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More recently, in 2019, it became the base for their agritourism business “Heights Experience”.
“We knew that we had a beautiful location,” Anna said.
A mural on the woolshed wall highlights the farm’s setting beneath the picturesque Tararua Range, where they breed and finish sheep and beef.
They also have a herd of about 70 velveting stags.
Blair’s 20 years-plus of stock agent experience come in handy, and they also lease his dad’s farm in Marton for finishing stock.
It’s been “pretty lean times” for farming recently, though they remain positive about the industry’s future.
The couple wanted to diversify the farm operation and offer Anna some flexibility between helping run the farm, managing the admin and working around their two children’s schooling and sporting commitments.
The original woolshed, when the property was purchased by Anna's family in 1907, has seen many uses since then and these days acts as a function space. Photo / RNZ, Gianina Schwanecke
They looked at setting up a farm walk or glamping option, but wanted to do something “really different”.
With Blair a keen duck shooter, it made sense to introduce claybird shooting, which was followed by archery and axe throwing.
A mural of the Tararua Ranges which the farm sits under. Photo / RNZ, Gianina Schwanecke
The busy couple admit Heights Experience does tie up a few weekends.
To ensure they still get some quality family time, they limit it to Fridays and Saturdays, with the odd mid-week corporate event.
It's a juggle for the busy couple and their family. Photo / RNZ, Gianina Schwanecke
They close over the winter months, too.
“To have a business off the side of this, it pays for the extras that we can do with our family.
“It also does give you the interaction with the public,” Blair told Country Life, adding it made him proud of what they’re doing on-farm.
The Heights Experience includes a range of outdoor activities, including clay bird shooting, archery, axe throwing, a golf challenge, as well as lawn games. Photo / RNZ, Gianina Schwanecke
Anna agreed it was “really special”.
“With people coming for Heights Experience, you get to see the farm through their eyes and it sort of makes you appreciate and realise, one, how lucky we are - there’s not many generational family farms left - but also the environment we live in is beautiful.
“We’re very conscious we’re the guardians of this land for the next generation.”
Blair, too, is conscious of the connection between different generations, adding they wouldn’t be on-farm if not for the opportunities presented by both their parents, though he joked, “sometimes you wonder if it’s an opportunity or a hindrance”.
