Maungakawa Views New Zealand Farmstays
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                                                                      The view from the breakfast table

News from Maungakawa Views:
January 2019
To all those lovely people that have shared "a slice of our life" at Maungakawa Views, and to those who have followed our progress with interest, we thank-you all and wish to inform you that we are closing down our "Farmstay" business to give us more time for our other interests.
December, 2018
* Guests from Singapore
* We really enjoy hosting farmstays, we meet such interesting,  genuine, nice people.   Also it makes us look at the farm and our view with fresh eyes.  It is wonderful to give this gift of sharing in our lives with others.  We are so blessed with where we live, it is such a beautiful, tranquil place
​* Attending the grandchildren's school concerts
* Weather is good and Alan is happy farming again, so we have stopped looking at houses to move to. 

November, 2018
* No guests this month
​* It was so wet and slippery on the farm during the Winter, that Alan said it was time to think about where we would live next, so we have been actively searching other properties and homes 

October, 2018
* Guests from Brisbane and Sion, Switzerland
​* We have purchased a topper to help manage the grass when it gets too long.
​* Enjoying having the grandchildren to stay during the school holidays

September, 2018
* Daylight saving started
* Guests from Lloydminster, Canada and Seattle
* We have planted more tree seedlings in the shelter belt, by the house, to replace where the fallen tree was removed.  While we doing this we were delighted to see and hear 3 native Kaka birds come and play around in the large Gum tree above our heads. 
​
August, 2018​
* A busy month on the farm with the animals;
there are lots of lambs frolicking around the paddocks, and calves are being fed by hand, we put their milk into a cafeteria for them to drink from. And there are other calves with no mothers, being given new mothers, by teaming them up with another cow who wants a calf.
The tractor has been busy feeding out haylage, which is extra food for the cows, when there is not so much grass during the winter. Also Alan moves the cows behind electric fences to give them a new fresh bite of grass each day
We now have a new pet lamb called Percy, who follows us faithfully around and is always ready for his bottle of milk.  He has a lovely warm box to sleep in at night, as we have an electric heated pad under it for him
​* Family from Hong Kong

July, 2018
* An early set of twin lambs arrived
* Family from Hamilton
* Our grandchildren stayed with us during the school holidays which was lots of fun

June, 2018
* We have enjoyed families from Austin, Texas and Singapore
* Walking with the dogs through the paddocks to check on the sheep, I was delighted to find a new lamb.  The first lamb of the season and unexpected this early

March, April and May 2018
We will not be hosting farmstay guests during March, April and May to provide the opportunity  for painting and maintenance, we look forward to restarting in June
February, 2018
* Guests from Singapore, it was lovely knowing they had come to stay with us on the recommendation of previous guests.
*  As at the 15th February we have had 234 mls of rain for the month.  Wonder how much by the end of the month?  Alan says it going to be fine :).  For the farm this is a wonderful catch up after virtually no rain in December.

January, 2018
Wishing everyone a great, happy and healthy year ahead
*  Guests from Japan, Reunion Island, Singapore and Indianopolis

​December, 2017
* We have had surplus grass and so it has been cut and preserved to feed to the cows in the winter time, when there is not so much grass around
* Mathew, our son, has been helping us with maintenance this month, using the tractor and grader blade to repair our farm roads, fence repairs and rebuilding the access over a stream which entailed drainage pipes and bridging
​* Guests from Hong Kong, 3 x families from Singapore, and from Shenzhen China, Hindeloopen, the Netherlands & Kumpar, Malaysia

November, 2017
* Guests from Adelaide, Singapore & Kuala Lumpur
* It has been a good month for maintenance, with the weather nice and fine
* We utilized a helicopter to spray fertilizer on the pastures
* We have had 2 extra large Eucalyptus Trees removed and cut up for firewood.  One had fallen in the wrong place and the other was beginning to threaten the power line

October 2017
* Guests from Sydney, Tauranga, Idaho, England and Adelaide
* We are now looking after the grandchildren's'  pet lambs   Sparkles and Milo.  A couple of characters, they have learnt how to get under fences and explore the farm
* The calves Suzy and Meg have been weaned off milk and are now having pellets and grass

