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00:05Proudly celebrating 60 years of rural New Zealand.
00:10Chundae Country Calendar.
00:16Mum's pretty stressed out, you know, like it's a hard time of year during the harvest season.
00:22Nice to finish actually. I think my whole family's wrapped.
00:29Each pot is like the end of really hard work. Yeah, it's very rewarding.
00:50It's an exciting time of the year for Rachel Stebbing,
00:53the owner of Waitahanui Aperies based on the shores of Lake Taupo.
00:59We're just waiting for my eldest daughter, Charlie, to come in from her main mahi,
01:03and her and I are going to go out and check our hives.
01:08Up here on the central plateau, the mānuka honey season is drawing to a close.
01:15We are going to go and harvest the pollen that we set up recently and take away the pollen traps.
01:22We'll see what we've got.
01:23We should also be ready to harvest the last of our mānuka tomorrow as well.
01:28So it's a full-on day. It's so exciting. We'll see what the season has brought us.
01:35The Stebbing Farno also runs a trucking business from their home,
01:39which means daughter Charlie is often on hand to help Mum out.
01:50Hi, Mum.
01:51Hi, love. Ready to go?
01:53Yeah. Have you got my bee suit?
01:55Yeah, here's your bee suit. I've got our smoker, high needles.
02:00We're ready to go.
02:02Sweet.
02:07I wonder how the bees are going to be today.
02:10Well, the honey throw is finished, so lucky I brought us heaps of pine needles.
02:14We'll have to smoke them up.
02:18How was your day at Mahina?
02:20Yeah, it was good.
02:21It was busy.
02:22Thanks for coming out, too.
02:27We're at Mankota Block.
02:29My hubby Whakapapa's here.
02:36You know, especially my eldest daughter and youngest, Charlie and Johnny Lee,
02:41can come at the drop of a hat, really.
02:44In our beekeeping season, that's when we are on the move.
02:48We're harvesting honey, shifting hives, and when they help me out,
02:52it just makes my job a lot easier.
02:56Beekeeping's physically hard work.
02:58So, yeah, you really need the strength, the muscle.
03:02All right, get cracking.
03:06We'll start on my side.
03:09Okay, we'll do this one, eh?
03:10Yeah.
03:12Quick smoke.
03:14We're unique in the sense that we are organic beekeepers, so we manage our hives using an oxalic staple.
03:23Okay, so there's about 20 kilos, maybe.
03:27Bees naturally make oxalic acid, but we put it in a concentrated amount on the paper staple,
03:34and it's that concentrated amount which is toxic to the varroa mite.
03:41And it's given us a little bit of an edge being certified organic.
03:45There's a niche in the market that's expanding.
03:50It's a better way of beekeeping for me.
03:52I appreciate more the hard work that the bees actually do,
03:57and what goes into managing hives, because they're farmed.
04:02We're the farmer, you could say.
04:05It's our role to look after them.
04:10Do you want me to lift it?
04:11Yeah, you can lift this one.
04:14Rachel's organic status has also opened up a new market for Waitahanui apiaries.
04:21The bees come in through here, and the idea is when they come up,
04:27the pollen that is on their legs drops off into a base.
04:31This has been, what, three days.
04:35Pollen trapping is new for me.
04:37Early spring through to early summer is when beekeepers who harvest pollen
04:42start wear at the end of summer.
04:46But we've got inkweed that's in flower right now,
04:48so I just wanted to get an indication of what pollen
04:52or the amount of pollen that that source brings in.
04:56It's not too bad, but it is minimal.
05:00Pollen typically is used as a health supplement.
05:03But they've been using them in medical products like creams.
05:08We've got a buyer for any pollen that we harvest.
05:12We're going to include that in our beekeeping operation.
05:15More hard work.
05:22The bees have also added another job to today's list.
05:27We've got a swarm that have escaped from one of their hives.
05:32The queen will naturally swarm.
05:34We try and mitigate it by requeening annually.
05:38It doesn't always work.
05:41You take the lid off.
05:42Yep.
05:43I am an outdoors person, so I grew up on a farm,
05:47so it was quite natural that I ended up, you know, doing an outdoor job.
05:52I didn't think of beekeeping, but, yeah, ten years later.
05:58But, yeah, love it.
06:01There she is.
06:02Oh, yeah.
06:03Oh, she's in there.
06:04Yeah.
06:05They've got to settle.
