House Sitting In Koputaroa

Following a short stay in Raetihi after Glen Murray, I’m now a couple days into my current house sit. This one finds me on a lifestyle block in Koputaroa, which is about 7kms north of Levin. Koputaroa translates into English as ‘breast of the albatross’, the name referring to the heavy fog that can fill the valley hereabouts; from the hills near the local marae the fog was said to look like the plumage of an albatross, and thus the area became known as Koputaroa.

It’s really nice where I’m staying. The two-storey house sits on high ground with an awesome view of the aforementioned valley. The section is a good-sized landscaped garden with loads of fruit trees, including feijoas, cranberries, apple, pears, figs, and quince. The home itself has been renovated and flashed up over recent years.

As far as the animals go there’s 3 doggies, 2 kitty cats, a couple ponies, 9 chookies, 5 drystock heifers, 6 ewes with 1 ram, and a second mob of ovines consisting of 12 lambs and 2 ewes.

The doggies are super friendly, and so far they have been nice and easy to look after. They get a good walk around the property when I check on the livestock in the mornings, straight after which we then hike up through the felled forestry block that is situated above the house. By the time we get back home they’ve had nearly two hours of exercise and that pretty much sets them up for the rest of the day and they just blob out on their favourite chairs until dinner time.

The doggies consist of Macie, who’s a 4-5 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, then there’s an energetic Fox terrier who goes by the name of Ronnie, and finally we have Snooki, a 13-year Foxy who’s nearly stone deaf. Apparently she was hit by a vehicle about a year ago, and though the recovery process was a lengthy and expensive one, Snook has come out the other side looking surprisingly well, save for the damage that was done to her hearing. Considering the trauma she went through, I find her a happy, active, and mobile little doggie and she enjoys tagging when we all go walkies.

The dogs are all pretty spoiled so guess where they sleep. That’s right – with me. 🙂 They all blob out on one side of the bed and pretty much stay put until morning. All three dogs get on well and they’re really good mates with the cats as well. Speaking of which, they are Peppa and Leo, both former strays who have made a home here. The two ponies (Chilli and Minnie) camp in the paddock below the house and are nice and friendly. They live on mainly new hay, with a small portion of fresh grass and they also get a muesli mix for their dinner.

I’m staying in Koputaroa for just over a week and then it’s a short drive to the other side of Levin to the next property. That place is a repeat from a couple years ago and I’m looking forward to going back.

Macie

Ronnie

Snooki

Peppa

Leo

Chilli (left) & Minnie

Heifers

Lambs

Ram & Ewes

Chookies (& Ron)