Kaitiaki.

Farming is a relationship between land, animals, and the people that live alongside them. Godley Peaks is hard land; alpine high country with big snow and cold winters. To continue to farm well, we believe that we have a responsibility to honour the past, and create the best possible future. We are guardians, here to leave the land better than we found it for the next generation. 

The farm is on a journey towards sustainability. We’re building the genetics of our stock, managing the crops to avoid over-fertilisation, and working towards a way of living that has a low carbon footprint. That’s the best thing for the business, the farm, and the planet. It’s the right thing to do. 

Water quality.

The water looks pristine. It falls from the sky high in the Southern Alps and travels down the Mistake, Godley, and Cass rivers to the shores of Lake Tekapo. Each of these braided rivers is fed by small streams throughout the Liebig, Hall, and Sibbald Ranges.

River flats are the easiest space for cattle to reach, and they’re also the easiest to pollute. We’re working to ensure stock movement is controlled and that there are areas that are fenced to contain stock.

We’re committed to restricting agricultural pollution of freshwater and mitigating contaminants wherever possible. We’re investigating modern mitigation strategies such as riparian bugger strips, the use of wetlands, and how stock quality can help to reduce intensification.

This is a process that we are deeply committed to, but it is a process.

Biodiversity and fauna.

The Mackenzie Basin has one of the most remarkable stories of geological evolution and with that comes huge biodiversity. On the border of Godley Peaks station, the lower Cass River plays host to no fewer than six threatened bird species, two threatened grasshoppers, and further up the rivers live small populations of the endangered fish longjaw galaxias.

These birds who feed and breed are the black stilt/kakī, black-fronted tern/tarapiroe, wrybill/ngutu pare, banded dotterel/tūturiwhatu, black-billed gull/tarāpuka, and caspian tern/taranu. It’s an internationally significant location and the black stilt/kakī is the rarest wading bird in the world.

The valley floor hosts at least 81 at-risk plant species. There’s a lot to protect.

We believe that careful farming can be a part of the solution to solving the biodiversity crisis. By protecting these special habitats and farming the land sustainably, we can create safe and protected habitats that allow the land to regenerate and remain protected.

Micks Lagoon is a nesting habitats for many of these rare birds is fully fenced off from stock. Rapuwai lagoon and the other ponds are currently partially fenced and both are of outstanding value to the protection of the growing birds.

The geology and landscape.

This land is at the heart of the Mackenzie Basin and is one of the most extensive outstanding natural landscapes in the country. The topography is steep and rugged towards the divide and glacial morphology is evident in the U-shaped valley of the Godley river, a river left by the retreating Godley Glacier.

Mistake Peak, Mt Joseph, and Braemar Dome are a recogniseable backdrop and are notable peaks in the Hall Range. Godley Peaks starts at just over 700m of altitude and the higher peaks along the Haszard and Mistake Peak ridges reach over 2000m. The homestead area and paddocks are on the undulating flats at the end of the road, providing pasture, fodder crops, and sheltered winter grazing.

There is little gentle terrain, mainly just on the toe-slopes and flats of the Godley River and the middle aspects of the Mistake River. The moraine-covered country at the southern end of the property is a moderate gradient as it eases to the Cass and Mistake Rivers. The summers are warm and dry and the winters cold and long. The proximity of the main divide means more rainfall; over 5000mm in the north of the property as compared to 600mm at Lake Tekapo township.

Flora and plant communities.

It’s high. Aoraki-Mt Cook Village sits at a similar elevation to the lower reaches of the station. The land has extensive areas above the snowline which makes tall tussockland up high, and short tussuckland and matagauri shrubland on the lower reaches.

There are some small remnants of totara forest on the boulder-fields below Mistake Peak. This would have originally covered larger areas of the range. Today, small pockets of kowhai, mountain ribbonwood, broadleaf, and manuka are evident along the lower slopes in the Godley Valley. Ribbonwood Hut has a small group of kowhai trees and we look to protect these.

  • We dream big on Godley Peaks. The landscape demands vision. We want to make the farm carbon-neutral and gain certification. That’s not legislated for by the government, but it’s the right thing to do. We’re at the beginning of a five to ten year process to transform the way we do things. We’re working towards Toitū net carbonzero certification to ensure a sustainable future.

  • In order to determine a path forward, it’s important to know where you are We’re in the process of finding out where we stand compared to similar high country farms. From there we’ll be working to improve our stock quality, reduce our cropping to feed only, and ensuring that we’re using natural fertilizers and regenerative farming practices to proectthe land.

  • Pest control, planting native trees, carbon sequestration goals, protecting natural landscapes and the heritage of the land is all a part of the process. There’s a whole network of huts that need to be maintained and restored to preserve the history of those who have come before. There’s a lot to do, and we’re only just getting stared.