06:06We know that the queen is in there.
06:09So we'll come back this evening, close the box up and take it to a new site.
06:15In the meantime, it's back home to husband John and the rest of the whānau to share some good news.
06:22Let's all go around here.
06:24Moko washing the truck.
06:25Daughter drives it.
06:27Yeah, the wife's the beekeeper, so she's gone from being a beekeeper to an entrepreneur,
06:33and she's pretty good at it too, you know, like, because in beekeeping,
06:36everybody just gets all the honey in, you know, selling the drums.
06:39But she's had to go to the stage of selling her own honey.
06:42So, which has been pretty good.
06:44Clever put a bit of a damper on everything that happened around here.
06:49A lot of big companies sort of fell over and went a bit broke,
06:53but I suppose, like, we've got a logging truck and a family unit that works pretty good together.
06:59So, yeah, we seem to be moseying along pretty good.
07:02How's your day?
07:04All good, all good.
07:05What's for tea?
07:07I don't know. I was going to ask you the same question.
07:12Rachel's cousin, Leah Kawati, a former wedding photographer, helps run the Waitahanui Apiaries brand.
07:20I think being a family business, it definitely makes it more special.
07:24Rachel and I grew up together.
07:27But, you know, working together can maybe change the dynamics of it, but it hasn't.
07:33It's just been fun the whole way.
07:36And I think the reason for that is because Rachel does things properly.
07:43There's no half pie with anything.
07:46How are you going?
07:47Yeah, good.
07:48Out of the highest look.
07:49We've got a big day tomorrow, eh?
07:51Cool.
07:53Probably averaged about 15 kilos a box.
07:56Oh, nice.
07:57So, yeah, no, we're all set for tomorrow.
08:10The end of an unpredictable honey season is in sight for Rachel Steving and her team,
08:16here on the Mangakoura block in Waitahanui on the shores of Lake Taupo.
08:24The weather impacts whether we get a crop of honey or not.
08:28So the beekeeper will do their part, get their hives up to scratch,
08:32and then the rest is down to the weather.
08:34So this season, we actually put our hives in early into the manuka, a week early,
08:40because the weather was just, it popped, and I was like, oh, yes.
08:44And then it was good for about three weeks, and we went and checked our hives,
08:48and so we had a full box of honey, and I was like, oh, beauty.
08:52So we put one more box on, and then about a week into it, the weather turned,
08:58and so that was pretty much the end of it.
09:01Yeah, but it is what it is.
09:04You all want to be putting your hoods on.
09:09Currently we're running 150 hives.
09:12When we did our check, it looks as though we've got about 15 to 20 kilos of manuka,
09:18a box, so, you know, that's pretty good.
09:21We're, you know, got to be happy with that.
09:23So we'll swap over our propolis mats as well today, have a quick brood check.
09:28We've already put new staples in for the management of Baroa mite.
09:34We're tracking good. Head over to Kurato, get the honey extracted.
09:38Yeah, so looking forward to that process.
09:44I've got my youngest daughter, Johnny Lee, with me today.
09:48I'm quite lucky that my girls are flexible with their work, with their paid jobs.
09:55So Johnny Lee will have a Friday off, working safe.
09:58I'll steal her on a Friday, Saturday, sometimes a Sunday, to help me out.
10:05I like helping mum whenever she needs a hand with mahi and beekeeping.
10:09It's cool.
10:10Mum's pretty stressed out, you know, like it's a hard time of year during the harvest season.
10:18Can I have your hive tool? Yeah.
10:21Mum's passion for the bees is, it's pretty amazing.
10:26Like, I've seen her evolve beekeeping and the passion for it.
10:32Like, she's the most driven person I've ever met, which is really cool.
10:37And it helps us, as our daughters, to see that.
10:40And it helps us all be like that, which is cool.
10:44Did you put the new propolis mats on? No.
10:48We start early in the morning.
10:49It's a very hot job.
10:51I want to be done and dusted by lunchtime.
10:56We keep the manuka wax and we make a nice bee balm.
11:01It keeps our frames of honey clean.
11:06Cousin Leah is also on hand to take snaps for social media.
11:11This has really taken me just down a completely different path.
11:16You know, I feel like we learn something new all the time about the bees.
11:21We've been doing this for 12 years.
11:24And, yeah, I'm still learning new things.
