01 October 2021

Where The Sun Shines

Papakāinga. Homestead.

writer: Royna Fifield-Hakaraia (Ngāti Rangatahi, Ngāti Whititama)

photographer: Francine Boer

Liz and Andy Hayes count themselves lucky to call Hakataramea Valley home. With their expansive property, Million Springs Farm, located in the heart of South Canterbury, this family has found community and connection in Kurow and the wider Waitaki district. There is much, much more here than just breathtaking vistas and jewel-like lakes.

When Liz describes her life in South Canterbury, a lilt of excitement enters her voice. “For a really long time this area has been a kind of well-kept secret,” she says. “But over the past few years it feels like it’s finally being discovered. There’s a depth to the people bringing up their families here and they are bringing in different opportunities and ideas.”

Choosing to settle down together in Waitaki, a farming area, wasn’t an easy decision for Liz, 39, and her husband of thirteen years, Andy, 42. “Lizzie was quite hesitant to move to the farm to be honest and I was open to doing other things, too,” says Andy. “We looked at different options, like selling and moving closer to Christchurch, but we didn’t want to look back later on and wish that we’d given it a better go. We decided to give it a crack and I’m really glad we did.”

Liz and Andy met in 2004, but it wasn't until seven years later that they finally moved to the farm. Six months pregnant with their first child, Liz found herself giving up her career in television to begin a new life at the Million Springs Farm homestead. "Andy and I did long distance for seven years before we moved here and it was pretty rough," says Liz. "I think if there hadn't been a calling back to the valley then my life would have featured a lot more of city life - but I think after meeting a farmer that was never really the intention. I always joke that it's like the guys from here went out and looked around the world and came back with all these talented, exceptional ladies to add to the ones already here!"

An 830 hectare property, Million Springs Farm has been in Andy's family for over 140 years - it was originally purchased by Canadian immigrants Alpheus and Anna Hayes in 1878. After being converted from sheep and beef in 2013, it's the only dairy farm in the Hakataramea Valley today, running over 2,000 milking cows with a team of fifteen staff. "I can't lie, being a townie with an urban career, I didn't know much about country living before I moved here," says Liz. "What really helped though was that we had lots of people here making us feel at home. In the beginning, some of my girlfriends in Christchurch would call me up and say, 'How are you handling the isolation?' And then one of them came to stay for a weekend and she went back saying, 'Don't worry guys, Liz has more of a social life than we do!'"

With eager approval from their three children, Charlie, 10, Ayla, 8, and Hugo, 6, Liz and Andy are making the most of their middle-of-nowhere setting and launched a colourful side hustle, called Nest Tree Houses. This treehouse hideaway, perched in the branches of pine trees planted by Andy and his dad decades ago, looks out over a patchwork of land that spreads out along the Hakataramea River. "We built the treehouse because we want to show people what we've got here and give them something with a point of difference," says Liz. "Kurow is small, but it has an amazing community spirit and a really positive energy."

Find out more about Liz and Andy's venture, Nest Tree Houses, here.