Merino sheep farmer Meg Taylor defies all the stereotypes.  

The Dunedin-born former tourist lodge owner has just 162 hectares of fairly flat land ten minutes drive east of downtown Wanaka. Her farm is made up of three river terraces and the only ‘high country’ is in the views. What’s more, she runs a mere 720 ewes and has been a full-time farmer for less than three years – though she was very involved in her late husband’s farm, and ran it for two years, with help, after he died in 2008. 

“I herded sheep, set up fence breaks, fed out to stock, drove the tractor and loaded hay etc, etc, quite regularly,” Meg says. “I wouldn’t have gone into farming full time if I hadn’t known what I was getting in to.”

While some local cockies were sceptical when Meg started farming merinos on flat riverside land, she had done her research and so far it’s going very well.  

“It’s not ‘high’ country that’s essential for merinos, its ‘dry’ country. There are lots of flat merino stations in the Mackenzie Basin and the Maniototo,” she adds. “It’s also a myth that you need to starve merinos to get fine wool. The research now says to feed them as well as you can.”

Driving in the ute around the farm, delivering salt blocks to her sheep, it’s easy to see why she loves farming. There are picture perfect panoramas wherever you look, the grass is lush and the sheep are robust and happy.  

“And I’m not answering the same questions again and again,” Meg says. 

After 19 years hosting tourists over dinner at Riverrun – a boutique luxury lodge Meg and her late husband John Pawson built in 1996 - the conversation could get repetitive. “I’m loving not having to be careful about saying what I really think.” When you’ve got Republicans and Democrats around the same table keeping discussions civilised could be quite a challenge, even for a practised diplomat like Meg.

After the lodge, moving into the male dominated world of farming was relatively simple. Meg’s happy to be farming merinos (“They’re my favourite sheep, but I guess every farmer feels like that about their particular breed”) and unlike other sheep, merinos are commanding very good prices for their wool.

“Ordinary wool earns two or three dollars a kilo at the moment. Merino wool sells for up to $20 to $25. And the meat market is good too.” 

Meg has led a varied and interesting life. She met her husband John in Melbourne when he was establishing outdoor clothing brand Kathmandu and she was doing a PhD in English Literature at Monash University.

Their home was always full of people talking about Kathmandu and eventually Meg decided she may as well join in officially. 

“It was an exciting time. The business was growing very rapidly. It included retail shops - eventually in both Australia and New Zealand - wholesale and a busy mail order service. Mail order was a key strategy in those days - rather than internet. I did the catalogue and marketing from 1990 on.” 

Kathmandu became a big successful business, and Meg and John eventually sold their shares in 1994.

They took a year off to go climbing and have adventures, and the following year moved to New Zealand, bought some farmland bordering the Clutha and Cardrona Rivers and started building the lodge. 

Meg threw herself into tourism, with the same enthusiasm she previously had for retailing outdoor clothing and would later have for farming. 

“It’s like there’s a switch in my brain turning from one thing to the next.”  

There are some constants in her life, one of which is a love of the outdoors. And that particular love has a strong connection to everything she has done both professionally – outdoor clothing, tourism in Wanaka and then farming wool for outdoor clothing – and in her recreation – which includes a passion for cycling and mountain sports.

Tragically, John died in a climbing accident in 2008. Meg leased out the farm and continued to run the lodge for another eight years. She also set up another tourism business called Green Journeys with two other lodge owners, which offered ‘luxury holidays, accommodation and experiences’.

Eventually Meg decided she was ready for a change. Three years ago she sold the lodge and her share of Green Journeys and became a full-time farmer.

She threw herself into learning everything she could and has loved every minute of it. 

“It’s a very exciting time to be farming. So much is changing. I’ve got an auto-drafter in my sheep yards and I’m planting nitrogen-fixing legumes rather than applying nitrogen. There’s lots happening in the eco and technology spheres.” 

It’s also an exciting time to be living in Wanaka. And like many locals, Meg is not letting her work or her lifestyle stop her from fighting to protect the town she loves.

“My friends and I had been discussing Queenstown Airport Corporation’s plans for developing Wanaka Airport and after six months of talking decided it was time to do something. “ 

Now when she’s not busy on the farm, Meg can be seen in town helping run the Protect Wanaka information and membership drive stand.

“It’s fascinating talking to people on the streets about the issue. Almost no-one wants a $400 million redevelopment so the airport can take jets. There are so many other things that $400 million could be spent on in Wanaka; waste water infrastructure, medical facilities, parking, roading, school facilities and so on."

“Our key request is that Wanaka people should have a say in the development of Wanaka Airport. QAC is planning for millions of passenger movements and this will change Wanaka massively and for ever.”

“The plan for the airport is not driven by any vision for Wanaka’s future but instead by constraints on the development of Queenstown airport. The easy solution is to look over the hill to the green fields of Wanaka. We’re happy with 50 seater domestic flights to service the local market but we don’t think the dual airport model being proposed is in any way for Wanaka’s benefit."

“We want our council to have a vision for Wanaka’s future, beyond seeing our town as a solution to Queenstown’s problems.”

PHOTO: Caroline Harker