Native Trees of Te Karaka-Mānuka
Back in 2015, Te Karaka Station started to slowly plant 100 hectares of its hilly, gully grazing land with one of the most famous New Zealand native bushes, Mānuka.
The project took about 3 years to complete.
Today, guests of the lodge can go on a farm tour with our Farm Manager James and visit some of those healthy and happy Mānuka bushes next to a lovely pond on the property. Don’t forget to book a stay with us between Nov to Jan to come and appreciate those lovely flowers and hardworking bees for yourself!
Each year we have beekeepers who rent our bushes for 6 weeks so their happy bees can make high-quality Mānuka Honey. We then buy back a small portion back to serve at our lodge!
According to Doc’s website:
Chemical tests have shown that mānuka pollen, and honey derived from it, contains powerful insecticides and anti-bacterial agents that can help fight intestinal worms and bacterial infections.
The hard, red wood of mānuka/kahikātoa was widely used by Māori for everything from paddles, weapons, spade blades, bird spears and mauls to house building. The bark was used for making water containers and the inner bark as a waterproof layer for roofing.
To pay homage to our Farm and the surrounding environment, especially Te Karaka Reserve next door, as well as the plantings we committed around the Lodge building, we have named each of our guest rooms with the natives. When you next stay with us, don’t hesitate to check them out and talk to our team about New Zealand native plants, we are passionate about them!
Learn more about this amazing plant on Doc’s website.