September 2017
* Guests from Thailand
August 2017
* We have been awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor 
* Guests from Singapore and Atlanta
​* Suzy and Meg have now joined us. They are 2 Hereford Cross heifers. I've included their photos on our slideshow.  Shirley goes out in the morning and afternoon to feed them milk
* We are now on to our 3rd Visitors' Book
* Alan is mothering 6 calves onto 3 cows. These are cows that have calved and been sold.  We buy the cows and some calves for them to raise

July 2017
* Guests from Columbus, USA, Nanchang, China and Tokyo
* We have started lambing.  There are currently 6 sets of twins and 7 singles
* The grandchildren came and stayed for the weekend, which was lots of fun.  
* Alan has been playing several evenings of Indoor Bowls
* The birds have still not found the feeder, it appears that there is enough seeds & food on the surrounding trees and grass for them. It's been a mild, wet winter so far, so maybe this is another reason why they haven't needed it.

June 2017
* We have re-positioned the bird feeder to the edge of the garden, as the birds were not finding it. We may have had it too close to the house.   Hopefully  we will see the birds coming to eat and drink soon
​* Guests from Las Vegas

May 2017
* Guests from Hong Kong
* Enjoying lots of Bridge, Indoor Bowls and golf

April 2017
* Guests from Shanghai
* A quiet month catching up with family activities and maintenance

March 2017
* Have purchased a new dog food - chest deep freezer, the old one never stopped working so the power bills were too high
*  Alan and I traveled down to Wellington and had a few days away from the farm and caught up with lots of friends, so it was a nice break away
*  We have being playing lots of Bridge and golf  
*  Indoor Bowls has started so some of our guests have been enjoying meeting the locals and playing bowls
*  We now have a Hustler bale feeder, which attaches to the tractor and is used to feed out hay to the stock as a supplement when there is a shortage of  grass
*  Guests from England, Brunei and Whakatane - New Zealand


February, 2017
* We now have a solar water fountain in the gold fish pond, it works so well even though the day is not sunny
​* Alan and I will be having a holiday from the end of February and March.  We have bookings that are already confirmed, but we are not accepting any more farmstays during February and March 
​* Mac's training is progressing, he enjoys a run beside the car and today I was able to give him his run without the lead.  We are now using a whistle and he is responding well
​* Riley has weaned himself but still enjoys coming for a walk
* We now have a bird feeder, we just have to wait for the wild birds to find it
​* On our Tariff page I've included a slide show of photos our guests have sent us to share - some photos I haven't been able to save, so hopefully our guests will re-send them
​ * Guests from Japan, Guelph 
- Canada, Perth, and Queensland
* Goldfish have been finding the heat a challenge.  Our neigbours have helped replenish our stock and are going to help me aerate the pool.  I've been having a large golf umbrella over the pool to create some shade.  The water snails have been laying lots of eggs.
* Trixie the Fox Terrier has gone back home  
* 3 x cute fluffy Orpington chickens hatched out of 11 eggs
* 6 x Rhode Island Red fertile eggs are under another hen and I'm hoping to have a better hatching rate




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January, 2017
* We are puppy sitting the cutest Jack Russell named Trixie for 10 days
* Guests from Sydney, Chicago, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Japan
​* I'm enjoying posting photos on Instagram, using a Samsung S7 
​

December, 2016
* We began hosting farmstays in 2013 we have had 101 bookings = 325 guests.  They have brought love and friendship into our lives for which we are very grateful.   2017 is now here and we look forward to meeting new friends and sharing a slice of our life with them.
* Guests from Singapore, Hong Kong, Texas, Bangkok, Seattle & Holland


November, 2016
* The earthquake in the South Island has not affected us.  We were not aware it had happened until we read about it in the news.
* Guests from Seattle and Singapore.
​*  Check out new photos on Instagram, Maungakawa_Views_NZ


October, 2016
* Guests from Tokyo, Brunei and Singapore. They enjoyed our home cooked food and being with the animals.
* We utilized our shuttle service, to and fro to the Matamata
​i-Site.
*Have posted a video on YouTube of Alan mustering the cows.  
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Jg-HyRNKA
*Alan hired a Rotary Hoe from Morrinsville so he could  dig up a large patch of land for growing potatoes.
*It's been a good month for planting trees to provide firewood, shelter and fruit.


