Nature Heritage Fund purchase of Kaihoka land
Joyce Wyllie bottlefeeds her two Berkshire-cross piglets. In the background is the Mt Lunar limestone ridge running along to Curious Cliff, part of the recent purchase by the Nature Heritage Fund. Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
Two separate blocks of Kaihoka land, totalling 189 hectares, were purchased earlier this month by the Nature Heritage Fund from Grant (Jock) and Joyce Wyllie.
The double purchase, for $500,000, was for a 12ha remnant strip of northern cedar forest on stabilised dune land that runs through the Wyllie’s farm to the adjoining Kaihoka Lakes Scenic Reserve, and a 177ha block comprising the Mt Lunar (239m) limestone ridge and terrace to Curious Cliff along with the adjoining Barren Hills, down to the coast and sea cliffs at Nguroa.
In a press release, Conservation Minister Kath Wilkinson described the purchase as a “boon to the community”.
Joyce Wyllie said that the purchase was also a great result for herself and Jock.
“We never intended to develop or intensively farm these areas – the 12ha bush block was already fenced off from stock, so not much will change there. It’s just that the Nature Heritage Fund purchased it for public ownership at a fair price. It should be appreciated that these outstanding landscapes now being recognised as nationally significant are often a result of outstanding management. They aren’t covered in gorse or pine trees. The forest remnants are often fenced. If the Government want to acquire private land for the nation, then it’s only right a fair market price should apply.”
It is not the first time that the Nature Heritage Fund has approached the Wyllie family, who have been farming their 1180ha station at Kaihoka since 1947, now for three generations. This latest, finally successful negotiation had its beginnings three years ago when a team of Botanical Society members (including botanists Shannel Courtney and Simon Walls) conducted two field trips to the Wyllie farm to list the flora species that grow along Lunar Ridge and Barren Hills.
In the challenging country of limestone outcrops and infertile conglomerates, they documented a diverse range of regionally rare plant communities, including unique orchids and salt turfs on the coastal cliffs.
“The array of species here is unique…many have disappeared nationally, and this is probably the last place they occur in combination,” stated their report.
Although the newly purchased blocks will be open to public access, DOC has indicated that no new tracks or walkways will be built and that the land will be largely left as a preserve of plants. The 12ha block once provided rough 4WD access down to Kaihoka beach, mainly for paua gatherers, but that vehicle access ended last year. Instead, Jock and Joyce now allow walking access to the beach from Kaihoka Road, down a natural gully corridor they call Khyber Pass.
Joyce has long been outspoken against a TDC move to designate all rural land along Golden Bay’s northwest coast an “Outstanding Natural Landscape”, fearing maybe even more restrictions and costs running their farm.
“The huge difference with declaring outstanding natural landscapes is that they don’t have to come up with the money, and we get lumbered with the responsibility of managing it within regulations and restrictions. There should at least be rating relief, but our rates bill this year is already around $18,000.”
Jock agrees, saying the profitability of their coastal farm has been hard hit by rising costs.
“We used to run 8,000 stock units, but we’ve reduced that to 7,000 now to concentrate more on high stock performance. This farm used to get 180 tons of super [superphosphate] annually topdressed by plane, flying off our own strip, but it’s nothing like that now. Two years ago, we didn’t put any on because we couldn’t afford it. The money from the sale of these two blocks will largely just go into repaying debt and our operating budget.”
The Wyllies have also been pinning their hopes on subdividing and selling three sections of 12ha, 4ha and 3ha next to the inlet (along with setting aside four reserves of roughly equivalent areas), which they’re calling “bach-in-the bush blocks”, because house sites would be the only area any prospective owners would be able to clear under proposed council regulations. Their application has been going through for around four years and has attracted five objections. A hearing has taken place and TDC’s decision is expected soon.
“The sheep and cattle farming we do out here is marginal now,” said Joyce. “And all this bureaucracy certainly doesn’t make life any easier.”
Gerard Hindmarsh
