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The Muster-Grant McMaster: Chatham Islands Bound · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is the muster on Hakanui. Grant McMaster farms on
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the edge of Lake Wakatipu at Closeburn Station and joins
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: us once again thanks to the team at Arby Rural.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Good afternoon, Grant.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, good afternoon, Andy. Good afternoon, everybody.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Life in the basin, how is it?
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Well, it's 35 mils of rain since we spoke last week.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: We've got a 20 and a 15. But some quite
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: cold days in between. Hasn't been overly hot. and now
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: this morning it's about 12 degrees, and it's just started
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: to rain again. So, yeah, it's just that spring weather,
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: but what we've had is some very strong winds over
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: about three different days, and it's probably blown as hard
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: as I can remember.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Friday was pretty cold here in Gore. The weekend corrected
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: itself gradually, but it's just a continuation of this weather system.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it is, and as I say, the wind is really,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: it's hit with force, and my neighbour out at Ben Lomond,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: his woolshed sort of faces to the west of it,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: and it's right beside Moat Lake, and it blew the
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: windows out of his woolshed and blasted it all through
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: the wall room. It's a pretty big woolshed and pretty
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: big windows, but that's a first.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: So these are stronger winds, you reckon, than what you've
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: seen there? Are they that bad?
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and we're a little bit sheltered in here
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: with this part of the lake, but it does whistle
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: down through, and we didn't lose so many trees here,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: but further around the traps they have, and a couple
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: of big bluegum trees just ride over and... And further
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: up to Konoki, there's a bit of carnage up there
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: on the roads, on the side of the road with
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: trees coming down and towards the greenstone. But, yeah, we
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: missed out on the really strong winds last year, but
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: we haven't this year. So three days of this week
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: or the previous seven days have been really, really rocketing.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: That's kind of flowing under the radar. I've heard nothing
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: about those winds.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: No, well, it's been... It's been, as I say, they've
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: been pretty good. Well, you know, they've been strong. So, yeah,
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: just the spring weather, I guess.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: The girls doing the lambing at the moment, though, they'll
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: be undercover, they'll be sheltered?
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they'll be sheltered. Well, sheltered from the wind, otherwise
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: the lambs will probably end up across the Walter Peak. But, no,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: that second cycle's into it now, and, you know, the
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: lambs are getting a wee bit of size about them,
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: skipping about, so it looks, you know, I've seen the odd...
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: dry you poking about as you do they just love
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: running through things and and just showing you exactly where
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: they are to annoy you even more but they um
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: yeah that looks a pretty good drop i think and
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: pretty lucky with the you know with with the weather
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: the way that way it's worked out you know a
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: couple of poor days but um you get that any
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: time don't you and or nothing to complain about compared
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: to the rest of the the south so uh no
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: pretty good there and the feed the feed is is
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: good it's um it's not really blowing in the wind,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: but it's, uh, you know, there's enough there that shifted
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: a few cows into a couple of blocks that, you know,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: needed a few more cattle in them, which is always
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: a good sign or bad sign. I had it wrong
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: for a start, but no, it's, uh, it's looking, it's
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: looking pretty good at this stage, Andy.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: When does the infamous close burn station tailing get underway?