September, 2016
Friday 30 - We had lots of wet days during September.
4 guests from Singapore joined us for a day and we had lots of fun.  The calves are on once a day milk now and enjoy running around the paddocks. 
Sunday 25 -  Daylight Saving has started.  The lambs are growing and having a bottle twice a day.  Mac is full of energy and we are trying to train him to be well mannered.
Friday 16 - The calves, lambs & puppy have been fed and walked; now I'm tucked up inside with the fire going as it's wet and 
​foggy outside.  Just enjoying reading by the fire, (have discovered eBooks) and then I'll be off to Bridge this afternoon.
We have now named the puppy Mac.
A camper-van with a lovely family of 5 from Kuala Lumpur stayed with us for a night.
Saturday 10 - It's a glorious sunny day so have been working in the garden, weeding, planting cyclamens and the fish pond has been cleaned.  So I'm feeling very virtuous :)
* My daily routine at present is taking me outside quite often. I'm enjoying taking the puppy for a walk to and from the mailbox, it's good exercise up and down hills for the pup and me.  We are in the process of training him to sit, which he is quite good at, and answer to his name.  He needs also to learn to walk beside me so that he is not straining on his lead.
*  I think we might keep the puppy instead of finding a home for him, as it's a great incentive for me to get some exercise.  Our hills are good for getting a workout; I'm telling myself that it's okay to eat chocolate with all this exercise :)
* With the two lambs Riley and Nemo, we are feeding them a bottle of milk 3 times a day.  the hen's need fresh water, food and time out in the paddocks and with eggs to collect it is always interesting to see how many eggs each day have been laid.
* The daffodils are flowering, a lovely aspect of Spring.
* This week we enjoyed a family of six from Singapore.
* Alan docked the lambs yesterday and today he has had an enjoyable game of golf.


August 2016
* We enjoyed hosting a lovely family from Silicon Valley
* There are now 2 pet lambs for our guests to feed
* The puppy dog Mac is a joy to have around 
​

July 2016
* First frost of the season
* We now have a calendar showing available dates
* We shared our home with a lovely family from Tahiti
* It's been very wet on the farm and we are having  a month's holiday before our next guests arrive


June 2016
* There have been lambs born and two puppies
* Several families from Singapore and also Shanghai
* We have had a  very wet week, with flooding down the valley
* Alan has been looking after a friend's farm while they are overseas. He travels each day


May 2016
* We are having a holiday ourselves now as it is a quieter time
* We continue to meet great folks from around the world, this month we hosted guests from Singapore,  Auckland, USA and Hong Kong
* A big  thank you to our guests for your lovely reviews on TripAdvisor


April 2016
* Daylight saving has started.
* We enjoyed meeting guests from Newport Beach, California, Los Angeles and several families from Singapore
* Shirley visited Hobbiton and was very impressed with everything, and amazed at the number of cars and people there
* With the days getting shorter and evenings cooler we have enjoyed sitting aroung the open wood fire.
* Sometime guests sleep in the lounge and enjoy watching the fire as they go to sleep



March 2016
* This month we enjoyed guests from Hong Kong, Auckland, Taiwan, Singapore, Vancouver and Long Beach, California.
* There have been lots of enquiries for a farmstay holiday.
* Indoor Bowls has started and some of our guests were able to try their hand at bowling.
* There was a car club race on our gravel road.  So the road was closed for the duration of the day.


February 2016
* We continue to meet such interesting people, this month they were from Los Angeles, Singapore, Malaysia, San Diego and Carmel Valley
* Alan has been enjoying playing Twilight golf and catching up with friends
* We now have a Same tractor, with a front-end loader, which Alan is having lots of fun with and shifting dirt around
* Shirley has had her first game of Bridge for the year and enjoyed meeting up with friends
*  Our world map of guests is filling up, so much so we are thinking of getting a larger map


January 2016
* This month we enjoyed guests from Germany, Singapore, Canada and California
* We have been travelling around the country looking at tractors, to replace our existing one
* Another lovely harvest of honey
* A heat transfer system has been installed in the ceiling to take heat from the kitchen to bedrooms
* A day at the beach with our extended family and fun having our granddaughter staying during the school holidays

​* Also Alan's sisters and their husbands  joined us for a pot luck lunch in the garden, which was lovely as we hadn't seen them at Christmas

December 2015
* Guests from San Francisco, Melbourne and several groups from Singapore
* We have harvested our first batch of honey
*  A new Visitors' book has begun
* The pet lambs have been shorn and have now weaned themselves, but still enjoy coming up to say hello.


