Back to Auckland

From Paihai we decided to travel west across to the Kauri Coast. We drove down to Dargaville, a small historic town on the west coast and had lunch. Then we drove inland again to Matakohe, home of the Kauri Museum where we spent most of the afternoon. The museum is just fabulous! It gives the history of the Kauri trees, the early settlers, the logging, the gum diggers and the emerging agriculture that occurred after the Kauri tree harvesting and land clearing occurred. The museum is very large and you can easily spend a day in here looking at the exhibits and reading all the material. They have life size displays of early settlement life and you can visit a sawmill and walk through a boarding house. The size of the Kauri trees is amazing and it was interesting to learn about the gum which is a resin similar to amber that is secreted by the trees and was dug up from the soil.

We stayed the night in Orewa which along the east coast and just 30-40 km north of Auckland. We were right by the beach and even though it is late fall-early winter here it was still warm enough for Bree to play in the surf. We relaxed on the beach for the morning and then had lunch in the town before driving into Auckland to spend the night at the Holiday Park in Manuka which is out near the airport.

The next day Mom’s flight did not leave until the evening so we went to the Howick Historical Village which shows what life was like in a Fencible settlement during the 1840 to 1880 period. Fencibles were Army and Marine pensioners who were offered immigration to New Zealand (along with one acre  of land and a 2 roomed cottage) if they would perform certain military duties for a seven year term. Mom and I had visited here back in 2005 but Bree did not remember it as she was one at the time. What I really like is that it is an actual settlement spread across seven acres and you can walk into the different cottages, schools, churches etc. and see what life was like. Bree loved it and her favourite was the building called the toy museum where kids can dress up and do some activities from the time period as well as play with some of the old toys. Bree decided to do pretend laundry using the old wash tubs and now wants her own pinafore and hat for dress-up.

We spent the afternoon at Botany Downs shopping area and then dropped mom off at the airport in the evening. We were both sad to see her go but Russ will be arriving in another day so we are looking forward to that. Bree also made a friend at the holiday park and they even had a sleepover which helped lift Bree’s spirits. Just after mom left a big storm front hit New Zealand and in Auckland we had strong winds and heavy rain. Hopefully it will clear up soon but since we have had two weeks of pretty clear weather I really can’t complain. Once Russ gets here it is back to Palmy to pack-up and then down to the South Island.

Paihai

We spent five beautiful days in Paihai which is located in the Bay of Plenty. There are so many different things to do but being surrounded by water we decided on a boat tour, some kayaking and a short ferry trip over to explore nearby Russell.

On one of our first days we booked a boat tour and headed out to see some of the 144 Islands that make up the Bay of Plenty area. The trip took us out past several Islands and to the well known landmark called “Hole in the Rock”. The hole was impressive but what was more impressive was the fact that our large catamaran actually was able to go through it. We also saw a lot of wildlife during the trip. We found a large pod of dolphins and they had a young juvenile with them. It was fun to watch them put on a show, diving and jumping alongside the boat. We also saw penguins but not what probably comes to mind when you picture a penguin. These are the much smaller little blue penguins and from a distance they look much like a duck (and are about the same size). We also had a short stop-over at a small Island where we found an excellent shell collecting beach and Bree and Mom loaded up on sea shells.

Across the bay from Paihai is the small town of Russell and you can reach it by a short 15 minute passenger ferry ride. We went over for lunch one day and then checked out the local museum. They had a small replica of the Endeavour, the ship that Captain Cook arrived on. Russell used to be known as the “Hell Hole of the Pacific” as it was full of sailors but soon after the missionaries arrived and now it is a quiet little tourist town.

About 30 km from Paihai is the larger town of Kerikeri. It was a short drive and the area is full of different agricultural outlets as well as wood carving, pottery and a chocolate factory that we stopped to sample from. Located in this area is also the oldest stone house in the southern hemisphere. We spent an afternoon touring the area and found a wonderful little Japanese restaurant where we had lunch. On the way back to Paihai we stopped to see the Haruru Falls. These are not that high but look like a miniature version of the Nigeria Falls. The amazing thing was that there are no fences and if you wanted (or were crazy enough) you could walk right out onto the falls. I know some friends at home who would think this would be a great place to kayak off of.