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Oh, well, the, uh, the 20th, it's a week earlier
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: this year, the 20th of, um, of November. So, uh, Yeah,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: they've all submitted their job descriptions, and to be fair,
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: it hasn't changed much from last year because they don't
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: want to do much work. So they just put that
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: on now, and they arrive up. So Cubby and Hunty
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: will be up there. They'll all argue all the way
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: from Waikaka and get up there, and it's just like
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: the old same old, same old, but then we've got
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: to get up the next morning and tail lambs for
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: a couple of days. But it's always fun, and you
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: get that team around and sort of see what the
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: lambs are doing and how well the ewes are and
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Even if they are looking all right, they never tell
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: you that, so you best don't ask. Drop your lip
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: is one thing you cannot do in that tailing gang
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: is drop your lip.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Well, there's one thing you don't do. Another thing you
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: do is just say, oh, these lambs are looking good.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: No, you can't say that because then you get crucified
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: as well. She's not a win-win for the farm manager,
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: but it is a lot of fun.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Hey, we've talked a bit about the Chatham Islands. Sounds
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: like you're away over there next week.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, you and I tried to organise a
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: trip for us to get over there and taking the
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: muster team over and it didn't work. But my eight-year-old grandson,
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Bo Acourt, he's got me a trip to the Chatham Islands.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: And a few weeks ago, Bo was on Seven Sharp
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: on the television and he was talking about wool and
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: the virtues of wool. And he was talking about quite
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: a few things, actually. But he mentioned on that programme
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: that he would He'd like to go to the Chatham
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Islands and perhaps farm over there. And so to cut
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: a long story short, Stephen Sharp has organised to take
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: him to the Chatham Islands and he needs someone responsible
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to go with him. They couldn't get anyone, so I'm going.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: So him and I are going. We leave on Tuesday
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: and we fly up to Christchurch, get the plane over
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: to the islands a couple of days and they'll have
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: the film crew filming him and what he's up to. And, um,
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: a couple of days in, we've come back home. So, uh,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: we might be able to report from there next, next
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: Wednesday from, uh, live from the Chatham. Yeah.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Well done, Bo. This is a story that is, it's
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: gaining a lot of traction.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: It is. So he, um, you know, he, he talked
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: about wall and, and what have you. And he's, he's
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: a guy that, um, we guy that's, uh, he, uh,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: you know, he gets on a crusade and he, he,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: he's like a dog with a bone. He keeps going. And, um, Anyway,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: he mentioned his love of wool on that program, and
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: there's a bit of a back story to that. But
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: he got sent quite a few socks from a company
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: in the North Island, a wool company. So he's at
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: the age of eight. He's had a couple of... Lucky breaks, really.
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: One's an overseas trip with his grandfather. Yeah. And the
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: other's socks and I'd say probably a few job offers.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I'd say you'll have a few sponsorship opportunities as well.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: I'd better get a couple of muster caps up to
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: you boys before you go over there.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just thinking that, you know, as I edge
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: towards retirement, he's going to need a good manager.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: How would that go? What would you demand, though? I mean,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: a 90-10 split? Would you take 10?
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: It'd be too sharp for me.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: In all seriousness, Grant, this is really, really cool. I mean,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: the Chatham Islands is unknown to a lot of people.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: I went to school in Oberoo. We had a few
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: people there from the Pitt Islands, not far off the Chathams,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: Gregory Hunts. And it was a really interesting tale they
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: told about where they were. I think they only went
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: home maybe once a year.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. And, you know, you've heard me speak
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: about my interest. And I think it came from... when
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: I was a wee tacker at school, and a wee guy,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: a mate of mine was Jeffrey Schofield, and they were fishermen,
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: and I'm pretty sure that they had fished at the
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Chatham Islands, and I think that's when I first got
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: my fascination with it, probably about Bo's age now, eight.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: But anyway, you know, I've always sort of followed that,
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: and I think, you know, I've seen the Country Calendar programme,
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: so they're trying to get a bit of a farming,
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: you know, I think we're going to try to organise
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: to have a look at a farm, so... I've got
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: a couple of contacts I'm waiting to hear from, and
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: the Seven Sharp would like to sort of take them around,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: have a bit of fun. And the Black Robins, because
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: he spoke about that on the programme, so they're organising that. Yeah,
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: so it'll be a great experience for him, and I
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: feel pretty privileged to be able to go along with him.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Well, you're just doing some renaissance work for this muster,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: possibly country tour too. I think Jamie's trying to call
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: dibs on this, but you need to go and do
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: some renaissance work for us.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Oh, well, that's good. I think I might have to
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: give RB Rural Ring a smithy and just see what
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: is going on. He's always been really good with the
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: sponsorship he's given me going overseas. And I think, you know,
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: he'd be quite keen to go there because he's a
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: great traveller. He was always good on a rugby trip.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Better than he was on the field, but... I think
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: we could be on to something, and we are the
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: main show, aren't we, Andy?
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: It's called the food chain. I stick to my knitting, Grant. Look,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: we'd better leave it there. We'll catch up with you
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: hopefully next Wednesday from the Chatham Islands. It's going to
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: be interesting.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: And if we do get a trip over there, we
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: can invite Jamie McKay. He could put the bags on
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: the bus for us.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Good on you, Grant. Talk next Wednesday. All going to plan.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: Hope so.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Grant McMaster thanks to Abbey Rural. A way over to
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: the Chatham Islands next week with his grandson Beau. So
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: all going to planned disasters on the Chatham Islands Wednesday
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: next week. Tori Tremaine's up next from Benham and Crookshank Pride.