11:27We've been involved with the scientists now
11:30and just all the things that come with what's in the honey,
11:33health benefits and things like that.
11:35It's just amazing.
11:36And just the bees themselves.
11:38They're just incredible.
11:41Every time we bring the hives in here and then we take the honey off,
11:45it's different every single season.
11:48The trees are the same around here,
11:50but the bees just collect differently.
11:54We've had honey come off that's really dark,
11:57and then we've had honey come off that's very, very light,
12:00and they all have different tastes.
12:01The bees are in the same place, but they're just collecting differently
12:05from each native tree.
12:09This is a manuka block as well.
12:11Manuka, kānuka.
12:13But the honey tests will tell us exactly what percentage.
12:18It's full on.
12:20It can be quite stressful.
12:21But this is the end of our honey harvest for the season,
12:24and I'm excited to get the honey extracted.
12:28Yeah, it's nice to finish, actually.
12:31I think my whole family's wrapped.
12:38Once loaded, the honey is transported
12:40to the Smoking Joes processing plant in Kutatau,
12:44on the western side of Lake Taupo.
12:49Owner and friend Wallace Steele oversees the process.
12:53Hi, Rach.
12:54How are you?
12:55Good.
12:56Nice.
12:57OK, so we've got the last of our season's honey on.
13:00Amazing.
13:01Yep, ready to be extracted.
13:02Well done.
13:03Yeah, thanks.
13:03Almost at the end.
13:05Yeah.
13:07It's lovely having Rach as a contractor come through,
13:11and she always brings in really nice, clean, heavy boxes.
13:14The honey's always tasting beautiful,
13:17and, yeah, it's really, really high-quality manuka.
13:25Rachel's passion for organics is infectious.
13:29She's supported me along the way, helping me get our organic status.
13:34Manuka is already in very rural areas, and a lot of our honey is already organic.
13:39So it was just taking advantage of that by showing the steps that we've taken to show that the honey
13:45is organic.
13:47And it's not just the honey that is sought after.
13:51Cell biologist Iona Ware has come from Auckland to pick up the pollen samples gathered yesterday.
14:00We've clinically proven that our fermented, pollen, honey, propolis mix, mirosil,
14:06is actually working for vaginal atrophy.
14:11My training is a PhD in cell biology with a bit of biochemistry.
14:17My focus knowing the biochemistry is how to develop natural products that actually treat human conditions.
14:24We'll just check the moisturize.
14:27Yep.
14:28I wanted to develop a 100% natural product range, but have it actually pharmaceutical level.
14:34It's around 18%, so it's good.
14:38I've been looking for suppliers who can actually guarantee that it's organic.
14:42Every single ingredient that goes into my products, I know right to the source,
14:46exactly what field, what mountain, et cetera, they come from,
14:50because that's absolutely critical, and I like to know that there's no pesticides, herbicides,
14:55so Rachel's setup is perfect.
14:59And nothing goes to waste.
15:02Back in Waitahanui, Rachel's working with the wax they scraped off earlier today.
15:11Every part of what the bees produce, we're using in skin care now.
15:16The honey's edible.
15:17It's used in medicine.
15:19That's the propolis, you know, your medical grade manuka.
15:22Wax is no different.
15:24It's used in cosmetics.
15:26We have a lovely lady who makes a product for us, a bee balm,
15:30and she uses the wax in that.
15:40Rachel Stebbing, owner of Waitahanui Apiaries, has woken to some good news.
15:45Nice, nice.
15:47While you're over there.
15:48They've secured a buyer in Bulgaria,
15:51which marks the end of a collapsed European market.
15:54So you're all good with the order?
15:56Thank you, Leah.
15:57Thank you, Rachel.
15:58I can't wait, really.
16:00That is so cool.
16:01Yeah, yeah.
16:02We've got our EU market back,
16:04and so it's a nice space to be in at the moment.
16:07So we're looking at expanding again, growing our hive numbers again.
16:11It's looking positive.
16:14The local market is also strong.
16:17Mark Savile from Hookah Hives has helped Waitahanui Apiaries move into retail
16:21after meeting Rachel and Leah 10 years ago at the local markets.
16:27The product that she makes, as far as we're concerned, it's world class.
16:31It's as good as anything else that we can supply to our customers in New Zealand.
16:36The staff love the story.
16:37They love the locality of the story.
16:40Customers are starting to increasingly look for organic products,
16:44products that are non-pasteurised,
16:47haven't been tampered with, don't have any additives.
