52 | Wairarapa: Palliser Ridge Station REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Move to diversify pays off The off-grid Palliser Ridge Retreat, a one-bedroom cabin with arresting views over Palliser Bay and the Kaikoura coast. T T Hugh de Lacy A strategy laid out on the kitchen table in 2013 launched Lisa and Kurt Portas into a now-thriving tourism diversification at the sprawling Palliser Ridge Station, near Pirinoa in southern Wairarapa. It features the off-grid Palliser Ridge Retreat, a one-bedroom cabin with arresting views over Palliser Bay and the Kaikoura coast, but there’s also the opportunity to sample the station’s core products: beef and lamb cuts, and spun and woven lambswool. Palliser Ridge Station covers 1230ha property and carries 13,500 stock units, divided about equally between Romney sheep and finishing steers. The Portas have been on the farm for 15 years, but it was a memorable moment back in 2013 that saw them move from managing the business to having a stake in it. Palliser Ridge owners Jim and Marilyn Law bought a block of land contiguous to the main farm, and privately financed Lisa and Kurt into it with them. The Laws, no less than the Portas, were keen to look at options for diversification of the farm business, and the burgeoning farmstay market looked encouraging. “Jim had a vision, and it was an easy one to jump on board with,” Lisa says. The upshot was the opening in February 2018 of the Palliser Ridge Retreat, a gas and solar-powered rough-sawn macrocarpa cabin warmed by a log-burner, and with a hot-tub tucked into the hillside. It’s about a 10-minute drive from the Palliser Ridge Station gate, and well within shopping distance of Pirinoa village and its fine Wairarapa foods and wines. “The accommodation idea developed organically really, with a friend or family from overseas coming out – it’s not far from Wellington – and driving to the top of the farm or watching the shearing or the dogs working,” Lisa says. “We often shared the farm with guests. “People were genuinely interested, so the idea of farm accommodation was compelling.” Once opened, the demand for the Palliser Ridge Retreat grew steadily by word of mouth and social media networking. Demand went through the roof during the Covid restrictions of 2019 and 2020, and the retreat was almost constantly booked out. It’s still booked out every weekend for months ahead, with the mid-week business growing too. At the same time the farm is doing a steady trade in its Palliser Ridge branded meats, processed and marketed through the nearby award-winning Greytown Butchery. It represents only a small proportion of the station’s production – perhaps 30 stock units a month – but “It’s all about local partnerships and supporting locals,” Lisa says. The same can be said for the station’s 29-micron Romney lambswool which is shorn in February, scoured at Wool Works near Napier, and processed by Wool Yarn in Wellington into single-ply and eight-ply yarns. Some of the yarn goes to Auckland company InterWeave to be woven into throws and fabrics which Palliser Ridge Station direct-markets through its website, on social media and through corporate partnerships. “We learned from our organic growth that the new businesses had to be complementary to the core farming,” Lisa says. “They couldn’t be a drain on farm resources, especially labour.” From the outset it was important for the diversification arm of the business to stand on its own and pay its way. “It hasn’t been easy but we’re incredibly proud of the enterprise it’s become,” she says. Start the newyear fresh with Farm Focus Call us now to sign up 0800 888 080 farmfocus.co.nz 4 months free or a large Vegepod with stand* SOW& GROW SUMMER SPECIAL! O er ends 23/12/2023 *Ts & Cs apply. Proud to support Palliser Ridge Proud Suppliers of Palliser Ridge Wool Products Shop in Norsewood 75 -79 Hovding Street, Lower Norsewood 4943 And online at www.nznaturalclothing.co.nz
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