Ridgecliff

Name: Ridgecliff
Address: 971 Chorlton Road, Little Akaloa, 7583, NZ
Telephone: +64278384030

Coastal country escape located in a sixth generation family hill country farm in the Banks Peninsula.

05/12/2023

Wonderful to round out 2023 with the launch of Ridgecliff Farms newest accommodation offering 'Big Hill'.

A place where Farm, Bush and Ocean meet to embrace this wild and natural place. Big Hill Luxury Retreat opens its doors this month (Hamish is no longer allowed to have his smoko here🤠 although he has earnt a few nights here with all his hard work on this project).

If this sounds like a place you would like to visit in 2024, we have a friends and family opening special that may tempt you. Gift vouchers available if you are as organised as us with Christmas shopping😉

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02/04/2023

Early Autumn Farm Update ~

Autumn is the time in the farming calendar when focus turns to preparing for next season. The rams (male sheep) have joined the ewes (female sheep) to mate. It is important the ewes are in peak condition and feed well to ensure they all cycle quickly and have the highest chance of becoming pregnant.

The farm has benefited from some wonderful rains allowing the pastures to recover from the summer dry period.

Some paddocks that were given the chance to go to seed are rested from grazing at this time. This enables the seed to germinate and strengthen our pastures going forward. Species include subterranean clover, chicory and plantain.

We are gathering native seeds around the farm that will be propagated and planted in 2024, always on the look out for new species that we have yet collect to maximise diversity. We will begin plant maintenance on our regenerating bush mostly weeding and spraying to control the growing grass around the little plants.

Autumn brings a slowing of tempo and adjustment to schedules with the shorter days. It provides us with a chance to reflect on the season been and plan for the season ahead deciding what we will try that is new and what we continue.

We hope you all settle into the rhythm of the new season.

# bankspeninsula

09/01/2022

A sandy beach with a pontoon to swim out to and bath on in the middle of the bay. A wharf for jumping off into the ocean.

Happy summer days.

holiday

07/01/2022

Our family wishes you a happy new year. We have been emmersed in coastal country life, family time and hosting all our wonderful guests at Accrington Farmhouse during this festive time.

2021 saw us emerged from a challenging 18 months of drought and end with a total contrast of abundant feed. It has reminded us how cruel and kind nature can be and how adaptable we must remain when working on the land.

With international travel restrictions we have seen a growing demand for close family and friends to gather, connect and create memories. We have loved how Accrington Farmhouse is providing that space for intimate gathering in these times.

2022 will see us continue to share our Ridgecliff life with you. We have many beautiful things planned for the year ahead.

Thank you for your support and sharing our journey with us. We feel the best is yet to come. Take care.

-- Annabel & Hamish Craw
Ridgecliff

09/12/2021

When the freshly shorn sheep blend with the Sally Holmes roses.

Today we are shearing the ewes and they graze the wild grass bank of The Farmhouse driveway straight from the woolshed before heading back out on the farm. After a day off feed they eat all the grass without leaving behind there you know what on the driveway 🤭. The perfect lawn mowers. (Swipe for a before of the driveway).

Our stories have some BTS driveway footage and the lovely back drop they make to the garden.

07/12/2021

Morning sun rises over the low cloud as we muster our ewes and lambs in for weaning.

Gathering all the mobs from around the farm to the yards. An early start allows us to beat the heat and makes for an easier walk to the woolshed.

03/12/2021

The simplicity and grace of country driveways gets me every time. The length of rural enterances to homes allows the anticipation to gather and sets the tone for whats to come.

Recently we have decided to leave the bank under the pin oaks at The Farmhouse to its own devices and not trim or graze with stock (mostly so the sheep do not leave their p**p on the driveway). The wild grasses and flowers now bloom and go to seed and change colour with the seasons.

The contrast between the untamed and mown grass is such a wonderful statement and I could sit for hours looking down this bending drive to the hillside of grazing sheep.

13/10/2021

We are learning as we go with our 18 hectare native biodiversity restoration project. In 2020 the first stage saw us plant Kanuka in the north west facing ridges and gullies. This acts as a nursery establishment crop and other natives will be introduced in coming years. We have had a 80% survival rate which is really pleasing given the extreme drought we experienced. However the failures on the exposed ridges got us thinking about what we could do differently.

This has led us to try Ngaios as the main nursery crop on those challenging locations. Ngaios sprout up all around the Accrington Farmhouse garden and our home garden so a couple of months ago we potted up close to 100 seedlings from both gardens and planted them in the restoration site as a trial while we wait for more seedlings from our propergator next winter.

This week we also decided to direct seed Ngaios onto the hills. We planted seed I had soaked for 48 hours into grass spots that Hamish had sprayed. We will be watching 👀 patiently to see what happens next.

Now that we have Ngaios in the block we can no longer use sheep to keep the grass down (sheep don't touch the Kanuka but will enjoy nibbling on Ngaios) so this means grubbing, wedding and spraying around each individual plant until they grown higher than the pasture and weeds around them.

We have had a few questions about our native restoration project so please feel free to ask us any questions or share any knowledge you may have.

Address

971 Chorlton Road
Little Akaloa
7583

Telephone

+64278384030

Website

http://www.ridgecliff.co.nz/

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