The Wilderness Lodge Farm
A stay at Wilderness Lodge Arthur's Pass is a great chance to experience life on a working merino sheep farm.
On our complimentary Farm Discovery Trips you will see sheepdogs in action, hand feed lambs and learn about sheep shearing and merino wool. These trips run every second day so if you stay two nights or more you will be able to join one of these special trips.
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| Renowned for the quality of their wool, merino sheep are distinguishable by their pink noses and wrinkly necks. |
The Wilderness Lodge Farm was first settled in 1860 by the Goldney brothers and named Cora Lynn after a locality in the Dumfries district in their native Scotland. Originally 13,000 hectares (33,000 acres), much of the high mountain areas became part of neighbouring Arthur's Pass National Park and today it encompasses 2,400 hectares (6,000 acres) of the Upper Waimakariri Basin.
Since the Wilderness Lodge opened its doors in 1996 half of the property has been protected as a nature reserve with sheep excluded to allow forest and shrublands to regenerate and pest control undertaken to protect rare plants and animals such as red mistletoe and New Zealand falcon.
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| On the Wilderness Lodge farm we shear our sheep with the old fashioned hand blades. Unlike machine shears, they leave the sheep with enough wool to keep them warm in case of spring storms. |
On the remainder of the property we have worked at improving soil fertility and pasture quality to support our superfine merino breeding programme. The wool from these sheep is used in the fashion industry and we supply iconic New Zealand company Icebreaker. We also raise a flock of crossbred sheep so guests can enjoy fresh local lamb in our restaurant.
Our programme of guided trips and a 30km network of walking trails across the property provides guests with a wealth of opportunities for exploring the farm and appreciating the rich cultural traditions of sheep farming in the New Zealand high country.
Life on the Wilderness Lodge farm revolves around the four seasons...
Have a look below to see what might be happening during your stay.
(SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER)
PRE-LAMBING SHEARING. Six weeks before lambing, an itinerant shearing gang arrives and uses traditional blade shearing to shear about 1,000 sheep a day. Shearing ensures that in cold weather the ewes will seek shelter amongst the protecting shrub land (Wild Irishman/Matagouri) and not stand out in the cold with their lambs. Use of blade shears retains up to 25mm (one inch) of wool on the sheep as cold protection.
WOOL. The clip is pressed into 140kg bales. It is then sold by auction in Melbourne, Australia, or sold to buyers with whom we have wool supply contracts, such as Icebreaker (NZ), Loro Piana (Italy) and Smartwool (USA).
LAMBING. From mid-October ewes are given the most sheltered blocks and left largely undisturbed to give birth. Merino ewes usually only have one lamb, while other sheep breeds often have twins.
SILAGE. Surplus grass is conserved in November as silage. Over 24 hours we cut, wilt and bale green surplus spring growth as round bales that are tightly tube wrapped in plastic. Oxygen exclusion prevents any silage decomposition until it is fed to the stock the next winter.
(DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY)
STOCK FOOD. In summer we sow a mixture of turnips, kale and ryegrass, to be ready for use in winter when pasture growth almost stops. We will use some nitrogen fertiliser for these nutrient demanding crops.
WEANING. By January the lambs have grown very fast and are weaned from their mothers. They are big enough to fend for themselves on the best grass on the farm, while the ewes graze the hills.
LAMB SELECTION. The female lambs to be wintered here are selected, while the others are sold to meatworks or to other farmers.
(MARCH, APRIL, MAY)
RAM SELECTION. Breeding rams are purchased from ram breeders. We choose Merino rams for wool qualities that match our wool supply contracts or Suffolk or Border-Leicester rams that will produce lambs for our restaurant.
CRUTCHING. In April we remove the wool from the head, tail and belly of the sheep. This keeps them clean and tidy and means their vision is not obscured by wool.
MATING. In mid-May the rams join the ewes for the six-week mating season. There is one ram per 120 ewes. Lambs are born five months later.
(JUNE, JULY, AUGUST)
WINTER DEMANDS. Daily feeding and stock movement duties can take up all the daylight hours. Snow usually lies in the valley for only about a week each year, but there will be many frosts and life can be tough.
LOWER COUNTRY. All sheep will now be off the hills and close to home where we can feed the stock even if snow covers the ground.
WINTER FEED. In June the flock begin feeding on winter-feed crops supplemented with the baled silage and some barley grain. Temporary electric netting fencing ensures an even supply of feed and allows some rotation of grazing pressure.
FERTILISER. In late winter we apply lime, obtained from Castle Hill (40 km south), to reduce soil acidity. We also use super phosphate to promote the biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by clover, a key plant component of our ecological pasture management.
For further information - please follow the following links:
Wonderful place! Lovely sheep and dogs. Many thanks for your great hospitality, excellent food and wine and spectacular hikes.
The Buck Family, Switzerland/Singapore - 1 January 2012