Hugh & Raewyn’s Home: Fairlane in Karaka

We arrived in New Zealand on November 15^th, having left Toronto on November 13^th with an eight hour layover in Vancouver. Hugh Ross met us at the airport at 6 a.m. and took us to his home in Karaka. He and his wife, Raewyn were dairy farmers with about 200 acres and several years ago sold off all but 45 acres of their farm to Wesley College and some smaller acreages to “Lifestylers” – city folks who want a place in the country that isn’t on a beach.

On November 19^th, after attending the Pukekohe Farmer’s Market, we drove about an hour distance north of Auckland to Rae’s sister’s beach house located at Lang’s Beach. The house is situated high on the hill with a magnificent view of the beach and some islands a few kilometers out in the ocean. The road down to the beach is steep, so by the time we walk down and along the shore, we’ve had a good morning of exercise.

The nearby towns of Waipu and Mangawhai are quite small but we’ve been able to find all that we need in provisions for home cooked meals. There are some ‘Take Aways’ that cook roasts and veges, a delicious home cooked meal without the work!

Neaby is a wildlife reserve with lots of nesting birds for Magi to photograph. There are also some roped off areas on our beach for a few birds who have decided to nest there. Yesterday we saw a family with two chicks.

The land around Lang's Beach is very hilly so there are numerous dairy, beef and sheep farmers. We’ve also seen some beautiful thoroughbred horses in the pastures.