Farm Tours
Experience New Zealand Agri Tourism at it's best in the heart of the Manawatu!
When staying at Hiwinui Country Estate you get the opportunity to experience what it is like being on a multi-generational New Zealand Working Farm.
Bring your gumboots and experience our award-winning Dairy Farm, Stewart Dairylands. Meet our friendly four legged pets and wander through the properties expansive landscaped grounds.
Tom the resident lodge Cat has landed on his paws! He was found as a kitten under the lawn mower in the garage and has never left. He has the sweetest white mustache and is loved by many of our guests. Tom is allowed in the main guest areas but not in any guest rooms. Guests can also take part feeding the white ducks and collecting the chicken eggs.
We have our two pet sheep Poppy and Rambo in the paddock next to the Lodge. These two can be hand-fed and love getting scratches. Dior the Pony is our most recent family member arriving at the farm and is Julia's daughter Charlotte's Pony. Dior has a beautiful personality, loves meeting new people and enjoys a good snuggle and treats.
Take a wander through Jan's Vegetable Gardens and Glass House. Jan is an avid gardener and grows all our own seasonal produce providing our guests with fresh, quality produce. In peak production times the crops are enough to provide for our three families living on the farm. Jan also grows a lot of her vegetables from seed and Dave propagates and grows Native Trees from seed for future planting initiatives.
Stewart Dairyland's Farm Tour
For over 100 years the Stewart Families main income came from harvesting wool from Romney sheep. It was in the 90's that James Stewart started milking cows in an old basic 10 aside herringbone cowshed on a farm that the family had recently acquired. It soon became obvious that the dairy industry was now far more profitable and like many farms throughout New Zealand sheep were slowly phased out of their families farming operation.
It was in 1999 that a new 36 aside herringbone shed was built to replace the old 10 aside cow shed and the purchase of a 100 acre neighboring property with an underpass was made and the new company of Stewart Dairyland's was formed. Fast forward to today, the farm has grown in size to 1500 acres with the dairy operation expanding into two milking platforms and milks over 800 cows which includes a 54 bale rotary dairy with a visitor information center and viewing platform for Farm Tours.
Our most recent achievements include winning the Regional Supreme Ballance Farm Environment Awards for the Horizons Region as well as the Fonterra Responsible Dairying award.
Farm Tour overview
- Tour is taken by 4th generation Dave Stewart
- Visit a Award-Winning Environmental Farm
- Arrive at Visitor Centre/Farm Dairy
- Overview of the Stewart pioneering family history
- Overview of New Zealand’s biggest export earner – Fonterra Grower Cooperative
- Viewing of Farm Dairy and our Environmental efforts
- Restoration project on Native bush section*
- Visit to Hiwinui Country Estate for either a Devonshire Tea or BBQ lunch consisting of steak sandwich and salad and a non alcoholic beverage. Relax on the covered deck area or explore the grounds.
* Native bush walk is subject to weather due to access
*To view cows getting milked tour needs to take place around 3pm
Tour of Stewart Dairylands with BBQ lunch at Hiwinui Country Estate
Price $125 per person
Minimum of 10 people
Approx 2 hours and 30 minutes
Tour Stewart Dairylands with Devonshire Tea at Hiwinui Country Estate
Price $59 per person
Minimum of 2 people
Approx 1 hour and 30 minutes
Cancellation Policy:
Cancellations up to 48 hrs before a tour incur a 25 % cancellation charge for administration.
Cancellations within 48 hrs of a tour incur a 100 % cancellation charge.
Weather / Tour adjustments:
We have no control over the weather and anyone taking one of our tours must accept that we cannot guarantee sunshine. On days with poor weather, itineraries may be adjusted to suit the group. These adjustments will be at the discretion of the owners and will not affect overall participation.
We also reserve the right to cancel a tour, in the event of extreme weather, rain, winds, flooding etc. We will advise participants within the cancellation policy period.
Health & Safety:
A full briefing will be incorporated into the start of the tour including signing a guest book and disclaimer form. This is in line with current New Zealand Health and Safety requirements for visitors on farms.
We have a no alcohol and no smoking policy on farm and we reserve the right to not allow intoxicated persons to participate in our tours.
Additional Information:
We advise all guests to wear comfortable footwear and bring warm clothing and waterproof jackets appropriate to the weather conditions.
Please advise us if you have any food allergies/intolerance prior to your tour.
Toilet facilities and drinking water are available but please bring drink bottles to refill. Extra beverages can be purchased at Hiwinui Country Estate at an additional expense. We have Eftpos/Visa facilities.
Any photography taken on our farm or at Hiwinui Country Estate can only be for personal use and not for commercial purposes.
For information on booking tours please contact us
For guests who are staying with us, Farm Tours can be selected at the time of making your booking.
What our previous guests have said
We had a lovely time at Hiwinui Country Estate. Jan, Dave and Julia were very welcoming. The accommodation is first class and some lovely conversations with
Ciaran & Nicola, Thames Dilton, UK
We have stayed at Hiwinui several times over the last few years - we love it so much that we now always plan a couple of nights whenever we’re going past
Mike Henderson, Auckland
Thank you for making our wedding day so incredibly special and amazing. BEST DAY EVER!!!
Dean & McKenzie White, Wellington