Stories by Sally Round

Steve Muggeridge's beloved Clydesdales have returned to Taranaki. Not far from the original family stud, at the base of the maunga, he chats about the changing use of the heavy horse and hitches a… Video, Audio

Country Life takes a walk with mountain ranger Tāne Houston through the forest on the slopes of Mt Taranaki. We head up the volcano along a trap line, resetting bait, foraging and chatting about the… Video, Audio

Morgan Kane moved back home when she lost her job at a tech start up. It was the start of her move, with her husband, into market gardening. She and her parents welcome the advantages of… Audio

A search is underway for descendants of hundreds of British boys sent out for farming training in New Zealand a century ago. Flock House, a flagship agricultural school in New Zealand was set up 100… Audio

A distinctive booming sound is returning to the Wairarapa Moana. Most of the surrounding wetlands have been lost after land was drained for farming. Now, after years of rehabilitation work, more of… Video, Audio

Karolin van Onna and her friend had dreamt about horse trekking the length of the South Island for years - and last summer they finally did it. Video, Audio

Tartan, bagpipes, sheafs and cabers were out in force at the Turakina Highland Games, billed as New Zealand's longest-running such event. They're into their 160th year. Video, Audio

A year ago the Wilson family's apple trees were bowled like nine pins when logs came crashing through stop banks and silt drowned many areas. Did the trees come good?  Audio

Scott Jimmieson sold cars to upskill for his paddock-to-plate free range egg business. It was tough-going but good training for understanding his customers. Country Life hops in the delivery van… Audio

Colyton Clocks' Bill Williams reckons he has the largest clock collection in the world. A converted church in the village of Colyton is home to his ticking, chiming, talking timepieces dating from the… Audio

Country Life meets former dairy farmer Lance Gillespie, who's launching a kiwi style chicken trailer. Pasture-raised egg production fits with his interest in regenerative farming practices and… Video, Audio

A wetland at the bottom of a dairy farm in South Wairarapa is reducing most of the nitrates being drained from the paddocks. The project at Kaiwaiwai Dairies is nearly a decade old and one of the… Audio

Jono Walker, chair of Farmers' Markets New Zealand, is Country Life's guest this week. He's been in Rome mingling with other farmers' market representatives from around the world. Audio

George and Diana Turney went from tragedy to starting Mangaweka Asparagus three decades ago. After the community came to their aid, they have enjoyed giving back and helping others gain a living from… Audio

A vintage photo of a little girl called Molly Mabel sits above racks of pint-sized traditional woollen jumpers, booties and beanies in a Hunterville shop. Who was Molly and how is she helping to warm… Audio

Rhoda McWhannell ran her Waikato farm almost single-handedly when her husband went to war during WWII. She wrote a journal of her daily struggles, weaving in her wry observations about war and love of… Audio

Veteran New Zealand actor Sir Sam Neill takes Country Life on a tour of his Central Otago vineyard just before the 2023 season got underway. Audio

Former cop, Lee Askew, traded her police vest for farmer's boots to rear a herd of Red Devon cattle near Gisborne. There have been plenty of challenges rearing artisan meat for her stall at the… Audio

Jacqui Friedrichs has almost reached the limit in her lamb orphanage east of Carterton. It's been a tough lambing season and there is high demand for her intensive care. Her husband thinks she's mad… Audio

Jon and Tae are preparing their rented land near Otaki to start producing "pay-what-you-can" vege boxes in the spring. It's a small-scale social enterprise aimed at making healthy food more accessible… Audio

You won't find anything mass produced at Tuatahi, a small town business exporting handcrafted axes and saws to competitive woodchoppers around the world. Video, Audio

Kapiti distillers harvest kawakawa from their historic Wairarapa farm to make award-winning gin. They're also trialling growing juniper berries and planting more natives. Novel pest traps, a bottle… Audio

Country Life talks to Jen Chrisp who cooks for the shepherds at Puketoro Station. She's carrying on the cookhouse tradition of New Zealand's extensive and remote back country farms. Audio

Cate and Mike King of Pauariki Honey lost a quarter of their hives after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Tairāwhiti in February. They also faced a poor season of manuka flowering. But the raw beauty of the… Audio

Push your way through a tangle of bush only kilometres from the Napier-Taupō highway and you are on an ancient pa site. Tangata whenua sheltered here hundreds of years ago but this site is known to… Video, Audio