A holiday on the farm
Holly Farm is an isolated Rangitikei romney stud farm with a 360 view that shows even the South Island on a clear day. The ideal spot for a farmstay – tourists, city-slickers and newly weds come for the peace and quiet and the chance to get their hands di
Climbing the driveway into Holly Farm you can’t help but be impressed by the surrounding landscape. Behind the house rolling hills undulate and rise to a point so high a farm track is all that suggests access to the other side.
The house is nestled low on the 1200-foot-high country farm and despite the drought season, the 850-acre land is promisingly green as it soaks up the latest rain.
‘‘You feel as though you’re miles from anywhere don’t you?’’ Mrs Smith says.
She has just driven the quad-bike up to the highest point of Holly Farm – the view is breathtaking. Isolation and tranquility. There is a panoramic view of Wanganui, Palmerston North, Mount Taranaki, Mount Ruapehu, Kapiti Coast and even the South Island on a clear day.
All that can be heard is the hum of the bike, the odd bleat from ewes due for mating and panting from Lex the dog.
It could be the remote location, the stunning views, or the rural hub on their doorstep – either way, Holly Farm Cottage is a farmstay with a difference.
The macrocarpa log cabin perches a safe distance from the main house – removed enough that newly weds and tourists have privacy, yet close to the action if they want to don the gumboots and get involved.
The cottage was built by the Smiths and a neighbouring builder, using wood from the farm cut with their own sawmill – their carbon footprint is so small even Nandor Tanczos would be proud.
The smell of stained wood still permeates eight years after it was built, adding to the nature-filled experience for visiting city-slickers.
Holly Farm Cottage opened to its first guests in 2001 and since then most business has come from weddings at the Orlando Country function centre.
And Mrs Smith spends a lot of time ‘‘doing it up a bit’’ with all the bells and whistles for the newly weds.
Tourists often get treated to a singing and guitar performance of a song written about New Zealand by Mrs Smith at evening meals.
They love it and it gets them a bit choked up, Mr Smith says.
But guests are mainly left to their own devices.
‘‘A lot of people have never heard silence before. If you’re in a city there’s always [distractions],’’ Mr Smith says.
For foreigners especially, tramping to the top of the hill or through the bush walks is something of a novelty.
‘‘If you come from the middle of Frankfurt, this is a spectacular place to come up and have a cup of tea,’’ Mr Smith says while standing where many family and friends came to see in the millenium overlooking fireworks from each city.
Grazing cattle look curious as the Rangitikei farmer points out a pocket of native bush surrounding a more than 200-year-old rata tree.
The 8-acre block is a Queen Elizabeth National Heritage Trust covenant – just like another 35-acre block that was purchased to be reverted to native plants.
The planting will stop erosion and keep stock from being lost to the steep and dangerous land while allowing them to claim carbon credits, Mr Smith says.
Wild sambar deer will need to be hunted to protect the trees, he says.
A relatively flat paddock at the highest summit would make a perfect location for another house, Mrs Smith says. She has it all planned out. ‘‘One that revolves all the way around . . .well if it’s possible for milking sheds then why not?’’
A gamble of which view will greet you in the morning, that’s a compelling idea.
The remote rural area is not known for its tourism industry but people still find them via the internet, Mr Smith said.
‘‘I’m sure there is a good future in farmstays, people like doing this sort of thing now.’’
The land has been in the Smith family for years, but it is Maureen and David who took over the farm after marrying in 1971.
Holly Farm has more than doubled from its original 300 acres after the Smiths bought each neighbouring property as they became available.
They raised their two sons Cameron and Howard on the farm – Cameron works alongside his father and Howard is a design engineer in Wanganui.
Besides its romney stud, Holly Farm is also used for forestry and some cropping.
In 1991, the Smiths were the North Island winners of the prestigious AC Cameron Award for excellence in farming and community service.
They travelled to Britain for the Royal Agricultural Show.
The latest venture has been the purchase of a south suffolk stud to breed rams and sell the progeny as terminal sires.
Grazing of weaner dairy calves and fattening of around 250 cattle is what helps take the sting out of current sheep and wool prices, Mrs Smith says.
But with rain clouds on the horizon and a chirpy fantail making itself at home in the farmhouse, things are not so bad.
‘‘We wouldn’t swap it for anything,’’ Mrs Smith says. ‘‘It’s all we know,’’ Mr Smith adds.