November 2015
*  We have had guests from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, London and Sydney
* The swings and trampoline are getting lots of use
*One more page to go and then we will need to use a new guest book
* We have increased our bee hives to 5
* The helicopter was used to put fertilizer on the paddocks
* The pet lambs are weaned but still enjoy coming  for a bottle of water


October 2015
* This month we have had guests  from Auckland, Wellington, Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai
* We have a New Zealand flag at the entrance
* The pet lambs are growing fast and only need a bottle of milk 3 x day now


September 2015
* We have had guests from Australia & Singapore
* We now have a wooden sign named 'Maungakawa Views' at our entrance. The GPS in some cars took them past our driveway
* Alan has been finding time in the evening to play Indoor Bowls
* Shirley has been getting into town to play Bridge at the Club and friends' houses
* Lovely Spring weather although we still have the fires going
* Alan enjoys shearing a sheep for our guests
* Our pet lambs are now named - Lisa, Jess & Charity
* Time to prepare lunch for our guests while they are on the farm with Alan

August 2015
* We have had guests from China, Singapore & Australia
* There are pet lambs for our guests to feed.
* Flower our pet cow has had a calf.
* Our guests enjoy using the trampoline and swings.
* We are now listed on Trip Advisor. 

* We had two hail storms in one day!
* Our guests continue to bring us much joy.
* We are having calves and lambs being born.
* Our last guests were able to watch a calf being born at the neighbours.


July 2015
* We have had guests from Singapore
* Several days of heavy frosts


June 2015
* Guests from Hong Kong & England
* Early set of twin lambs  one is white and the other black.  


March 2015
* Our guests enjoyed gathering mushrooms and then to eat them with their breakfast.
*  We now have beehives and so next Summer we will be able to harvest beautiful honey straight from the farm


​July 2014
* Guests from Singapore

June 2014
* Guest's from Australia
* Tress our female dog has just had a cute puppy
* Twin lambs born, usually they come in August, but nice for our guests to enjoy
* Days and nights getting colder and shorter, so enjoying the open wood fire in the lounge
* The soup pot is on, nothing nicer with scones


May 2014
* We have had guests from the U.S.A.
* Alan & Shirley's 30th Wedding Anniversary, the family came bringing food and the weather was so nice we all ate outside
* Our guests enjoy playing Indoor Bowls at our local hall
* 3 x chickens have hatched out


April 2014
* A hen is sitting on 8 eggs which are due to hatch shortly.  We always enjoy seeing new chickens
* Mushrooms are in season so have the pleasure of walking through the paddocks and harvesting for breakfast, or any meal actually

* Easter time saw us having a family picnic by the creek.  Some meat was thrown into the water and a friendly eel, about 3' swam up to the delight of all the children and adults.
* Our world map featuring guests has lots of photos - thank you Mark and Maya for your good suggestion


March 2014
*
Very welcome rain at last. "Luzi' has brought gentle rain and no damage
* Alan has finished rebuilding 430 metres of boundary fence.
* The grass is very brown as it's been a while since we have had any rain.  We are watering the lawn.
* The maize has been harvested.
* Some of our guests have enjoyed visiting Hobbiton before or after staying with us.
* A new record was set for the bush walk up Maungakawa, we tell our guests it is a 4 hour round trip, but our recent guests completed it in 2 hours!


August 2013

* Lambing has started.
* Calf rearing is in progress.
* Guests from Boston


July 2013
* The wool-shed looks so good now, Alan has made a lovely job
of painting it.    
* Quite a few rainy days and it's good to have layers of clothes
on for warmth.

 June 2013
* The fire is going and the soup pot is on...
* On a beaut sunny day Alan went  down to the mid-week Golf Tournament.
* Alan helped the Walton Golf Club with the shearing of their ewes.
* Winter is here.  We've been having foggy, overcast mornings  but often the sun comes through the clouds, fog lifts and we have a lovely sunny day. 
* The deciduous trees have those lovely autumn colours and
the lawn gains a carpet of brown, gold and red leaves.


May 2013
* Our first official Farmstay guests have arrived from San Diego
* Alan & Shirley's 29th Wedding Anniversary.
* Alan finishes shearing the ewes

March 2013
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