taking David’s parents along – it was a big hit with all. And so nice to sit in comfy seats with a glass or two of Pinot Gris – that’s what I call relaxation.

We also took in the recent Paihia Food, Wine & Music festival – perfect weather, lots of great artisan yummies, and some great music with a up-beat, happy crowd – couldn’t have been better. We stayed at the lovely Waterfront Apartments in Paihia and can fully recommend them if you want a very comfortable place right in the thick of things.








In answer to ever increasing demands of the busy lifestyles that we all seem to lead these days, we have revamped our bookings page on the website so that you can now see availability and make a secure online booking which is instantly confirmed – no need to send an enquiry then wait for a reply – all done and dusted in one visit. You will find that both accommodation options are by “REQUEST ONLY” for the current date on the day, and day following – so you will need to get our confirmation back on these requests.
We enjoy some fabulously warm spring months – currently around 21 – 22 C – so come on up!

Gosh, where does time go to? Here we are marching well into August. Winter is over here in the sunny north, the weather is definitely warming up and the spring flowers and trees are starting to come out. We have had a wet winter but not a cold one – I saw only two frosts on the ground this year. The grass will soon take off and my cows will be in clover again!

Dave & I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in June – what a wonderful year its been. I was told to leave the weekend free and to relax. He went to huge lengths to recreate our first ever date – which was really quite funny and very sweet. Then he whisked me away to the quaint little fishing village of Mangonui in the Far North where we stayed at the delightfully refurbished Old Oak Inn for a couple of nights. The inn is now a boutique hotel, with wonderful views over the Mangonui harbour and right alongside it is the Acorn Bar & Bistro – we recommend it.

We loved the Post Office Café for breakfasts and quirky shopping, and enjoyed a Fish & Chip supper at the fully licensed world famous Mangonui Fish & Chip Shop, right on the wharf. It was a lovely weekend, and so much better for being a total surprise!

Then in July we sneaked away to Tonga for some extended R&R. My friend Hazel came out from UK and we all flew out a few days later to spend an idyllic week on a tiny coral atoll in the northern Vava’u group. Quite an effort needed to get there – three hours on the plane from NZ, then 1 hour on the smaller plane, 20 min drive in an island taxi complete with dashboard full of teddy’s and assorted religious miscellanea, followed by 45 mins on a boat. Our island was home to just our eco-lodge of about half a dozen fales (houses) – there were two other groups of people and ourselves! At one point we had the entire island to ourselves for 48hrs. Bliss. It was picture postcard perfect – white sandy beaches, palm trees, turquoise waters, amazing sea life right off the beach. We snorkelled every day and I was lucky enough to see a shark and a turtle, and we all saw moray eels as well as the hundreds of different coloured fishes. Doubtlessly, the highlight for the three of us was the day spent out whale watching.


Humpback whales come up from the Antarctic to breed in Vava’u’s warm waters every year. We were allowed to don our snorkel gear and get very up close and personal with these wonderful whales – it was just amazing especially the mother and her calf. Breathtaking. We spent a night and a day in the capital Nuku’alofa before flying home, and were very impressed by all the new building and pavement construction going on. It’s a safe and interesting place, and very unspoilt.

On the farm we have been busy with all the normal sorts of things, fencing, fixing pumps, and dealing with the odd flood. The cattle have all grown well and will really start putting on condition as spring arrives and the grass takes off.

Ally is a happy cat – I installed a new cat door with electromagnetic catch so that only SHE can enter. She had been suffering from Dad’s cat’s pushy ways, and also suspect a wild cat of becoming a bit bold too. Ally is a lot more relaxed now, and getting wider now someone isn’t stealing her food! (not too wide for her cat flap yet).

The Rugby World Cup is about to happen – the grand opening is September 9. We will be in Auckland attending – should be an amazing event. Our little B&B is fully booked for both the games we are hosting in Whangarei – Canada v Tonga, and Tonga v Japan. I know a lot of accommodation providers have capitalised on this event by substantially increasing tariffs around the country. Well, that’s free trade I guess. We have chosen to keep our prices the same as normal however, and look forward to being busy, busy!

