Wool-d you believe it! FARM SISTERS' LUXURY LINES

When Anna and Kate returned to country life, they brought home some of their city slicker business hopes and dreams

- 

For 110 years, five generations of the Macdonald family have farmed, living on and looking after the 1100-hectare Davaar Station near Te Anau. Sisters Anna and Kate have always loved the rugged Southland hills and valleys they grew up in.

But it took returning home to start their own businesses on the farm, after almost 10 years away for studies and work, for them to truly appreciate the magic of home, and their hardworking parents Fiona and James.

“We have only come to truly realise and understand the rich history of our family’s farming story in the last couple of years,” tells Kate, 28, who moved back in 2020 when, like so many, her life plans were derailed by Covid.

Anna followed soon after with the sisters taking on active farm roles, working with their parents from before dawn to dusk.

“Getting up before the sun is non-negotiable,” laughs Kate. “It was summer when we moved home and we were in a drought. The pressure was on a bit. We were processing lambs, dry feeding and break fencing, and when we weren’t doing that, we were chopping wood or working on our businesses. We're both pretty handy, and can use a chainsaw, back a trailer and drive the tractor.”