The site where our Macadamia orchard was to grow had only one really outstanding feature – a fabulous elevated panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Straight out, next stop is Alaska!

The Northland climate was also an advantage as Macadamias are a native of Australia. Not so good was the exposure to often massive storms, which covered the young trees with sea spray and broke their brittle branches.

After planting the trees in 1999 we struggled to keep them alive as kikuyu grass buried them and summer droughts dehydrated them. Finally we put plastic barrels around them, a difficult task on the steep slope accessed only with our little old tractor. Now our neighbour’s sheep could control the grass. We are spray free and a local beekeeper has hives on the property to aid pollination.

Our trees are now well established, tough and resilient following their difficult childhood. We also remain tough and resilient, hand picking the crop on the uneven ground. We are lucky to have family, friends and neighbours to help us pick. We often pause to take in the beautiful view.

Processing Macadamias is a lengthy task, much of which do ourselves. Over half of the weight of the freshly picked nuts is in the green husk. The kernel is about 25% water. After drying, the nuts contain only 1-2% water. After cracking to remove the shell, the valuable delicious nut represents only 10% of the weight of the crop that we pick!

We believe the nuts are too special to have their flavour overshadowed by salt or sugar.