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A lush food producing paradise - the current owners’ story
Working on ‘finding a bit of land that was unloved and loving it’, Dave Heraud purchased his dramatic limestone-outcropped-basin at Clifton in 1985 and left Wellington as scheduled at age 50 to begin his ‘retirement’ dream. Although he traveled extensively in Japan and elsewhere overseas on business, it was in Golden Bay that he met his partner Naoko, who was traveling through in 1989. Together they have made Waiwera the paradise that it is today.
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, oranges, avocados, grapes (Pinot Noir), you name it, the property today exudes fruitfulness amongst the intensely dramatic plantings which were all designed by well-known New Zealand landscape architect Lucas & Associates. Expansive New Zealand native plantings such as the dense groves of red tussock contrast with the dark totara trees. Giant bamboo groves grow lush from in-between the rock outcrops while a grove of Japanese cherry blossoms offers a perfect backdrop to an open sided meditation pavilion that sits upon a lake. A unique marble-tiled entertainment area featuring BBQ and pizza oven plus proving oven that all fit in perfectly has been established amongst a particularly spectacular section of stone outcrops.
The established groves of food-producing trees include walnuts, almonds, macadamia, apples, pears, chestnuts, nashi and 400 tamarillos. The 160 mature avocado trees produce a maximum 100,000 saleable fruit a year. Most of the property is completely frost-free all year. A ten-year old truffery with 28 hazel nut trees inoculated with truffle fungi was established ten years ago on a hillside near the house.
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