Frog Blog
Stunning success at the 2010 New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards in Napier in October. Frog's End Estate was awarded two gold medals and two "Best in Class" for two entries in this years competition. Brilliant success for our Frog's End Blend and Koroneiki entries. This follows similar success at the 2009 Awards reflecting great consistency in our oil quality. Check out our awards page.
The “Olive and The Goose Lodge” is now into it's second year and bookings are firm despite the recession. Check out the lodge web at
http://www.oliveandthegoose.com.
The lodge is the residence of Nancy Macy. Nancy, along with her partner Brent Hesselyn, established Frog’s End Estate back in 1992. Brent, the brother of Rae, Lynne and Ruth, co established with Wija and Ade Waworuntu a ceramics business in Bali, called Jenggala Keramic. Take a look at http://www.jenggala-bali.com
It is now eight years since Brent was tragically drowned while recreational diving in Bali where he lived and worked as a photographer and ceramicist for 30 years. You can read about Brent at http://www.jenggala-bali.com/designers/index.html and
http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?Id=1635
Nancy is a director along with her sister Susan in a family clothing business called “Joyous and Free”. Check out their website and new seasons lines at http://www.joyousandfree.com
It is now 17 years since Brent, Peter and nephew Nathan Nicholl planted the first olive trees at Frog's End Estate and toasted them with a glass of good bubbly. These Frantoio trees have now grown to produce our signature (2009 Gold Medal and BEST IN CLASS) oil.
This years olive harvest went smoothly, despite wet weather and the final harvest day was a social pick following Queen’s Birthday weekend. Thirty keen folk from town (Nelson) turned out to pick olives and celebrate the harvest with a peasant lunch on the terrace. The curried kumara soup and mulled wine both went down a treat as did fresh baked bread dipped in newly pressed Frog's End Olive Oil.
When Ruth is not in the hills tramping or in the olive grove pruning, she is likely to be in her workshop here at Frog’s End, turning out furniture commissions from recycled timbers. She has just finished a dining table and kitchen bench fashioned from rimu, salvaged from an old glasshouse.
Right: The falcon has been back at Frog’s End.
Yes, we had a series of visits from a New Zealand Falcon (Falco Novaeseelandiae) recently. It nonchalantly sat around, biding its time to pick off a number of the white funnel tail pigeons from Rae’s flock.
It is a very handsome bird with very little fear of man. These falcons are now being bred and trained to assist with discouraging birds from eating the grapes in several vineyards in the top of the South Island. See the falcon management plan at
www.falcons.co.uk/images/nzf/ffgmanagement%20plan%202008-2011.pdf
Frog’s End has some brilliant ornithological moments due to its proximity to the Waimea Estuary, a recognized haven for many migrating bird species, including the Godwit that flies more than 10,000kms to Alaska each Winter via China, returning directly in the Spring (September).
The Godwits fly as high as 2 kms. Read their amazing story at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10431436 and satellite tracked migration routes at
http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg_updates.html
Right: Royal Spoonbills foraging in the estuary channel just off Frog's End.
Read about the spoonbills in Wikipedia