| It’s a wet Sunday; in fact we have had three days of rain after three weeks of dry hot weather. The grass on the farm will be away now. Guests and holiday makers in the district will be all hoping it will stop and the sun will reappear. We want to drive out to the river for some fishing this week. We will need a couple of fine days for the track to dry out so we can drive all the way.
This morning was spent at Mahia’s market where a friend and I are selling olives that we picked and put in brine last autumn. They have been selling really well to Mahia’s visitors. We have a label ‘ Mahanga Olives’ with photos of Mahanga beach.
The Quarters was named New Zealand’s top farm stay in the Sunday Star Times in a critics list of best for 2009 before Christmas. Quite an honour! Earlier the Quarters was a finalist in the Hawkes Bay Tourism Awards. The Quarters was the only accommodation named as a finalist. We plied the judges with crayfish but to no avail as a Maori cultural experience won the trophy.
Guests and friends have been out to the river fishing. One day two groups of anglers caught ten trout on dry fly between them. Only one was brought home with the rest released.
The farm is looking pretty good which means we have got plenty of grass. Stock are all doing well. We have sprayed some more land on our steep country which we will burn and resow this autumn. The sheep are now only eating the new sown faces. The old native faces can’t taste so good.
June and Shani have been in South Africa visiting family for Christmas and are back early February. Shani has a few eye opening experiences visiting the physio ward in a rural hospital and being chased by rhinos in a game reserve.
We’ve been doing some fishing and Greger has been diving. Plenty of barbeques with friends visiting so we’ve had a good summer too.
We hope you will visit us.
Regards Malcolm
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