Rātā Sidwell’s life in Pīkowai Valley has truly fulfilled her Little House on the Prairie aspirations.

My husband and I moved to Pīkowai Valley in Eastern Bay of Plenty purely by chance. We had bought our 120 sqm home, with its hanky-sized bit of lawn and dwarf fruit tree orchard on the edge of Matua, Tauranga six years ago. Only 300 metres to the inner harbour, 200 metres to the best Turkish, a post office, lawyer and two chippies – we thought we would be there for years.

On a lazy scroll through Trade Me whilst on a trip to Gisborne I spotted a ‘Private Sale Rural Section’ listed – with a house! I convinced my husband to take the turn-off from the ocean and drive three minutes up the Pīkowai Valley. ‘Just to see the letterbox,’ I said. ‘Then we can go …’ It was deep scarlet and sparkly, with cut plastic jewelled numbers, and a pair of gumboots dressed the base pole. I was hooked! But was he?

The 1950s-style bungalow had been moved onto the site and the owners had worked on it over three years, but health was becoming an issue, and the 10-acre block too much. My husband and I saw through the years of collecting treasures: second-hand building materials and general disarray, and climbed up through the hill paddock of trees to the top of the property. This afforded us views right out across Te Moananui a Toi towards Whakaari, which was gently puffing that day. Blue sky and green bush: the only colours that filled my sight at that moment.

Over the years we had hopped our way up the country from Blenheim, Wellington, Taihape and Tauranga, and finally after four weeks our home was sold, and the next part of our lives began.

We took two weeks’ annual leave from our jobs and three months later (!!) returned to our day jobs which were now a 47-minute drive from home.

It was a big three months spent tidying up the property; local tradies installed fencing and there were plumbers and sparkies. And that was really just the beginning.

Our new home is a three-minute drive from the beach and nestles back into a south-east bend in the road. The house site is low and near the valley floor, whilst four hill paddocks stretch up above the house. We are extremely protected by the winds that buffet the houses up on top of the hill.

Rick and I have both adjusted to living rural; we are thoroughly absorbed, living alongside nature and its patterns. This part of the country is very mild, with long summers and chilly short winters. As we are both from brutal weather areas (Wellington and Blenheim), it is heaven.

The soil is generous, giving instant gratification for any new gardener. Stick it in and it will grow! It made sense to call on my past studies of Native Plant Horticulture and Organics. Garden beds have been created; we have chickens, sheep and calves, so sorted for meat and eggs; a dog to lie around on the porch and two cats to catch the mice and rats.

We have neighbours out there somewhere – we can hear some occasionally, but mostly sounds are generated from the cows and the rumbling of the timber trucks up and down the valley. Sadly, beef farms have been sold off to make way for overseas ownership and pine trees are the flavour of the month further up the Pīkowai Valley.

Still, it is a small thing to contend with when we have space to share, fruit and vegetable gardens, our own water supply from springs and rainwater harvesting and lots of dreams to continue building on.

Whāia te iti kahurangi!

 

Rātā shares her favourite things of the moment – each designed to make life in the country a little easier.

Keeping our four-legged family members clean and smelling fresh is essential and the WashBar soap is made from natural ingredients, ensuring it is kind and gentle on their skin – not to mention mine when washing them down!
WashBar Original Soap For Dogs, $8.75, Farmlands

We bought the Easy Hāngī Kit online – perfect for a small family gathering. It comes with a heavy-bottomed pot, tray inserts for meat and vegetables, flavour sticks (which I keep in the freezer) and it is so simple to use! Great flavour, easy to prepare and within an hour you have tender kai which tastes perfect!
Triply Cooking Kit, Plus Free Flavour Pack, from $210, Easy Hāngī

With 45 chickens, eggs are often in abundance, so an egg holder for storage is essential! Although the eggs never last long as I receive daily text messages from neighbours and friends wanting to buy them!
Egg Storage Dispenser, $15.95, The Home Label

I couldn’t do without my large mortar and pestle. Ground-up eggshells release calcium carbonate to strengthen a plant’s roots so I regularly wash discarded eggshells, microwave them dry and then crush them in my mortar and pestle to use around new seedlings in the garden; or I give them back to the girls to increase their calcium intake and reduce waste.
Zassenhaus Mortar and Pestle XL Cast Iron, $105, Homestead Store

Being prepared works best when living rural. We source local wood suppliers and cut and stack our wood a season ahead. This is one of three small lean-tos we have built. There is nothing more visually pleasing than a full wood stack of dry, dry wood. Wood carrying is a breeze with this easy-to-use wood carrier. Made from waterproof cotton canvas, you never need to worry about woodchips on your clothes again.
Wood Carrier, $115, Susie’s Bags