making our way from Nelson to Ferniehurst

As I mentioned, we spent the two weeks of Christmas break on a sheep farm in Ferniehurst between Kaikoura and Christchurch (north east coast). I found the place on Airbnb and thought it would be a unique and fun experience to stay somewhere very remote since much of New Zealand is rural. And it was definitely rural! 20 minutes to the nearest store, limited cell phone coverage and spotty wifi meant we spent a lot of time reading, baking, crafting and relaxing. The older girls also got some driving lessons (not sure why I didn’t get a photo of Hannah), and Luisa even got to sit on Steffen’s lap to steer a few times! Don’t worry–Steffen always sat close by! The joys of being on a huge piece of private land. And I read six books in two weeks and highly recommend them all!

The farm is about 5km x 5 km and they have around 6000 sheep. They also have some cattle and chickens but the sheep are their livelihood. The family that is farming it has lived there for a few generations; currently a 66 year old man, his wife and one of their 30 year old sons run it, but I believe the older couple are hoping to gradually retreat. They also have a small place in Kaikoura that they are renovating. Below is the house we stayed in and the beautiful garden surrounding it. We have found that a New Zealand summer is more like a German summer than a California one with rainy and colder days sprinkled through. We had hail one afternoon and a short thunderstorm as well, but nothing too serious.

When we arrived, they were at the end of their season and in the process of rounding up all the sheep and weeding out the ones to sell, so they were quite busy. Then they had their rest time between Christmas and New Year’s, so we didn’t see much of the operation, but they did take us around a couple of times. And let Steffen borrow the motorcycle for a few days! They were very friendly and open. They also invited us over for a casual barbecue one evening which was very fun. It was such a unique experience!

We did get out a couple of times. Steffen and I took a drive to the beautiful Cathedral Gully and then had a nice evening relaxing at a tavern about 45 minutes south of the farm, Greta Valley Tavern. The food was so delicious!

And then the final day of 2025 we spent relaxing at the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa which was amazing. It is a series of 22 pools of varying temperatures (37-42 degrees C), heated by the underground thermal activity and rich in minerals. It felt so good to move from pool to pool and a few brave souls even spent some time in the cold pool (12 degrees C)! There were also four fun slides and a cafe for lunch. A fun way to say goodbye to 2025 which was full of change, adventure and new experiences for our family!