About Us
My Story
Hello, my name is Rachel – I’m a social and respectful person with a love of creativity and detailing.
Being a mother of three boys has been a beautiful yet challenging journey at times, with the first son born with a very rare syndrome.
I have a fascination with meeting new people and learning more of what makes our world tick.
I’ve enjoyed being a New Zealander since 1993. I grew up in a beautiful part Devon, England in a family tourism business. Since then I have owned restaurants, yes I'm a foodie! But my passion has moved to plants – I’ve loved working as a florist and in horticulture in recent years.
I enjoy art, and my recent expression of that has been through drawing (where I met my lovely partner, Paul), pottery, soap and candle making.
At last I’m accomplishing my dream of developing a lavender farm on my beautiful and unique character property here in Nelson. I’m able to follow my passions and accommodate people in the hope they carry on their own journey a little more refreshed and inspired.
Just Up the Road
Quail Farm is located in Brightwater, Tasman, New Zealand - just 18 mins from Nelson Airport.
There are valleys with beautiful rivers and crystal clear swimming holes along our country road behind the farm. Plus so many easy walks or full day tramps into our three famous National Parks.
Of course we mustn’t forget the wonderful Great Taste Cycle Trail the extension of which passes by our gate.
The historic village of Brightwater, Lord Rutherford’s birthplace, is five minutes away. The village is home to the Royce McGlashen Pottery https://www.roycemcglashen.co.nz, Grape Escape Café (10 minutes drive), https://www.thegrapeescapecafe.co.nz/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1MCEkZiE-wIVWg4rCh2IqA-UEAAYASAAEgKoRPD_BwE Sprig and Fern pub https://www.facebook.com/sprigandfernellisstreet/ , The Local fish and chip shop - https://www.facebook.com/56EllisSt/ and a comprehensive 4-Square Store https://www.foursquare.co.nz/south-island/nelson/brightwater.
My Favourite Places
You're in for a real treat as Quail Farm is perfectly placed in the heart of Nelson Tasman to explore so many amazing places, ending each day in your relaxing luxury accomodation.
Here are some of my personal recommendations for you.
Nelson City is our historic boutique city
Art galleries, checkout The Suter https://thesuter.org.nz/, a wide variety of shops and cafes. My favourite restaurant is the Boat Shed Cafe https://www.boatshedcafe.co.nz/
Mapua Wharf — https://www.mapuawharf.co.nz/, great boutique shops and cafés, bike hire for the Great Taste Cycle Trail https://kiwijourneys.co.nz/, Favourite Restaurant, The Apple Shed Kitchen and Bar https://www.theappleshed.nz/
Winery — my favourite is Forsters in Upper Moutere Https://www.forsters.co.nz/. While in this beautiful area check out Upper Moutere village https://www.moutereartisans.co.nz, it’s small but well worth a visit and is the place to find New Zealand’s oldest pub https://www.moutereinn.co.nz .
Beaches — Kaiteriteri is a world renowned stunning beach. Take a boat cruises into the beautiful Abel Tasman - https://www.abeltasman.co.nz/
Action — if you like action adventure activities check out the Cable Bay Adventure Park https://www.cablebayadventurepark.com/. While there checkout Cable Bay itself is great for a swim, walk or a stiff tramp up into the hills. Also enjoy the cute little cafe open in summer months.
I hope these ideas gives you food for thought. When you arrive I’m happy to chat about more recommendations tailored to your enjoyment.
For more ideas have a look at this fully packed website Nelson Tasman NZ https://www.nelsontasman.nz/visit-nelson-tasman/destinations/abel-tasman-national-park/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo4H-_f-D-wIVAJVLBR1VdQIQEAAYAiAAEgLQxvD_BwE
Lavender Farm
My lavender field has taken the place of an old Chardonnay block. We had some amazing help from Woofers and pulled out the wires and poles. Over the last three years I’ve planted over 800 lavender plants – Lavendula x intermedia (Grosso and Super), Lavendula Angustifolia (Pacific Blue and Violet Intrigue).
My first small harvest was of dried flowers sold to florists in Auckland. Last January we took an exciting early morning harvest for oil distillation where the scent in the air was magical. The woolsacks overflowing with freshly cut lavender were quickly transported to our local distiller in the Moutere hills. Like fine wine the composition pattern of the oil matures with time, and now it is just beautiful. The NZ Lavender Association https://www.lavender.org.nz has been very helpful and I recently won a Silver Award - yes I was very excited.
We have a small rage of beautifully crafted products available for sale at our accomodation and local markets.
For safe use of our products, please:
Keep out of reach of children.
If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult a health professional prior to use.
Keep away from eyes and mucous membranes.
Please note that some product could stain clothing
Skin tests recommended before use
If any adverse reactions happen, stop using the product and if required see your health professional for advice.
Hazelnut Grove
The farm has two amazing hazelnut groves with different varieties — White Heart and Barcelona. The 100 trees are over 20 years old with the White Hearts being the most productive. Each autumn we harvest the nuts by hand.
We add delicious crushed hazelnuts to the fresh home-made bread we provide in your breakfast. And of course there’s always a bowl of nuts in your accomodation to enjoy cracking. Finally we do a roaring trade at the gate sale!
Sustainability
The farm is 10 acres which enables me to carry out so many sustainable practices. The wood from our tress provided hot water for Orchard Studio and the farm house. The orchard provides a wide variety of fruit for our home-made preserves and the hazelnut groves provide nuts for our home-made bread. The soap in our accomodation is home-made from our own lavender oils.
For our family we grow much of our vegetables. Naturally we compost garden waste and add it to our veggie plots. And the happy hens provide eggs for the kitchen.
All domestic waste is recycled through the council’s excellent systems and cleaning uses environmentally friendly products, refilled from bulk containers. Our laundry is dried on the line - no electricity required!
On the technical side we use energy efficient products where possible - items such as LED lighting and heat pumps. We are currently investigating installing a solar system for the whole property.
As well as being simply delicious our drinking water comes from our own bore, with waste water dealt with directly on the property.
We barter our grassland with local farmers who run their ewes and lambs in return for fresh meat. We offer an amazing NZ farm experience to Woofers https://wwoof.nz (younger people who swap work for food and accomodation, while learning about organic and sustainable farming around the world).
Contact Details
From overseas +64 21 1700 772
From within NZ 021 1700 772
Quail Farm
124 River Terrace Road, Brightwater,
Tasman, Nelson, 7091, New Zealand