On Saturday we drove from Dunedin all the way north through Timaru and then headed inland again and up towards Mt Hutt and the Lake Heron Station. Located at the north end of Lake Heron the station was first established in 1857 and has been in the Todhunter family since 1917. The valley is beautiful and is surrounded by spectacular mountains. The focus of the station is on Merino wool production which they ship to Icebreaker but they also run Angus cattle and are involved in lamb production. They are also partners in a helicopter skiing operation which takes guests into the Arrowsmith Ranges and other nearby mountains. The station runs along the east side of Lake Heron and is 19,000 ha in size with the homestead located at 700m but with some grazing land at higher elevations.
We arrived late afternoon and had some time to do a little exploring before dark. Then we enjoyed a nice dinner and a relaxing evening in front of the fire in the cottage. The cottage has three bedrooms and a nice living room/ kitchen area – really pretty deluxe for just the three of us. It was so nice and quiet up that we all slept late in the morning and then woke to a bright sunny day. We packed some snacks and headed off for a hike in the surrounding hills. A short row across the lake gives you access to Mount Sugarloaf and we decided that we would tackle that. The top did not look far off but we soon found that this was a false summit (one of several) but we finally made it up to the top. We stopped along the way and enjoyed the incredible views – breathtaking. When we reached the summit the clouds had started to move in but it was still quite mild.
When we got back I looked up the elevation of Mt Sugarloaf and it was 1238m. With the farmstead at 700m that means we climbed 538m which is quite a climb for Bree. Once again she never got tired and talked the entire way up (and down). This time she wasn’t a chipmunk but instead was a Viking in search of dragon eggs and dragons to hunt.
Before leaving the sheep station we had a chance to talk with Anne and Phillip about their operation. They currently run 10,000 Merino sheep but also have around 700 head of Angus cattle. We toured the woolshed and Phillip explained how important nutrition of the animals is to the strength of the fibre. I had always thought that the benefit of the New Zealand grown merino wool was that the colder winters made for a more insulating product. However it is more likely the consistent nutrition that produces the superior product as fluctuations in nutrition can cause weakness in the fibre (Russ’s had a good analogy relating this to growth rings in trees). Therefore keeping the animals in good condition is important to produce good quality wool.
The shearing here is done once a year and typically takes place after winter in September. The wool is sorted and then baled for shipping to Icebreaker. The station produces about 50 tonnes of wool per year. It might be possible to run higher numbers of animals but Anne and Phillip want to manage their grasslands in a sustainable way and feel that their current numbers allow for this. They have agronomic pasture and do feed out alfalfa and other forage in the winter but also graze a large portion of native range. These native pastures are larger in size but are still run in a rotational grazing system.
Phillip is also a helicopter pilot and flies for their heli ski business during the winter months. This along with the cottage and tourism (they do guided hut walks) and the beef and lamb production helps to diversify income. We stayed at the cottage for three days and had a wonderful time. It was great to learn a little more about Merino sheep farming and to spend some time in a hill station. It was also nice to be away from everything – no television, no internet, no phone, no stores, no people – and just relax. 
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