16:50All the honeys in our store meet those requirements,
16:53and Rachel's would go even further with the BioGrow certification.
16:57Yeah, no, it looks fantastic.
16:58Cool.
16:59Thanks, Mark.
17:00It does.
17:01The marketing side has been a big learning curve for both Rachel and Leah,
17:06who is in charge of branding.
17:09Each pot is like the end of really hard work,
17:13and everybody gets to enjoy what all the bees make,
17:17and all the deliciousness of the honey,
17:19the health benefits of the pollen.
17:22Yeah, it's very rewarding.
17:24This is a busy time of year, and it is a hive of activity,
17:28and it's the completion of all the hard work.
17:33Hi, Leah.
17:34Hi, Kaz.
17:35Leah's cousin, Suia, is one of those who buys Waitahanui apiaries honey.
17:40Honey labelled with your gold stickers.
17:42Yeah, they look great.
17:43We're basically buying bulk from Rachel,
17:47and then we've potted, and then we just rebranded,
17:50and Leah does most of that, and then we just do the sale.
17:53So the girls are doing the real mahi, really.
17:57Awesome.
17:57These will just fly out the door.
17:59We're very excited that all three of our honey honeys
18:02have won the New Zealand Artisan Award.
18:04We've got little gold stickers in the jars,
18:06which, you know, is obviously a great testament to Rachel
18:09and all her mahi she is doing with the organic honey.
18:15To mark the end of their season,
18:17whānau has gathered to celebrate with a Waitahanui icon.
18:22This is the famous 100-year-old bug.
18:25I've had it for over 30 years,
18:27but Mum had it for another, I'll say, 30 years before us,
18:32so then it would have come from an auntie,
18:35which is our grandaunt,
18:38and then maybe it came from her mother.
18:41Mum and Dad got married at Kawaka Point,
18:43and that's when it turned up.
18:46Well, my mother-in-law taught me how to make the Irwinna bread,
18:51so I've been making it for over 20 years.
18:55It was a rough beginning for me.
18:58My Irwinna bug died a few times,
19:00and my in-laws were a bit ho-ha with me asking for a new one.
19:05But we gave it.
19:08So we have two running, or three now, so that it keeps alive.
19:15It's all good.
19:16Yep.
19:17It's all good.
19:18It's a generational gift.
19:20The cousins always ring up for one.
19:24That's our taonga, our gift of life.
19:28With a couple of hours spare for the bread to rise and then bake,
19:32Rachel has just one more job to tick off.
19:38She's dropping off a new product to the Wilsons just up the road,
19:42where they keep their horse waka.
19:45Oh, look!
19:47Hi, guys!
19:47Waka!
19:48Yay!
19:50How's that done?
19:51We've got a product.
19:52It's well researched.
19:54We understand that manuka honey and its antibacterial properties
19:59is the perfect material for wound healing.
20:03So it is actually widely used.
20:06The Wilsons family already use natural products as it is
20:11in their wound healing.
20:13So it's perfect.
20:15We've also got another product, which is 100% wool.
20:18It's barely been processed, so you can still smell the lanolin
20:22in the bandage.
20:29Networking, I can't say enough about that.
20:31Initially, I wanted to just bee keep and sell the honey.
20:36That's how it was in the beginning.
20:38Buyers were coming knocking on our door.
20:40I had no trouble selling our honey for over 40 bucks a kilo.
20:45But when MPI and then COVID came in,
20:49you found yourself wearing hats that you're not experienced with.
20:53So networking has been key.
21:00You know, I have genuinely survived because of the support from hubby, from my whanau, from my cousin.
21:09So I've been quite prepared to shut the doors.
21:12And then when we get to the accountant, you know, he's always positive.
21:16And he's like, Rachel, you know, you've just got to keep doing what you're doing.
21:20Look at this one with jam, ham, and lettuce.
21:33The next leg is one of the most challenging parts of the muster across the Otematata River.
21:39Some seasons, it's impassable.
21:41And in others, it takes a great deal of coaxing and stockmanship to persuade the first few sheep to take
21:47the plunge.
21:49Once across, these hardy and sure-footed half-breds have yet another shingle face to negotiate.
21:56To see the rest of this classic episode and more gems from the past 60 years, head to TVNZ+.
22:35Country Calendar was proudly brought to you by Hyundai New Zealand.
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