A short walk from downtown Paihai is the Waitangi Treaty grounds. The Waitangi Treaty is the agreement that was made between the British Crown and the Maori Chiefs and was signed on February 6, 1840. We went over to the area but did not take the tour and just enjoyed the scenery instead.

Since the weather was so nice while we were here Bree and I decided to rent a kayak and do some paddling. The bay here is protected so it is one of the few areas we have been to in New Zealand where there is not surf. Bree and I got a small sit on top and headed out for an hour to explore the bay. We were able to paddle around some of the small islands and see some of the shoreline. Bree had her own paddle but spent more time enjoying the scenery (and pretending to be a chipmunk) than she did paddling.

Staying in one place for a few days has really been nice. Our hotel was walking distance to town and I have hardly driven the car at all. I think we have been very fortunate with the weather and it has been nice and relaxing to just sit by the water or stroll around the town. I am enjoying the last of the warm weather as I know it will be much colder when we head down to the South Island in early June. Now it is over to the wild west coast!

Cape Reinga

On Saturday we did the tourist thing and booked ourselves on a bus tour up to Cape Reinga at the tip of the North Island. The bus trip was 465 km total with 75 km of this driven on the beach and I was pretty happy not to have to do all of that driving myself. We were lucky because the bus held between 50-60 people but we only had 16 on our trip so we had lots of room and spread ourselves across the back of the bus.

From Paihai we drove North through Kerikeri which is the citrus capital of the north but in fact grows everything from mandarins to avocadoes. Our first stop was in the Puketi Kauri Forest where we had some time to walk through the forest and enjoy the views of the impressive Kauri trees. Kauri trees once covered the entire top of the North Island all the way down to south of Auckland but were harvested heavily by the settlers. These native pine trees are unique as their lower branches are self pruning so they grow strong, free flowing wood which was very desirable for masts and for ship building. The trees also produce gum which can be used in paints and resins. So the end result was clearing of much of the native forest and now only a few reserves remain. They are replanting Kauri trees but they are slow to grow and much of their original area has now been converted into farmland.

On the way up to the point we passed through a large beef/sheep station that is owned by the Department of Conservation but is leased to a company to run the livestock. They grazed 4,000 sheep and 2,000 beef cattle on about 22,000 ha of cleared land. I have actually seen more beef breeds up here because there is less dairy influence here.

We drove up the winding highway 11 right to tip of the North Island, Cape Reinga. Here there is a lighthouse that you can walk down to and see where the Pacific Ocean (on the west) meets the Tasman Sea (on the east). There have been some renovations made to the area to make it more accessible and as part of the project they are trying to replant native shrubs and trees in the area. As a way to raise funds they will sell you a native tree or shrub for $20 which you then get to plant and along with this you get a certificate (including the GPS coordinates of your tree). Bree decided to buy a Manuka plant and we planted it up on the hill with the lighthouse in the background. I thought this was a great way to raise funds but the fellow managing the plants said most tourists are not interested. It seems that globally conservation is something everyone seems to want but few really want to pay for it.

We had a brief lunch stop and then the bus headed off the main road and drove down Te Paki quick sand stream to get on 90 Mile Beach. This is a little tricky to navigate and if you stop the vehicle is likely to sink up to its axles in sand. Apparently a few tourists manage to get stranded here but we made it through safely. Considering our driver does this 5 days a week I was not very worried! Just before 90 Mile Beach we stopped and did some sandboarding. If you have never heard of this sport it is exactly as it sounds – going full speed on a board down the sand dunes (basically tobogganing on sand). Bree, mom and I all decided to have a go and hiked up the sand dune with boards in hand. It was quite a trek up but that made the ride down a pretty fast one. Bree went first and was a pro. I went next and was surprised at how fast I went. Lucky for Bree that she had already gone because I might have decided that this was a little too crazy for her. It is one thing to wipe out in snow but the crashes we saw in the sand looked a little more painful (not to mention that a mouthful of sand is much worse than a mouthful of snow). Mom did a nice clean run as well and Bree and I even went up for round two.

