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At Springvale was a traditional preservery with gift shop and attic art gallery, opposite St Clair Winery. We could taste and select from a delicious range of preserves and other products.
Olives in grape country
Creekside Olives produced award-winning olive oil, and we enjoyed a frank insight to the industry.
"The olive grove consists of 500 seven year old trees of Leccino, Frantoio, Koroneiki, Barnea and a few others grown on free draining Rapaura loam in Marlborough, NZ.
The olives are hand picked with rakes and transported to a centrifugal press to be pressed within 24 hours to maintain quality. The oil is stored in stainless steel tanks under nitrogen and is bottled unfiltered."
Ken and Debby Fulton kindly provided a welcome lunch break.
Pine nut trees suggest a future productive shelter near a trial facility of NZ Seed Oils, where we had a fascinating talk and taste of their diligently-researched products.
Figs and management trials in an exposed location.
Without the benefit of any wind or frost shelter, a trial of trenched rocks heated by piped hot air was a different approach.
Cowslip in Waihopai Valley was the loacation of the beautiful farm of Mike and Bertha Newman.
So many varieties of crop trees; and varieties of punga!
We scoffed a lot of walnuts, and were amazed at the interweaving of family land, maori and recent history to do with local land use and irrigation in particular -
- of flow rates, artificial lake storage, saleable quality for horticulture and the bureaucratic 'niceties' of it all.
Hazelnuts were cropping well at the Null's Nutt Ranch, on the fertile, stony terraces of the Omaka River, Marlborough. Long hot summers and crisp frosty winters. Hazelnut products include oil, flour, and paste.
Progressive machinery included this twin-hose vacuum harvester. In the late Summer and early Autumn the crop is harvested, washed, and dried to a very low moisture content. Throughout winter occurs the cracking, processing and packaging of the fresh products.
We walked off some of a delightful lunch at Kikiwa, to look at Jock's and Hazel's early trial hazelnut orchard.
A late look at the start of the Buller river, the spectacular Lake Rotoiti.
First stop was in the Buller Gorge, at the site of the goldmining town known as the Lyell.
An enchanting surprise was this delightful encounter with a bush robin. It guarded the entry to the cemetery track, as if to remind us to be respectful up there.
At Reefton hospital, we intimately measured the DBH of a substantial redwood tree; "Sequoiadendron giganteum (previously called Wellingtonia). So if you are passing through Reefton, on the way to conference maybe, go and have a look by deviating one block to the north of the main street into Shiel St, or just look up and head for the big tree - Margot Syms". Thanks Margot.
We made a relaxing side-track to Slab Hut Creek for a picnic lunch.
Hokitika at last. There is something about a West Coast sunset...
Our tour organiser Diana - thankyou for an intriguing journey!
Photos - Les Gruebner and Gail Newcomb
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Created: 2005 May 26 - Updated: 2007 August 10