New Zealand
  • The Hurunui
  • High Country farming
  • Wildlife and recreation


    • The high country of New Zealand’s South Island, with its diversity of steep mountains, wide valleys, fast-flowing rivers, gorges and lakes was formed by combinations of seismic activity (plate tectonics) and successive periodic glaciation.

    As a reminder of this seismic activity hot springs bubble out of the mountain sides in many out-of-the-way places along the various fault lines that created the main divide.

    The flora and fauna are unique to New Zealand but many plant species have close relatives in South America and Tasmania. The main forest trees in the higher rainfall valleys close to the main-divide are mountain, red and silver beech of the genus nothofagus, with many interesting understorey trees, shrubs, ferns and herbs. Drier eastern valleys and ranges, deforested in the past by fire, have mixtures of grass with the short silver and hard tussocks along with often almost impenetrable thickets of the spiny shrub, matagouri.

    Taller stands of kanuka have now replaced some of the former mountain beech forest, while in the damp valley bottoms you will find New Zealand flax, cabbage trees, toe toe or the tall red tussock. At higher sub-alpine levels, mountain daisies, gentians and ranunculus are conspicuous when in flower.

    The only native mammal in New Zealand is a bat but we do have many species of skinks, geckos and insects such as the giant weta.

    Many interesting landforms and strata outcrops indicate New Zealands more recent geological history. Landcare Research N.Z. Ltd, one of the Government Crown Research Institutes, has many research programmes studying the ecology and monitoring the impacts of these introduced pests throughout the high country.


    The Hurunui

    The mighty Hurunui River flows out of a remote region in the mountains of New Zealand's Southern Alps. Its headwaters lie in thickly forested conservation land -- stronghold for some of the rare and endangered animals and plants which are unique to New Zealand.

    At this point it's waters cascade down the mountain sides, quickly coming together to form a small shaded river. Beautiful and welcoming on a sunny summer day, when a nor'westerly storm hits it rapidly rises sometimes breaking out of its braided river bed, carving a new course over the flat valley floor.

    Further east the Hurunui flows into Lake Sumner and gradually the forest gives way to tussock grass hill country, farmed by high country "cockies" (slang for farmer).

    This foothill region is difficult country for farming. Mustering stock from the heights is not a job for the faint hearted and with long, cold, snowy winters it is sometimes impossible to get off the farm for days on end.

    Lower down the Hurunui crashes into a gorge renowned for its kayaking and then out onto the Canterbury Plains. It is here that most of the local population live, running sheep and deer farms, shearing and working in forestry plantations. The Hurunui crosses the country to which it gives its name and then veers north before finishing its journey in the Pacific Ocean.

    Although the it is lower reaches of the Hurunui which see most activity, the upper reaches are fondly regarded for their recreational opportunities. Salmon and trout fishing, pig and deer hunting, biking, boating, horse riding and bush walking are all popular. Not to mention the natural hot pools in their quiet forest setting.


    High Country farming

    From about 1846 the first European farmers arrived in the high country and began to take up "runs" as they were called, owned by the Crown these became pastoral leases.

    Some of these properties were over 100,000 acres and the New Zealand government of the day stipulated how many sheep a run should carry. This stocking rate policy was unrealistic and responsible for much of the degradation we see in some areas today as the country could never hope to carry the number of sheep the early pasturalists were forced by economics and the government to run.

    In 1894 the governments "Advances to Settlers Act" broke up the big runs in favour of the smaller, more intensive farms we see today.

    Much of the high country is managed by the Department of Conservation. That land which is still farmed is mainly in pastoral lease from the Crown and mainly produces high quality fine wool from Merino sheep, and beef cattle.

    Much of the stock work is still done on horseback, although helicopters are often used to drop musterers and their dogs on to the tops of the mountain ranges to bring the sheep down for shearing and drenching.

    Musterer’s are men with a real love of the high country. They are usually fit young men with well trained sheep dogs who travel from one station to another during the season, bringing the sheep down from the mountains and helping with the dipping, tailing, weaning and other seasonal work that is available on the stations.

    The sheep are still shorn by blade as this leaves a little more wool on than machine shears and gives the sheep that little bit more protection against the elements. The men and women who shear the sheep work in gangs traveling from one station to another over a season until the sheep are all shorn. The shearers then return home to their families for a few months before they start again. A good blade shearer will shear up to 200 sheep a day, but this is hard work and takes a toll on the bodies of the people who do it.