From there it was a pleasant drive down 90 Mile Beach. We stopped and Bree managed to get soaking wet playing in the surf but being a prepared mom I had packed an extra set of clothes. The drive down the beach was much faster than the winding roads and it was fun to watch the surf as we drove along. 90 Mile Beach is actually only 64 miles long but they named it back in the day that they drove it with oxen and carts. Apparently they could travel 30 miles a day and it took them 3 days to travel this stretch of beach hence the name 90 Mile Beach.

Overall it was a long but fantastic day. I am glad we did the tour so I could relax and enjoy the views. The weather was beautiful and because it is the off season the crowds were minimal. I imagine in summer that there is a steady flow of traffic out to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga and along 90 Mile Beach. We have a few more days here in Paihai and then it is over to the east coast and back down to Auckland for mom’s trip home.

Heading North

Mom arrived in Palmerston North last week and we have been pretty busy seeing the sites since then. We spent a few days in Palmy and I showed mom the local sites and then we started our trip north. From Palmerston we drove over to the East coast and spent a few lovely days in Napier. It is the off season right now so finding decent accommodation was easy and we were able to find a nice place right near the water and walking distance to town. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed warm, sunny days with highs in the twenties. We spent a morning at the National Aquarium and then booked a wine tour for the afternoon. The tour was great as they pick you up and then drive you to different wineries as well as show you some of the country side. We visited Mission Estates, Moana Park, Ngatarawa/ Farmgate and Black Barn wineries and also drove up Te Mata peak in Havelock North which gives you a spectacular view of the  Hawke`s Bay area. At each stop we tasted 4 to 6 wines so by the end of the afternoon we had sampled quite a selection and we bought enough wine to cover the rest of our trip! The tour was wonderful as the owner used to be a farmer and was able to give us all kinds of details on soil types, growing conditions and also on the agriculture in the area. We later found out he also does a day long farm tour which I would have loved to take but we were leaving town the next day.

From Napier we had a short drive inland to Lake Taupo which is the largest Lake on the North Island and was formed by a caldera volcano. We only stayed one night in Taupo but had time to tour the honey store and learn all about bee keeping and the medicinal properties of Manuka honey. We also spent some time at the volcano and earthquake centre which given all the recent activity in New Zealand is something we all felt we should learn more about. I took a run on the trails and after months of flat in Palmerston North the hills were a challenge for me. I ran up along the river to Huka Falls and on the way ran past some natural hot springs where you can enjoy a hot dip in the pools.

From Taupo it was onto Rotorua and Kawera where we stayed with Timo and Carol (Kiwi Dave’s parents). Timo took mom and me on the tour of Mata brewery where we learned all about the small New Zealand mico-brewery and sampled their wonderful beers. Mata is a Maori word meaning rawness, freshness, edge and they have a full range of beers with a Mata Manuka (golden ale with Manuka honey), Mata Artesian (lager), Mata Feijoa (fruit beer), Mata Blondie (Belgian wheat), Mata Brown Boy (amber ale) and Mata Black Bru (dark ale). Carol looked after Bree and made us a delicious lamb roats. We decided it was the best accommodation we have had! Hopefully, Timo and Carol will visit us in Canada so we can repay them for their hospitality.

Mom loves Rotorua and wanted to see the sheep show at the Agrodome again. Bree and I had been there in January so we decided to go to Paradise Valley Wildlife Park while she watched the show. At the park there was a 10 month old lion cub and Bree was allowed to pet it (through the cage). We walked through the surrounding forest area feeding the trout and the birds in the wetland area. You buy special feed at the entrance and the birds definitely know what the little white bags are – Bree had ducks and birds following her everywhere! We also spent part of a day at Te Puia which showcases the local geyers and geothermal activity as well as Maori culture. It was raining when we were there which meant the geyers were very active.

