Cabbage Tree Flowering There is a long held belief in New Zealand that when the Cabbage Tree flowers heavily then we should expect a long hot dry summer. If so then the extra water tank we installed may have been a very good idea. see post Cabbage Tree Cordyline australis Certainly this year the…
DetailsSpring Keri Keri is blooming with beautiful flowers and stunning spring growth. We are enjoying a stunning spring which bodes well for summer. Long, dry and hot. We are this year thoroughly enjoying the fruits of our 7 years of labour in our garden. We planted Sally Holmes Roses when we arrived in this idyllic…
DetailsHookers & Dolphins Pregnant Hookers Sealion Yesterday on Ulva Island with guests we discovered a female Hookers Sealion sunning herself on Boulder Beach. There have been quite a few males around lately, but this is the first female we have seen in some considerable time. Females are much lighter coloured than males, although very young…
DetailsThe Year Flies By I cannot believe it is November already, where has the year gone ??. Te Anau in the News As you may know Te Anau has been in the news lately for a number of reasons, first we fought off a private venture company who wanted to put a tunnel through the…
DetailsVisiting Ulva Island with Guests (At Sails Ashore we package a 4 hour Guided Ulva Island Tour for our guests. Ulva Island Open Sanctuary is a “Must Do” for visitors to Stewart Island. Many years ago I was Ranger in Charge for all of Stewart Island. For a brief introduction to this very special Island…
DetailsSpring is Busy Busy for Kaikoura and Surrounds…….. So much activity….. The Hop Our region starts off with the Kaikoura Hop usually around the 24th September. This is great for car enthusiasts and the event attract approximately 700 car entries. The town just buzzes. Entries are from all over New Zealand and already I understand…
DetailsSummer Already Well, it looks as though summer is on the way here in sunny Nelson. Our hens are laying well after a long winter moult. As soon as egg production was well under way one of our ladies decided to go broody so we bought some fertile eggs for her to sit on. Naturally…
DetailsHaast Highway An update on the Haast Pass Highway 6 slip for the South Island properties sending guests up the West coast. The road has been open 93% of the last 15 days October 2 to October 17. This is having devastating consequences for tourism operators both on the coast and in Wanaka. There have…
DetailsDunedins Rhododendrons Every year in October the City of Dunedin celebrates one of New Zealand’s loveliest sights – the exotic beauty of the City’s Rhododendrons. Here a fortuitous partnership of soil and climate combine to give one of the finest Rhododendron growing areas in the world, thus earning Dunedin the description of Rhododendron City. Originating…
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