Till next time,
Sammi & Dave

Farmers Markets – Ours is THE Best!

At the moment, throughout NZ there is a competition running to vote for the best Farmers Market – there is a website and a list of contenders, you pick one, you vote. Simple, right?

Except the list is not complete – markets are missing! Apparently you need to belong to the Farmers Markets NZ association or some such high falutin’ banner and we don’t….

So although we won’t win the Taste NZ Farmers Market Awards this year here are a few great reasons why we are none the less Numero Uno.

Our market is the LARGEST in the country
Our market is the longest established – first to kick off in 1997
To be able to sell at our market you have to have grown the produce yourself locally – thus eliminating costly third parties
Our market sells plants, food and flowers only – no crafts or bric-a-brac
Our market operates in all weather – rain, shine or freezing cold darkness on early winter mornings

Not just a collection of gourmet fluffery as some are, ours is a place you can visit in the knowledge you will be able to do all your greengrocery shopping, pick up your milk, cheese, bacon, ham & salami, free range eggs, bread, organic beef, honey, olive oil, fresh and smoked fish, a cheery bunch of flowers, fresh herbs, veggie seedlings, jams & chutneys, along with a few landscaping plants. You can munch on a barbequed sausage, steak sandwich, or a crepe, swig back an espresso, and take in the talents of the buskers. Almost guaranteed to meet up with a few mates too, and enjoy a leisurely chin wag.

The market is strung along the banks of a stream in the Water Street car park – no real attempt at any kind of uniformed glamour – a plethora of mis-matched awnings or just the back of a van open or produce in plastic containers on the ground. No bunting, no red and white stripes, no posh accents – just a bunch of people saving money (and yes, the prices are way less than in the shops!) and feeding the families good healthy fresh food.

We cooked a free range roast chook last weekend and ate with it smoked garlic, broccoli, baby carrots and beautiful fresh agria potatoes – all from the market.

Fact File:
Whangarei Growers Market
Every Saturday 6.30am till 10.30am
Water St (next to the Shell Station)

In which a trip to town for strictly practical purposes turns into a retail rampage...

I love this time of year. Autumn stretching out in front of us, warm sunny Indian Summer days, cool nights lending themselves to serious snuggling. We’re so lucky up here in the north – we live in tee shirts and shorts from September until well into May – spoilt really. Although I love the heat of summer on a beach day it can get a bit much on work days round the farm so I relish it cooling down a little. We are off to kick some autumn leaves along Arrowtown’s main street soon – can’t wait – it’s such a favourite of mine and we try and get down that way a couple of times a year. Blue Door Bar here we come!

Yesterday I went to mow and found the ride-on mower had a Big Fat flat tyre…. Boo. So today I took it into town to get it repaired and to do some other errands – not a great idea during school holidays AND the day before Good Friday….. it was insane. Drove round and round scouring the carparks for a space, and don’t even TALK to me about the supermarket….. ugh. Why oh why do people feel the need to go nuts and stock up when the shops are shut for a mere 24 hrs? It wasn’t that long ago that we managed without them for an entire weekend, starting at 5pm Friday evening! Late night shopping was on Thursday nights when the supermarkets were open till 8.30pm - that was when people went grocery shopping. It was crowded, I recall……

On the subject of supermarket shopping of yesteryear... how's this for The Good Old Days; We had an independant here in town that strove to keep prices at a minimum - it was called Mark n Pack. As you entered the store you collected a black felt tip pen from a big plastic tub, as instead of individually pricing each item the shelf was marked with the price which - get this - you wrote on the item with the marker pen! Then the check out lady (no men back then, they were either the manager or shelf-stackers) keyed in the price. They must have had to think about what they were doing a lot more than today's electronica. Then, when passed through the check out you packed your own cardboard box(es) with it all and took it home. The smarter, more expensive other supermarket sported large thick brown paper bags and a chap to wheel out your trolley and stack the bags into your car boot! Lordy, such chilvary.