From Rotorua we planned to travel to the south side of Auckland but the driving was good and Bree was happy in the back so we pushed on through and made it north of Auckland, up to Wellsford. We spend the night here and then drove another 2 hours the next day to Paihai which will now be our base for the next 4 to 5 days. There is still plenty of agriculture in Northland but forestry is also prominent. Tourism also plays a big role as the area we are in is called the Bay of Islands and is a beautiful summer destination. We have lucked out as the weather has been beautiful and even though it is supposed to be winter I am still in jandals (flip-flops). We all look forward to staying in one place for a few nights and visiting all the local sites.

Beef Production Systems

As part of my sabbatical in New Zealand I have been writing a series of articles for the Beef in BC Magazine. This is my second article.

Part 2: Beef Production Systems 

Kia ora (Maori for hello) again! In May I gave an overview of parallels between Canadian and Kiwi agriculture and as promised this month I will focus on beef production in New Zealand, giving some background on the industry and then reviewing the main types of beef systems that are being used.

General Beef Production

You can fit New Zealand into BC 3 ½ times.  Although small in size, New Zealand spans 13 degrees of latitude and has varied topography resulting in many different land types. For simplicity sake I am going to break the grazing areas down into high country, hill country and flat to rolling country. High country is very hilly, has quite low pasture production and is generally used for sheep farming for wool production. Although still hilly, higher yielding pastures makes the hill country more suitable for meat production (beef and sheep) and limited dairy production. The flat to rolling country is the most productive land resulting in land use being dominated by the dairy industry but it is also important for beef and sheep production.

Beef cattle production in New Zealand is a low-input, pastoral based system with 95% of an animal’s diet coming from pasture. Beef production is typically combined with other livestock production, usually sheep but in some cases deer, with the beef cattle often being used to “clean-up” the pastures. Due to the reliance on pasture the majority of beef production occurs on the North Island as this has a more temperate climate. According to the 2010 statistics data the total number of beef cattle was 3.9 million and with more than 70% of these being on the North Island.

On the North Island, beef production primarily takes place on private lands that are predominantly agronomic pastures of perennial ryegrass and white clover. The land here would have originally been forest but has been cleared and with seeding, grazing and continued fertilizer application it remains as open pasture land.

Product Produced

The two main types of beef produced in New Zealand are processed beef (also called manufacturing beef) and prime beef (also called table beef or prime cuts). 80% of

 the beef produced in New Zealand is exported as processed beef. North America is the primary market for processed beef products accounting for 70-75% of New Zealand’s total beef exports. Prime muscle cuts are also exported but this is a smaller percent of the export market with the main destination being North Asia. These prime beef cuts are produced mainly from beef steers and heifers, although up to 30% of this product may come from bulls that are a dairy breed or dairy-beef cross. The processing beef comes predominately from dairy bulls and from the beef and dairy cow herds.

Beef Systems

In attempting to summarize the main beef production systems used in New Zealand I quickly ran into a few challenges. Like any system it is much more complicated than originally meets the eye and there are always the exceptions to the rule. When you categorize the systems based on animal type, much like Canada it breaks into two categories: the breeding cow herd (cow/calf operations) and growing/finishing cattle.

Cow/Calf

Breeding cow herds are often located in the hill country where pastures are mid-elevation and moderately productive. Recent numbers show a steady decline in the traditional beef breeding herd. In 2010 the percent of the total beef cattle numbers that are made up by breeding animals dropped to 28% versus 30% in 1992 and 36% in 1972. This downwards

 trend is a result of the influx of dairy animals into the beef system and less reliance on traditional beef breeds for meat production. This is heavily influenced by the fact that New Zealand focuses on producing a processed or ground beef product.

