If you've left it a bit late for Christmas shopping don't worry you can still get hold of a taste of Waikato with a Sweetree honey! It's too late for us to courier to you, if you're outside Hamilton but you can pop into one of our stockists near you and pick up a jar or two, here is a list of our stockists.
place to spend your day walking through the different gardens, then have a picnic on the extensive lawn or eat in the Gardens Cafe. The lawn gives you the opportunity to kick a ball around, fly a kite or just relax in the sun. You can hire a bike or ask for a tour of the gardens and if you go to the information centre you can ask for an orienteering map. There are often events in the pavilion or within the gardens that add more variety to your visit such as flower festivals, expos, shows, arts festival, etc. There are also daily events for the kids for example a tudor trail, discovery trial and bingo, ask at the information centre for more details. There is fun for everyone at the Hamilton Gardens! Get more information here.
The Hamilton Zoo is a fun day out for the whole family. With over 600 native and exotic animals set among 25ha of lush and tranquil surroundings it is a great escape within the city. Just some of the mammals you will see are Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Brown Capuchin Monkey, Cheetah, Chimpanzee, Fishing Cat, Giraffe, Meerkat, Zebra, Red Panda and Sumatran Tiger. There are a variety of geckos and skinks, red-eared slider tortoises and Hochstetter's frogs. With the largest free flight aviary in New Zealand you get up close and personal with a number of native and exotic birds such as Parakeets, NZ Pigeon, Scaup, Shoveler, Kaka, Weka, Kingfisher, Tui, Macaw, Parrot, Galah, Lovebird and Lorikeet. Find out more here.
The Taitua Arboretum is the perfect place for a gentle walk and a tranquil picnic, giving you the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of life. The arboretum has a collection of mature trees covering 20 hectares of open pasture, lakes and woodland gardens which are linked by a network of meandering walking paths. With great views and wonderful bird life, the arboretum is ideal for a family outing or Sunday stroll. Read more and find out how to get there here.
On the banks of the Waikato River the Waikato Museum's 13 galleries host more than 25 new exhibitions and 100 public events annually, including history, culture, art and environmental. There is always interesting exhibits, artwork, talks, events and children's programme on throughout the year. The Exscite science gallery aims to foster a learning experience in an exciting and engaging environment for the kids. Exscite is jam-packed with interactive, science based activities for young people to actively learn while having fun. Our boys love it!
The Hamilton Lake (Lake Rotoroa) is situated in the heart of the city. It has a path meandering around the lake that is 3.4km long. After a walk you can eat at the cafe or have a picnic on the lawn. The kids will absolutely LOVE the playground. It includes a network of small water features that children can pump water into, dam up and release water, this is a hit with the kids! Make sure you bring some bread to feed the ducks! Find out how to get there.
Our new Claudelands Event Centre is where a lot of our entertainment is hosted in Hamilton. Not only is it the location of live music, performance, sport, conferences and expos, it hosts the weekly Hamilton Farmers Market in the barn! Sweetree has a stall at the Hamilton Farmers Market every Sunday 8am -12noon. Find out more about Claudelands Events Centre and the Hamilton Farmers Market.
Purchase Kirikiriroa Honey here! This honey comes from the Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton Zoo and Taitua Arboretum. Please note not all our honey varieties are available all the time.
It's that time of year again! It's so hard to believe we are at the end of the year already! If you haven't already sorted Christmas presents there's not much time left! But don't worry we've got you covered.
For the artisan honey lover or for that special someone, our gift range is perfect! We have an extensive range of gifts including Waikato honey, gift boxes, books, honey wraps, candles, honey sticks and collectable stamps. Check out the gift range here.
Or if you are looking for corporate gifts for your clients or staff look no further, check out our great deal for a Waikato gift boxes.
Either on your way out of Hamilton or on your way back it's definitely worth stopping into the The Village Cafe & Farm Shop. The Village Cafe is a rural rustic delight. Set in a picturesque garden environment complete with a back to basics styled playground, a truly fun experience for children while the caregivers relax.
The Village Farm Shop is a locally owned and operated co-op venture. They aim to offer local growers and producers the opportunity to provide delicious food and beautifully crafted giftware at an honest price, benefiting both the makers and the customers. Enjoy their delightfully bright space packed with wall to wall local goodies!
There's even a Village Boutique if you need your hair cut or a visit to a beauty therapist.
