Beyond the gate

Rural reporter BLAIR ENSOR dons a Swanndri and ventures into the wilderness of Molesworth Station, where everything is done at the pace of a walking horse.

A howling northwesterly drives rain against the windscreen of the work ute. It's 7am and we're parked up about 45 minutes north of Hanmer and 100 yards back from the Clarence River, where a herd of 900 cattle from Molesworth Station wait patiently on the other side they're due to cross at daybreak.

The majestic scenery of New Zealand's largest high-country station slowly emerges from the darkness, revealing towering snow-capped mountains, the result of an early cold snap.

The first signs of human activity are the headlights of a large truck carrying a horse and a pack of dogs. It appears over a ridge opposite us. Following close behind is a flat-deck ute and musterers on horseback with dogs at their heels. The riders are left to usher the mob across the river, while the vehicles make their way towards us.

The imposing figure of Jim Ward, who's been the station manager at Molesworth since 2001, emerges from his truck. Despite the persistent rain, he's not wearing any wet-weather gear. He sidles up and extends a very firm right hand.

He doesn't seem fazed by the weather it's not that bad in comparison to the snow that fell last week.

"The rain makes life a bit trickier because rivers can come up quickly, and the cattle struggle with the stickier terrain, but that's life."

He says with only a limited number of days to get everything done, being too wet or too cold is no excuse for upsetting the plan.

"We've got to give ourselves every opportunity of getting across [the river], so you've got to stick to your schedule and go for it."

The weather's enough to deal with, so the last thing Jim wants at this time of year is unwelcome visits by the public.

"Some people want the world to stop moving while we all hop off for a while, but we need the shoulders of spring and the autumn to get everything done and we don't want to see traffic in here in the winter, because that's just lethal."

The 180,000-hectare station runs 10,000 cattle angus and hereford and mustering begins as soon as the formidable Acheron Road, which cuts through Molesworth linking Blenheim and Hanmer, closes at the end of March. There's limited time to move cattle onto winter blocks before the weather closes in.

Molesworth is very distinct in its makeup, with definite summer and winter country.

The lower valleys, warmer faces and river flats are the winter country, says Jim, and the higher, more exposed westerly country, which gets better rainfall, is used in the summer.

Jim and his crew of six musterers, complete with a swag of about 80 heading dogs and huntaways, started the day at one of the station's two main camps, Bush Gully (the other is Tarndale).

The 900 cattle waiting for them at Bunkers Stream have come from the upper reaches above Tarndale.

The day's mustering will take them across the Clarence about 15km south to the 180ha Molesworth Bull farm in Hanmer.

No sooner have the cattle fought their way across the river than the deluge, which greeted us before dawn, gives way to crisp blue skies.

The cattle are driven along a potted gravel road lined with clumps of tussock and don't rest until they reach the base of Jollies Pass, where the musterers break for lunch.

"Everything on the property is done at the pace of a walking horse because you won't get there any quicker.

"That gives the guys the opportunity to observe their stock, and the stock are a lot happier for it," says Jim.

"You've got to be careful they [the cattle] don't get too footsore. You're not just chasing them out; it's droving in the true sense of the word.

"You've got to look after the stock on the way."

After lunch, the cattle are driven over Jollies Pass to Bull Farm, where they'll spend the night before being moved to Toshi, one of two leasehold finishing blocks recently acquired by the station.

"Some of these cattle are pretty prime."

The cattle are not far off finishing so when they arrive at Toshi, they'll be sorted into weight ranges and will be off to the meatworks by Christmas, says Jim.

Although Molesworth's been "bloody dry", it's had a reasonable season.

The new finishing country has allowed Jim to sneak up cattle numbers, increasing the property's gross profit margin considerably.

As a result, a record 2600 calves have been marked this year. "They're probably the best calves we've ever had, which is indicative of a reasonable spring."

Traditional farming techniques are still very much the way of the future, says Jim. He sees other properties with more expensive farming practices moving back to horseback mustering.

"They're cheap to run and it's giving guys another string to their bow."

Motorbikes are getting more expensive to buy and run and with production costs rising, farmers need to start looking at more affordable ways to keep their operations sustainable.

"It [mustering on horseback] attracts a different class of stockman. They're more ambitious and they have a more enjoyable day."

At the moment, Jim employs three fulltime musterers and three others on a casual basis. "The guys are what makes this place tick. Any turkey can wave their arms and have a go, but these guys are the nuts and bolts."

It's good to see guys "who are wide-eyed pups" when they first turn up slowly gain confidence working on the property, he says.

"You've got to have a desire to be in this environment; it's not everyone's cup of tea.

"They spend a lot of time away and there's no TV or radio and they've got to pitch in and do everything during the day."

The musterers are a bunch of characters, with a real cross-section of ages and backgrounds. The guys who tend to the station fulltime are baby faced, hardly stereotypical high-country farmers.

Sam Blair, 20, from Fairlie, didn't fancy following in his father's footsteps as an earthmover so he became a musterer.

"This place is legendary," he says. "The work's traditional. It's quite relaxing and peaceful. You can just kick back on your horse and work your dogs."

Mark Dillon, 22, from Tophouse, near Nelson Lakes, got sick of milking cows in Tapawera after he left school, so he swapped the cows for dogs and a horse and "got hooked".

"It's good to get out here and have a crack at it."

Fraser Taylor, 20, from Taihape, just loves his dogs and horse and being out on the land.

"You've got to do it before you get a bit older and get tied up with bloody women."

Sam and Mark have spent most of their time living at Bush Gully, and Fraser has been based at Tarndale, where he's been joined by an array of casual staff.

In their eyes, today's muster has been pretty cruisy, but they agree mustering on the Molesworth is a totally different proposition to any other farm.

"It's all at your own pace and a lot of it's stockmanship because there are no fences or gateways or laneways. A lot of it you have to do yourself and put yourself in the right place," says Fraser.

Despite the lack of entertainment, the guys manage to keep themselves occupied.

Cooking dinner on the wood range always takes a couple of hours in the evening, while other spare time is dedicated to training dogs, hunting, drinking beer and reading magazines.

"Some days you think how good it would be to go to the pub," laments Mark.

Other entertainment comes from the casual staff who join them throughout the year. According to Fraser, they help "liven things up a bit".

Today the casuals are Craig King, 50-plus, a sheep and beef farmer from Seddon, Sam Duncan, 22, from Hunterville and Ned Robertson, 35, of Fairlie.

Ned, a fencer by trade, is nominated as their spokesperson.

He's been mustering since he was 15 on farms all over New Zealand "it's part of life, really".

"There's no problems out here, only your dogs and your horse ... It [Molesworth] is quite unique. It's the biggest place in the country. Not everyone gets to muster this sort of area and there's plenty of scope and country to go round."

He says moving stock is "bloody good fun", especially when it's with some "bloody nice people".

"Me old mate, I'll be mustering as long as I live."

- The Marlborough Express