The New Zealand breeding herd production follows the pasture growth. Calving takes place in early spring on pasture, then cow/calf pairs graze through the spring and summer.  Weaning takes place in the fall when calves are approximately 8 months old. Calf weaning weights vary but a goal for producers is to wean calves at a live weight of 220 kg or better. Replacement heifers are retained and the other steers and heifers are sold at auction. In this way, the Kiwi beef system is very similar to the cow/calf production that occurs in Canada, specifically BC. However, in New Zealand many farms retain the animals to grow and finish themselves; depending on the type of land that is available and on the pasture production in that area.

There are a variety of beef breeds in New Zealand and it is difficult to characterize the beef herd. A report by Charteris and Garrick in 1996 estimated the breeding herd was m
ade up of 31% Hereford, 28% Angus, 13 % Simmental and the remaining 28% was classified as other.

Finishing

The growing and finishing of cattle is done completely on forages and therefore is often carried out on the flat to rolling country where there is good year round pasture growth allowing for faster gains. Finishing operations focus on pasture management, specifically matching feed supply to feed demand, and depending on the market can run many different age classes and types of cattle. Typically these are steer finishing, heifer finishing and bull finishing but as I mentioned in my last article these operations are often combined with other livestock production, such as contract grazing dairy heifers on this more productive land.

The steer and heifer finishing systems focus on the beef breed animals. For steer finishing the target is to get to a 300 kg carcass weight to supply the prime beef export market and for the heifers the aim is 235 kg carcass weight with these smaller cuts going to the New Zealand domestic market. The age at finishing depends on the type of pasture available and can be quite variable ranging from 18 to 34 months.

Bull finishing is something different as this focuses on using the dairy animals. The young dairy bulls are bought as weaners (approximately 10 weeks old) and then raised to slaughter weight.  Target carcass weight for an 18 month old bull is 250 kg but some farmers will keep them up to 2.5 years to a carcass weight of 350 kg or more.  By bringing in bulls at different ages and weights, the farmer has flexibility to match markets to the availability of the feed supply. 

Common in all of these beef production systems is that growth and finishing is done completely on forages. Grazing is usually done using an intensively managed grazing system with many small pastures and a rotation cycle that follows pasture regrowth. In some cases a brassicaceae crop (e.g.  turnip, canola, or kale) might be used in the grazing rotation and depending on the area some farmers might use stored forages, but this is fairly limited. What I found amazing was that the fencing, even for the bulls, usually consisted of smooth strand wire or electric fencing. I promise more detail on pasture management in my next article!

Comparison to Canadian Industry

There are some interesting similarities and differences between beef production in Canada and New Zealand. Both countries are small in terms of global beef production but are net exporters with the US being the main market for both. Year round grass growth in New Zealand makes it cost effective to produce pasture fed animals for trade whereas our Canadian export market is based on grain finished animals.

The dairy industry influences beef production in both countries but plays a very significant role in New Zealand accounting for close to 50% of New Zealand’s beef production. If trends continue, the dairy breeds will have a strong influence on future beef production in New Zealand.

The intensification of the feeding industry that has occurred in Canada will not likely occur in New Zealand as cattle are pasture fed but farms here are becoming more specialized and there are more and more farmers moving away from the traditional beef based system. It is a global economy and being dependant on trade means that many of the factors that are impacting beef production in Canada are also impacting New Zealand. It will be interesting to see how both Canada and New Zealand meet these challenges and how that will shape our beef industries in the future.

Ka kite ano (Maori for until we meet again).

The Fairy Farewell Party

Well Friday was Bree’ s last day of school in New Zealand and to make goodbye a little easier we decided to have a special party for her. Down the road from our flat is a fairy shop and they have a special room used for parties. You can book a fairy, princess, mermaid or butterfly party and they will supply a hostess, all the costumes, light refreshments and food, games, and prize bags at the end of the party. Bree has walked by this shop on her way to school every day and has always wanted to go to a fairy party so it seemed an easy choice. I was happy because I wouldn’t have to have eight screaming 6 year olds in my small flat.

