Country Life: Boots on the ground help farm over tough times

Thirty years running the Tora Coastal Walk has brought home the growing disconnect between urban and rural New Zealand, but it's been a chance to bridge the divide, the walk's operators say.

Kiri and James Elworthy are celebrating the 30th season of the three-day tramp which traverses rugged farmland and regenerating bush on the South Wairarapa coast.

"The lack of knowledge for a lot of people about farming is really obvious to us and so we get an amazing opportunity to educate people about farming, and we find on the whole, everyone is really interested," Kiri said.

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The Elworthys, starting off with James' parents Ed and Jane, were among the first farmers in New Zealand to invite walkers onto their land for multi-day supported hikes.

It has gone from a cottage industry into a thriving venture that now supports the 2500-hectare sheep and cattle farm's development, Kiri said.

At first, it was "forest and bird types" and seasoned trampers who came along, but now they are amazed at the broad appeal the walk has.

"We get family groups, we get book groups, we get old university friends who are having a reunion, groups of young mums who have planned it for 18 months and have left all their children at home having a bit of a leer up at night and then doing something wholesome during the day, just all sorts."

Up to 2400 walkers ramble over the 35km trail from September to May. They stay in a purpose-built lodge and refurbished farm buildings along the route with meals provided by two cooks from a central kitchen.

Gone are the days when her toddlers would help Kiri transfer luggage between the accommodation, sometimes mixing up the sleeping bags, she told Country Life, laughing.

It's now a well-oiled operation involving the local rural delivery team, a retinue of cleaners and a diverse menu that's adapted to changing dietary needs.

"I would say, sadly, that the farm's definitely, from a financial perspective, the side-line now, the side-hustle.

"You know, the walk very much supports the farm, and we live in hope that farming will recover, but we feel very fortunate that we have built this up into a robust business now."

The Elworthys have been able to expand, bringing the two neighbouring farms - through which the trail passes - into the family fold. This has allowed their son Guy and his fiancé Abi Rowe to come home and farm.

"We're here because of the walk, really, the walk's enabled us to be out here farming, because it's quite hard for farmers, quite tough these days, so buying more land's sort of out of the picture for a lot of people," Guy said.

The walk has also meant they have been able to lower their stocking rate which enabled James to keep farming when he was struck early on with Parkinson's disease.

James jokes they farm sheep, cattle and people and the only challenge with the walkers is gates sometimes being left open.

"They've got a very low footprint on the farm. I mean, you hardly really know they're there. They walk out and they're gone, then they walk back and hop in their cars."

Kiri welcomes the guests every evening. Sometimes it's hard to keep them on track with the health and safety briefing as they're so interested in finding out about the farm.

"As they go around the three places they do end up getting a sense of the scale of what we're doing, but it's, it's all going on behind the scenes, and so it is a massive commitment. You can't have 45 people on your property, out there walking and go away for the weekend."

Guy has been brought up with the walk and is used to interrupting a muster to go and help a group that may have radioed in, although he says it's a rare occurrence.

"Botch-ups" on the farm due to the walkers mostly not shutting gates are rare. "We've had rams escape into one of our biggest paddocks."

The walk has hastened environmental initiatives on the farm like native tree planting in gullies. On the third day the trail crosses regenerating forest.

"I think any farmer that has the public on their land on a regular basis really starts to open their eyes to the environmental side of things a lot earlier," Kiri said.

"Most farmers in New Zealand now are so across the environmental issues and doing the absolute best to mitigate, you know, any negative effects. But I guess that sense is heightened for us, because we have people examining closely what we're doing on a daily basis. We have to be beyond reproach."

With many farmers starting to dip their toes into the farm walk business, some folding in a short time, Kiri sees a need for more collaboration, perhaps in the form of an association, to raise awareness about this form of agritourism.

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