Start at the Four Brothers Scenic Reserve car park on the Hamilton-Raglan highway. This is a moderate 15 minute climb through bush that leads to the reserve's southern boundary with open farmland and good views.
Carrying along the farmland at the end of the Four Brothers track you follow the white posts and orange markers along the main ridge to Old Mountain Road. There are great views of the Hakarimata Range in the north, Karioi and the coast to the west, Pirongia to the south and Hamilton City to the east. This walk is 1.5 hours one way.
There is the Karamu Walkway South starting at Old Mountain Road or Limeworks Loop Road as well, check the details out here, this is a 3-4 hour walk.
Please note these walks are on private land with sheep, these tracks are closed from August - November due to lambing.
At the location of our original apiary site will be the home of the Ed Hillary Forest Reserve. The farmland beside Four Brothers Reserve is being planted out in natives to encourage more bird life. The plan is to connect the Karamu Walkway through the new reserve to create a new loop track. This is something great to look forward to in the area!
Pop into the old Te Uku Post Office for a coffee or cuppa to go. They are open from 6am! Also check out the gallery with local artist's work and stock up on supplies at the general store.
This track goes over privately owned farmland and paper roads on the Wharauroa Plateau and is an 18 kilometres return trip (about 4 hours to walk or 2 hours to cycle). At 430 meters above sea level, the trail winds over theTe Uku Wind Farm site which gives amazing 360 degree views across the greater Waikato to Raglan, Kawhia and Aotea Harbours and Mt Taranaki (on a clear day). For more details on this trail check out this website.
This is a lovely track through native bush to 2 viewing platforms before descending down 261 stairs to the base of the waterfall, with another platform half way down the stairs. The waterfall looks like a brides veil, hence the name. It takes about 20 minutes one way from the carpark to the base of the water fall. To get there turn left into TeMata Road, just before Raglan, and follow the signs to the start of the track.
Water sports including swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, wind surfing, kite surfing, boating, fishing and of course surfing!
Walks such as the Wainui Bush Park, Three Bridges Reserve and for the more adventurous there's Karioi summit tracks.
Check out this great guide to walks in the Pirongia and Raglan area.
Make sure you pop into the The Herbal Dispensary on Wallis Street in Raglan. They are open 7 days a week and have some yummy healthy delights for you, including Sweetree Honey!
Much of this information and more is found on the Department of Conservation Website, check it to plan your weekend get aways.
Purchase Four Brothers Reserve Honey here! Please note not all our honey varieties are available all the time.
Procurement Monday: Only purchase things that can be recycled such as paper, glass and aluminium (these are best). If plastic is the only option then choose types 1, 2 & 4, as they are more easy to recycle.
Waste Free Tuesday: Make a conscious effort to not use your rubbish bin. Try to recycle or compost items instead.
Reusable Wednesday: Go to work or school with a waste free lunch. Try and go with zero packaging and only use recyclable containers.
Rinse & Clean Thursday: Clean all containers and packaging to be recycled. Uncleaned products often don't get recycled.
Reflection Friday: Keep all waste items and weigh it before disposing of it at the end of the day. Multiple the weight by 365 to see how much you could recycle in a year. Imagine how much NZ could recycle if we all did out bit!
Spring Clean Weekend: Identify everything that can be reused, re-purposed, recovered, recycled, etc. Take any unwanted items to your local salvation army store or clothing bin. We support the Ngaruawahia Community Care Centre, they sell second hand goods and all the proceeds go to buying food for their food bank. They are always needing more donations of goods so don't be shy!
Go to the Recycling Week website to find out more. If you click on the daily icons they give you ideas of what you can do each day!
This two and a half minute video provides a great overview of why more recycling is needed in New Zealand and how we should go about it.
With summer around the corner I thought we could share with you some special Waikato spots we have found in the areas where our honeys are harvested from. This time I'm going to focus on Marokopa.
You may wonder where Marokopa is! It's about 3/4 of an hour west of Waitomo, right beside the rugged west coast. When you drive into the settlement you feel like you are going back in time. It is a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of life and just relax! It's famous for it's fishing and white-baiting.
This is the highlight on the scenic drive from Waitomo to Marokopa. The 20 minute track follows a boardwalk through an amazing limestone gorge that takes you under an impressive natural bridge. If you look up you will see the ceiling is studded with stalactite type formations. It truly is a beautiful and unique setting. The track continues over farmland where you can see 25 million year old fossilised oysters in the limestone outcrops. You will find the natural bridge along Te Anga Road between Waitomo and Marokopa (about 25km from Waitomo).
