Ranui Orchard
202 Otaki Gorge Road, Te Horo
7 minutes from Otaki town, Kapiti Coast, Wellington, New Zealand
A tree cropper's delight. Be self-sufficient in organic fruit, veges and nuts. A rare opportunity to acquire a food growing property where the development work has been done. Live in a spacious house where views from every window delight the eye.
* 233 sq m on 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres)
* native bush, lawn, fruit trees and nut trees, woodlot
* converting to organic since January 2006
* 3 bedrooms, kitchen/dining/living room, lounge, rumpus room
* implement shed, glasshouse, chookhouse, double garage, storeroom
Price: $595,000NZ
Enquiries: Phone 021 660113 office 06 364 8350 AH 06 364 2430
Or email firstnationalotaki(at)paradise.net.nz
For photos see entry on November 13, 2007 on this blogspot.
About the House
This special tree cropper's property is just seven minutes from Otaki at 202 Otaki Gorge Road, Te Horo. It has three spacious bedrooms, a kitchen/dining/living room, a large lounge and a huge study. The study was originally going to be the double garage so that is the size of the room, and it can be adapted for anything. So it would be listed as four bedroomed. There is an ensuite and a walk-in wardrobe. Altogether there are three toilets, a bath and two showers. A generous back porch area makes for easy country living. Full insulation with more wool recently blown into the ceiling. Monier tile roof, brick cladding. Deck out from living room.
Range hood over ceramic top electric stove.
Heating is by woodburner in the living room, with a pump transfer system to the lounge. This works very well.
The other buildings
There is a generous double garage with an attached store room and pump room.
There is a mower and implement shed with attached glasshouse and chook house. A shade house is situated near the garage. The Walker mower, valued at $10,000, is for sale separately. Nets go with the property.
What is growing on the land?
Of the 1.4 hectares or three and a half acres some is in eucalyptus firewood (there is always plenty of this), and three quarters of an acre is in native bush with magic pathways throughout and a clearing for events like weddings.
A large number of fruit and nut trees have been planted over the last seventeen years. There are walnuts (a good crop is on its way), macadamias (looks good this year), hazel nuts, and chestnuts. There are over 35 heritage apple trees, fifteen fig trees, four pears, two apricots, four plums, one nectarine, four peach, 2 almond, 1 cranberry, 4 persimmons, 1 guava, 2 lemonade, 2 nashi pears, a hedge of green tea, 2 carob, 1 grapefruit, 2 lemon, 1 lime, 1 mandarin, 1 orange, 1 raspberry, 1 cherry, 2 rows of red currants, 1 blackcurrant, 3 avocados, 1 kumquat, six olives, three kiwifruit, one tamarillo, five loquats, two rows of red grapes, several table grapes, a most wonderful vegetable garden, and a very good orchard of feijoas. The red currants and black currants are good this year too and a cherry has good fruit on it. In addition there are pine nuts and some unusual non-fruiting trees. In the summer the glasshouse is full of tomatoes. Corn, pumpkin, potatoes, Maori potatoes, kumera and yams were all in last year and now we have broad beans, broccoli, onions etc in. Garlic will go in soon.
Who would it suit?
This property has been organic for two and a half years and before that was not too chemicalised, so it would suit people who like to grow their own food organically and develop it as a permaculture property. There is scope for kunekune pigs, a house cow or chooks, as well as for installing irrigation.
What is the soil like?
It is classified as stony loam and everything has been planted by removing the stones just below the surface. Rock dust, compost, mulch, liquid seaweed, worm wee, manure, lime and EM (Effective Microorganisms) have been applied regularly to increase microorganisms in the soil and the worm count is increasing. Bokashi buckets have been dug into the vegetable garden regularly.
Wind, shelter, water and frost
There is an excellent water supply from the Hautere Plains scheme and the property seems to have its own microclimate. It gets very little wind as the shelter was planted early and it only has occasional light frosts.
Why are we leaving?
Our advancing ages. We have loved living here but our time is now up. It is one of the best houses we have ever lived in. Sadly, we must now move on.
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