Back in the now, and desperate for a quick bite and lifesaver cuppa I was none the less loathe to battle the café crowds in the CBD and made a beeline for a café on the fringe called the Bake House. Nothing trendy here, no music, no aircon – just great food at great prices and speedy, friendly service. Run by a large family of Koreans, it’s like a well oiled machine. They make all their own bread (loaves also for sale – sliced to order) patisserie, sandwiches, savouries and pies – the sandwiches and rolls are heaving with fillings – none of this one slice of see-through ham and a smear of mustard between limp (or worse, stale) white bread and we’ll call it a ham sandwich……. Oh no no. My roast beef grainy bread sandwich was fair bulging with tender beef, topped with crunchy green lettuce, grated carrot, tomato and mayo. Yummmmm. Where else can you get a pottle of hot chips, the aforementioned sandwich, a custard and fresh fruit tart and an entire pot of tea all for under $10? That’s about four quid, all you in the Northern Hemisphere. With a smile, to boot. Tables are promptly cleared and wiped clean, properly. I can sit at a bar along the front window and watch the stream of humanity go by. And I have ten bucks left over to buy my favourite mag – Australian Country Style. What’s not to like?

On the plus side of being in town right before Easter – the shops were killing themselves to gather some extra revenue before the mandatory “closed” days – Friday and Sunday – so it was Sale Time with a capital S. I scored a couple of sets of towels for 70% off, new pillows for the Cabbage Tree, a cluster puff underlay for our bed which was reduced by 60% which promises to feel just like sleeping on a cloud (actually when you fly through them they look damp and rather nasty so might give that a miss), 25 % off a pair of cords, two pairs of reebok shorts for half price each, a brightly coloured luggage strap and a lovely handpainted ceramic platter that looks as if it came from Italy or Greece at considerable cost but in reality was part of a dinnerware range that was literally cheap at twice the price let alone the 50% off that was on offer. Oooooh, I do love a bargain!

I even remembered to swing by and pick up my newly inflated tyre!

The Cool Creeps In....

Summer here is gently slipping away – there’s a definite cooling noticeable early morning and evening. No bad thing, I’m always ready for the end of summer when it comes. As lovely as the heat is when we are frolicking in the surf at one of the many gorgeous local beaches, it can get tiresome when you work outdoors on a property like this. Now is the time we start thinking about getting the firewood in for winter – a job far too arduous in the middle of February. The grapes are nearly ripe, and the figs are oozing with juicy wonderfulness. I’m already planning Saturday’s dinner – Moroccan Lamb with goats cheese, figs and honey…… I love this time of year pasionately.

On a sombre note, we are still reeling emotionally from the terrible effects of the February 22nd earthquake in Christchurch. So many beautiful buildings will have to come down and the CBD will need to be rebuilt from the ground up in many places. But nothing can compare to the devastation of realising that one’s loved one went off that morning to work, school or play and will no longer come home. It’s so heartbreaking, and all we can do is send love and help in any way we can. We were there 8 days before the quake, ate a meal in Freeman’s Dining Room over at Lyttelton which has always been a favourite small town for me with its fabulously villagey vibe. We had an amazing night out and now all we can do is wonder if the restaurant is still standing, along with so many others. We are offering Christchurch residents a special deal right through till the end of winter – 4 nights for the price of 2 in The Cabbage Tree. In addition, we are donating $10 from every nights accommodation we sell during the next 6 months to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Back at the end of January the Whangarei District was hit with 300mm of rain in just a few short hours and the resulting flooding caused havoc around the area. We weren’t spared – most of our farm was underwater and we sadly lost little Boy, the wee Hereford calf that had been visited by the vet earlier when he had pneumonia. He had picked up a lot but was still much smaller than the others and much less robust, costing him his life as he was swept up in the flood waters. Very sad. My wise Irish neighbour who has farmed all her life long has a saying “Where there’s live stock, there’s dead stock.” It’s not great – but it happens.

We were thrilled recently to receive a Best Reviews Award from Travelbug, one of our resellers! It is proudly displayed and we thank all those guests who have made it possible!

Come and enjoy the last of the summer with us – or the arrival of autumn.

Sammi & David x