We had the party on Saturday afternoon and Bree was only allowed to invite 7 other girls. This was hard for her as she would have liked to invite more but she stuck to inviting her friends from level 2 at school. On Saturday Bree woke up at 6 am running around yelling “it’s my fairy party today, it’s my fairy party today”. However, the party was not until 2 pm so I had 8 hours to keep her occupied – not an easy job. We made several crafts for all the other girls and Bree took the toys that she had gotten in New Zealand and picked out one special toy for each girl. I was amazed at her willingness to do this. She even gave her large doll “Agatha” away and that doll is very special to her.

The party was wonderful and I love that I didn’t have to do anything but I did stick around to take photos. The girls all got to pick their fairy outfits when they arrived and once suitably dressed the fairy hostess had them play some games. Then it was a fairy tea complete with fairy cake and lemonade. I also brought a small going away cake and the girls had that. Then it was fairy dancing – I tell you these 6 year olds are pretty energetic! At the end of the hour and half party all the girls received a small gift bag and Bree brought in her gifts and gave a toy to each girl.

I was a little sad watching Bree with all her new friends and knowing this would be the last time she saw most of them. Bree was fine though and kids seem to live in the moment – not thinking ahead to next week, next month. Once we leave Palmerston next week we will be travelling and I think the excitement of seeing new things will help with the saying goodbye. Also Bree knows she is going home to Canada soon and she is very excited to see all her friends at home. As hard as saying goodbye is, I think the experience over here has been wonderful for Bree and making new friends is probably much easier at 6 than at 16.

Manawatu Wind Farms

Having lived in Palmerston North for over 4 months now I have gotten quite used to our unique view of looking out and seeing a series of wind turbines scattered across the ridge lines to our east. In fact with the changing of colour of the trees and the blue sky in the background this makes a spectacular photo. But it was only recently that I decided I should learn a little more about the wind farms.

I had originally thought there was just one wind farm here but in fact there are three in existence and another being build but the role of all of them is the same – to harvest energy from the wind. One of the benefits of energy produced this way is that there are no greenhouse gas emissions and it is often referred to as “clean” energy.

The Te Rere Hau wind farm is located in the Tararua Ranges and has 97 turbines each with a tower height of 30m. Nearby the Tararua wind farm, also in the Tararua Ranges, is New Zealand’s largest wind farm with 134 turbines each with an incredible tower height of 65m. In this area there are average wind speeds of 34 km per hour and the energy generated from all of the turbines at Tararua farm is 161 megawatts with an average output of 620,000 megawatt hours. What makes the Tararua Ranges so popular for wind farms is the fact that not only are there high wind speeds but that they are fairly consistent. This region is said to be in the top 5% of wind sites worldwide.

The Te Apiti wind farm is located north of the Manawatu Gorge and was the first wind farm in New Zealand to supply power to the national grid. This area is considered to be quite windy, even by international standards, as the gorge acts like a wind funnel. This farm has 55 turbines with 75m towers and is open for the public to view. Bree and I went to visit it and it was fun to stand by the turbines and watch them turn. The blades are quite high above you but it feels like they might hit you and the sound they make is amazing.

All of these wind farms are relatively new with Tararua in 1999, Te Apiti in 2004 and Te Rere Hau started in 2006. Several of these have consent to build additional turbines and there is a proposal in place to build the Turitea wind farm in the Tararua Ranges but there has been opposition to this and the original application for 122 turbines has been reduced. As these turbines are located close to private homes there are concerns relating to visual effects and noise.

New Zealand has around 16 wind farms scattered across the country and from this supplies approximately 4% of their annual electricity generation. Although there are still impacts from wind energy production the environmental footprint tends to be smaller than some of our other energy generating options. As for the visual impacts, I think that is a matter of opinion. I don’t know that I would want a turbine in my backyard but seeing them up in the ridge line is really quite stunning. If they were on every ridge line I would probably change my tune! But for Bree and I the turbines have come to signify Palmerston North and when we are returning from a weekend trip and see the turbines in the distance we know we are almost home.