This short 5 minute walk takes you through native bush, past some limestone outcrops and down some stairs to one of the few free caves open to the general public. A platform allows you to view into the cave, remember to take a torch! You will find the start of the track along Te Anga Road between Waitomo and Marokopa (about 29km from Waitomo).
This is an easy 20 minute return walk through a native tawa and nikau forest to the beautiful Marokopa Falls. The 35mm high waterfall is said to be one of the most beautiful falls in the country so it worth checking out. The waterfall divides Marokopa River into two, making it a popular trout fishing area, so bring your fishing rod!
The start of the walk is sign posted on Te Anga Road between Waitomo and Marokopa (about 31km from Waitomo).
You'll find Kiritehere beach just south of Marokopa. Not only is the surf good but it is a great place to look for fossils! The limestones on the beach are filled with fossilised clams, mussels and scallops that are more than 200 million years old.
Check out this great guide to walks in the area.
If you're looking to purchase some food or supplies while you're in the area make sure you stop at the Waitomo General Store just down from the Museum! They are a licensed cafe and sell groceries, souvenirs, etc.
Purchase Marokopa Honey here! Please note not all our honey varieties are available all the time.
Did You Know That Bees Dance!
Bees dance to communicate to other bees in their colony where food sources can be found, possible new homes, etc. The dance is called a 'waggle dance', it's fascinating! A bee returns to the hive fully loaded up with honey and pollen and then uses the waggle dance to tell the others the location of where she has just visited. The dancing bee makes a figure eight and waggles her body at the same time to relay information. The information she gives includes the location, quality and quantity of the nectar and pollen.
The direction she waggles indicates the direction of the location in relation to the sun. If the bee waggles straight up the honey comb the other bees fly towards the sun. If she waggles on the left the bees are to fly to the left of the sun and if she waggles to the right they head to the right of the sun.
The rhythm of the dance explains the distance to the location from the hive. The faster she waggles the further away the location is. The pollen and nectar she has collected gives the other bees information on the type of flowers, their quality and quantity. Aren't they clever!
Here's a wonderful video from National Geographic showing this dance in the hive!
Check out our Sweetree range of honey that have had our bees dancing for joy!
22-onwards Forager - Flys from the hive collecting pollen, nectar, propolis and water, pollinates plants, etc.
Thanks to all those that have purchased the Bee Friendly Wild Flower seed mix from us. In total Sweetree has raised $2013 from sales of these seeds to help NZ bees. We will continue to sell these so it's not to late to encourage bees to your garden!
Bees are vital for the pollination of many flowers. This mixture has been composed of flowers that are proven bee favourites in our gardens.
Bees will forage on these flowers for nectar and pollen which provide carbohydrates and protein for growth and energy. Well nourished bees are more capable of fending off disease and parasites. Wildflowers are naturally organic—they are not susceptible to bugs or diseases, can help control garden pests and they attract bees and beneficial insects into the garden. The mix contains annuals that will provide food for bees all season long.
Plant some herbs this summer to attract bees to your garden. With some pre planning and planting you are guaranteed to have bees buzzing in your garden patch all summer long. Even when our herb garden was in it's first year of growth we had bees galore. A bee keeper once told me that bees love blue flowers and I have found this to be true.
Borage Borago officinalis, is a blue flowering annual herb that can be planted from seed or you can often buy plants, from your local herb supplier. Borage has abundant star shaped blue flowers that bloom throughout the summer and attracts many bees. Once you have a borage plant in your garden it will often seed itself and you will have new plants each year as soon as the soil warms up.
Thyme Thymus vulgaris, there are many different varieties of Thyme, all equally loved by the bees. Three good Thyme plants to have in your garden would be pizza thyme, (with its vigorous growth it can stand regular picking) Lemon thyme, (with its silver foliage makes a nice contrast and flavour to your dishes, It also has a pleasant lemon scent). And the common garden thyme which is the most widely-known and used.
Sage salvia officinalis, with its blue flowers, is a bee favourite. Easy to grow, there are two common sage plants that you may know. The green sage is the most commonly used for culinary purposes. Red sage is mainly used medicinally although it can also be used for culinary purposes, it also makes a lovely carpet-type cover in your garden.
