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We are most proud of our sponsorship of the Onoke Spit Ecological Restoration Program. Please follow this link to some spectacular images taken recently by Wellington photographer Pete Monk. These will give you some idea of why this place is so special and so unique.
The pictures say it all. Our vineyards are on old river Terraces and as you can see from the pictures, they do lie on the old river beds. Lots of free draining gravel which is a wonderful thing if you’re growing premium grapevines.
Its mid summer and while most of New Zealand basks in the sun, our vineyard team work through one of the busiest times of the year. The grapes have just started to color up and are suddenly looking very attractive to the feathered enemies that stalk from above. So – the team have been hard out putting on nets to keep those birds away from our precious grapes. Its been savage work, in unrelenting heat with huge winds undoing a lot of that hard work, and damaging the nets. But the workers have been doing some big hours, long weeks and we will soon be fully netted and safe from the sky raiders.
As part of out initiative to reduce the usage of sprays, we have planted wild flowers in areas that used to be controlled with sprays. Reducing sprays benefits the land, the local fauna and even us humans as we have a gorgeous colorful panorama to look out on.
Look through the photos below to view our wild flower initiative and the great netting project
After Jenny Whyte’s (D.O.C) inspiring presentation of the proposed work to be done at Onoke Spit, of which Palliser Estate is the new sponsor, I put my hand up to join Denise and Dougal McKenzie and the Wairarapa Ornithological Society on a visit to Onoke Spit last Saturday. When I say I put my hand up it also counts as my three children’s hands. So, there we were armed with sun block, gumboots and bags for collecting rubbish.
Lake Onoke – quite grubby after the previous nights wind and rain, as a kid I always remember the lake being a grubby one. Cook Strait on the other hand was looking pristine with the beautiful tones of green and turquoise. The Spit itself, is nothing short of a miracle, it separates the lake water from the sea water effortlessly. It displays native tussock and ground cover (Sea Daphne), gulls over head and Dotterels flittering about. Oyster catchers, be they variable or not, popped their heads up and down again. Driftwood for miles and the odd plastic container and drink bottle, bless Denise and Dougal who keep the entire spit in pretty good condition.
At the end of the spit is the area for the Caspian Tern (distinctive with their red bill), a far more pleasing sea bird to look at compared to the other gulls, who seem to want to poop on you, if you so much as look in their direction.
Palliser’s helping hand will be well appreciated out there as Denise showed me the area that is overgrown with gorse, the intention is to cut out patches of the gorse and introduce native grasses like Pingao/Golden Sedge and use the gorse as a wind break, then cut another patch and replant until the whole area has been replanted, likely a 5yr program. Another, possible more immediate and doable task is to build a foot bridge for the small river crossing, that will give access to the spit regardless of when the little river is up too high. The idea of a marked track down the length of the spit is another great idea and will help in the conservation and preservation of the native plants and habitat of the sea birds and other native species.
