FARMS & FOREST

FARMS AND FOREST

Tarawera Station

Tarawera Station is situated on the on the banks of the Mohaka River, 60km from Napier on State highway 5.


​The Farm is a high performing intensive breeding property. It runs nearly 32,000 stock units on 2865 effective hectares, including leased land adjoining the main farm. Its sheep flock includes 16,000 ewes and 4,000 replacement ewe lambs. The beef cattle herd is made up of 1,100 breeding cows plus heifer replacements and finishing steers and bulls. Most of the livestock produced at Tarawera is sent to the Trusts finishing farm (Gwavas Station).


The Tarawera team manages its environmental responsibility through a number of initiatives including fencing and protecting riparian margins and installing alternative water reticulation systems for stock.


​​Tarawera also regularly benchmarks itself against its peers by taking part, often successfully, in farming competitions. In 2009, for example, Station Manager Carl Read-Jones won the Silver Fern Farms’ Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year competition. In 2013 the farm won the Ahuwhenua Trophy - BNZ Māori Excellence in Farming Award.

Gwavas Station

Gwavas Station is located about 50km west of Hastings, just north of Tikokino on State Highway 50. The farm was established in 1858 and was one of the original farms in the area. The Trust purchased Gwavas Station in 2013.

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The farm winters nearly 12,000 stock units on 989 effective hectares, including leased land. The farm is an intensive beef and lamb finishing property that complements the Trust other breeding property (Tarawera Station).


Gwavas Station was a finalist in the 2019 Ahuwhenua Trophy competition.

Awahohonu Commercial Forest

​The forest is located approximately 70km from Napier on the State Highway 5. The first commercial forest was planted in 1970, and harvest on this rotation was completed between 1990 and 2015.


The second crop planted now comprises 5802 hectares of Radiata Pine trees of various age classes. Crop two is planned to begin harvest in 2027.

Awahohonu Native Forest - Ahimanawa Block

​The Trust owns 10,009 hectares of pristine native forest, situated at approximately 70km from Napier on State highway 5.


​The Ahimanawa block is so named because of its proximity to the Ahimanawa range.

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The land is relatively in-accessible and the forest remains untouched in many areas as a result. The forest is predominantly beech but has pockets of other native species.

Whio in our Native Forest

‘The forest contains many different species of native birds, one being the ‘Whio’ or blue duck”.

See below to check out some recent footage taken from within our forest.


​For further information head to http://www.whioforever.co.nz/about-the-whio/whio-bio.

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