Rosemary rosmarinus officinalis, have you heard the old wives’ tale that if the rosemary plant is thriving in the front garden the woman of the house is the boss? Maybe it just meant that the garden was well cared for, which in turn would lead to a healthy garden for the bees. Rosemary is another blue flowering plant, easy to grow, just don’t over-water it. Make sure to pick often to prevent it getting too spindly. Pop some flowers into your salad for a taste sensation just leave some for the bees!
Catmint nepeta faassenii, is a pretty blue flowering plant that can be used as a ground cover and a companion plant. Ideal for planting around roses (which the bees also love).
Although we have concentrated on blue flowering plants, bees do like other flowers, last year in our garden they loved the echinacea flowers, we often saw them on the calendula and bergamot flowers. The pineapple sage with it’s bright red flowers was a favourite.
All these plants are common and readily available at your local garden centre or herb supplier. Plant for the bees and have some fun in your garden this summer! As an added bonus the monarch butterflies seem to love these flowers as well.
This article was written by Bronwyn Lowe, Medical Herbalist, from the 'Herbal Dispensary' in Raglan. At the Herbal Dispensary they are passionate about assisting you and your family achieve optimum health and vitality. Their wonderful shop in Wallis Street is filled with wonderful natural products - you'll find all you need to support your health naturally. Their health clinic can provide you with a comprehensive, individualised natural health service including herbal medicine, nutritional and dietary, analysis testing, mineral assessment, etc.
Check out their website here to find out more, purchase online, read articles and much more.
Some people may think bees are just a summertime nuisance. But these small and amazingly hard-working insects make it possible for many of our favorite foods to reach our tables. From apples to almonds to the blueberries in our blueberry pies, we have bees to thank.
This is what our supermarkets would like like if we lost our bees!
Very sobering thought isn't it! We need to protect this amazing insect that we rely on so much. Find out what we can do to help our bees.
September is the month we dedicate to celebrating our New Zealand bees! It's a great time to remind us all how important bees are to New Zealand's environment, biodiversity and economy.
This year ApiCulture NZ has set the theme as 'Show Me the Honey'. Over $5 billion of New Zealand agricultural exports depend on bees and bees pollinate about 1/3 of everything we eat! Honey is a wonderful natural healer with multiple uses. There are some many different types, flavours, textures and aromas. NZ produces approximately 7,440 tonnes of honey each year (and increasing every season), with about half of this being exported. And of course our special manuka honey is some of the highest valued honey in the world! NZ honey is something to be celebrated!
The great news is that, according to ApiCulture NZ, New Zealand's bee population has increased substantially over the last few years, with more hobby beekeepers and small & large beekeeping business coming into the arena. NZ is nearing 700,000 beehives (up from 300,000 15 years ago) and there are close to 7,000 beekeepers in NZ and that number is growing.
This is fantastic news but we can't sit back and expect this to continue, there are signs that the varroa mite is becoming resistant to treatments and with such a high demand for honey, like manuka, there is a risk of bees health declining if bees are not taken care of properly.
Bees around the world are in trouble. A world without bees would be a very bleak place indeed. Much of our food depends on pollination by bees as do our gardens and a lot of other products we rely on.
Bee numbers worldwide are in decline and we must do all that we can to protect them. Bees are being attacked by a number of major pests and diseases. There are also suffering from a decline in nutritional forage for bees. Nutritional stress is considered to be one of the main factors behind large-scale bee losses. Lack of food also compromises the bees’ resistance to pests and diseases. Another major problem are pesticides and sprays which harm bees in a number of ways.
While New Zealand bees are not as threatened as bees in other countries, events like Bee Aware Month are crucial to raising public awareness to prevent similar losses occurring here.
One of the best things we can do is make sure there is enough food for our kiwi bees. We can do this by planting ‘bee friendly’ plants; in our gardens, on our farms, in our public gardens and even along our roadsides. For a list of bee friendly plants go to www.treesforbeesnz.org/garden or check out our list of plants to grow.
We can also be careful how we use pesticides in our gardens. Try to avoid using any chemical sprays in your gardens at all. But if you have to spray make sure it is in the late evening after bees have gone to bed. Don’t spray while plants are flowering and avoid spraying plants that you see bees feeding on. You can also check the labels on garden sprays and avoid products containing neonicotinoids.
There are lots of other ways to help our New Zealand bees, read our 'Helping NZ Bees' article on other ideas.
Did you know there are three types of bees in the beehive? They are the queen, worker and drone bees.
Of course there also different varieties of bees. Have a look a this link and find out more about the different varieties of bees, hornets and wasps around the world!