Welcome to Waihi Gold Alpacas farmstay

Neil and Joanne shifted from Auckland in January 2015 and have never looked back, finding their own little slice of paradise on the outskirts of Waihi, and now they are willing to share what they found with you. It's been a bit of a learning curve (many thanks to Lynn and Alan at QTAZ alpacas). Starting with 4 alpaca their numbers have grown to a herd of around 25, almost all are adult females (Hembra) or babies (Cria (cree-ah)). The first two of their goats arrived within a month of moving in. They were just wee kids and so cute. Mandy followed about a year later, then Gladis and Edna. The cattle numbers go up and down depending on the time of year. We graze cattle for the neighbours so when we run out of grass in winter the cow people go home for a couple of months, We enjoy the relaxed country life combined with the good food and natural beauty that is found in the local Waihi area.

We take sustainability seriously, we are not connected to the grid in any way. Our power for the whole farm including the cabins comes from solar power. Overnight we rely on battery storage for our electricity. Our water comes from a small spring which is then pumped (using a solar powered pump) to a tank on the hill then gravity feed to where it's needed. We recycle everything we can, There is a recycling bin at the cabins.

For the technical people out there we have just put in a new solar system. It comprises of 31 x 460w panels, a 12Kw inverter and 25Kwh of Lithium ion batteries. The Water is pumped by an awesome wee pump from an NZ company called react pumps and is powered by 4 solar panels, this pumps to a 30,000 litre tank on the hill above our house. If your interested in this stuff Neil is alway willing to show it off.