# HiTech Hippies — full content for LLMs Technology meets sustainable living in Northland, New Zealand. 36 stories from Meg and Mark Smith. ### Mammotion removed multipoint turns. Home Assistant gave them back - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/mammotion-removed-multipoint-turns-home-assistant - Date: 2026-08-09 - Category: Lawnmower - Tags: Mammotion, Home Assistant, robot mower - Author: mark Mammotion removed multipoint turns from its app, but the mower protocol kept them. Home Assistant gave my Luba AWD 5000, and my lawn, the feature back. ![Zero-turn damage torn into wet turf beside the daffodil border at Āhuru Mōwai](/images/blog/mammotion-removed-multipoint-turns-home-assistant/luba-zero-turn-damage-hero.avif) *Taken this morning: what a zero turn does to wet Northland turf. This is the "optimisation".* I live on a few acres at Whangārei Heads, and a Mammotion Luba AWD 5000 does the mowing. It is a genuinely impressive machine: RTK positioning down to a couple of centimetres, all-wheel drive, and the ability to handle slopes that would put a ride-on sideways. I have zero complaints about the hardware. The software company behind it is another story. ## The turn that vanished Robot mowers have two ways of turning at the end of a mowing line. A zero turn, where the mower pivots on the spot like a tank. And a multipoint turn, the classic three-point turn you learned for your driver's licence: forward, reverse, forward, carry on. On wet or soft grass, the difference is everything. A zero turn on damp Northland turf rips a doughnut into the lawn at the end of every single line. Do that a few hundred times a mow and your beautifully striped paddock has a chewed-up fringe like a bad haircut. So multipoint turn wa... --- ### Salt, spiders and solar: our annual coastal wash-down - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/salt-spiders-solar-annual-coastal-wash - Date: 2026-08-07 - Category: Energy - Tags: solar, coastal living, property maintenance - Author: mark Our annual coastal wash protects the barn, roofs and solar panels from salt, spiders and the maintenance cost of living near the sea. Living at Whangārei Heads means living with the sea. We are only one kilometre from the coast as the crow flies. The view side of that deal is excellent. The maintenance side is relentless. Salt spray travels. It settles on everything: cladding, roofs, glass, and now solar panels. Once a year, a crew from [WashRite](https://www.washrite.co.nz) comes out and washes the whole property down. This is not a sponsored post. They are just a great Northland company that does this work well. After a few years of using them, the annual wash has become a fixed part of our property calendar. They got one of those epic Northland mid-winter days this year. Not a cloud in the sky, the hills glowing green, and the crew up on the roof in full sunshine. ![Aerial view of WashRite cleaning the house and solar array at Āhuru Mōwai](/images/blog/salt-spiders-solar-annual-coastal-wash/01.avif) *The full wash-down in progress, with the WashRite crew working across the house and solar array.* Here is what gets done, and why. ## The barn wash is a warranty condition, not a nice-to-have Our Totalspan barn carries a 25-year warranty, and regular washing is one of its maintenance conditions. That mak... --- ### Our first monthly aerial portrait of Āhuru Mōwai - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/first-monthly-aerial-portrait-ahuru-mowai - Date: 2026-08-03 - Category: Garden - Tags: food forest, drone, Whangārei Heads, digital twin - Author: mark We photographed every square metre of Āhuru Mōwai from the air. August 2026 is frame one in a monthly record of the land and everything growing on it. Yesterday, just after midday, we photographed every square metre of this place from the air. Seven hundred and forty-three photos in about 25 minutes, and then the drone came home and landed on a painted cross on the driveway. It was the exact spot it will leave from next month, and the month after, and every month for as long as we live here. ![Painted pink cross marking the drone take-off and landing point](/images/blog/first-monthly-aerial-portrait-ahuru-mowai/01.avif) *The painted cross gives every monthly flight the same starting and landing point.* That painted cross is the point of the whole thing. One photo of the land is nice. The same photo, taken the same way, every month for years? That becomes something else entirely. A record. A memory that does not fade or argue with itself at the dinner table about how big that tītoki was in 2026. We've walked this land for years and thought we knew it. From 30 metres up, it turns out we knew about half. The food forest reads completely differently from above. We can see which beds are thriving and which are sulking. We can see the exact line where the wind comes over the ridge and everything grows a lean. We can see the bones... --- ### Building Luna a dog kennel for Northland weather - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/building-luna-dog-kennel-northland-weather - Date: 2026-07-14 - Category: Outdoor Living - Tags: dog kennel, DIY, Northland - Author: mark A weather-resistant dog kennel for a full-grown golden retriever needs the right proportions, treated timber, roof fall, and a low-waste cutting plan. When Luna arrived, one thing became obvious quickly: a growing golden retriever needs more than a small dog kennel with a doorway cut into it. Golden retrievers are long-bodied dogs, and Luna will likely lie facing the entrance with her body stretching towards the back. That shaped the design. Rather than building a wide, shallow kennel, I made it **1.2 metres across the front and 1.5 metres deep**. The result is a solid, weather-resistant kennel designed for a full-sized dog, Northland conditions, and easy day-to-day cleaning. Most of the structural materials came from [Bunnings](https://www.bunnings.co.nz/) in Whangārei. The timber measurements worked out well, the plywood cutting plan kept waste under control, and the only major material still to purchase is the macrocarpa weatherboarding. ![Luna as a golden retriever puppy, resting in her bed before the kennel build](/images/blog/building-luna-dog-kennel-northland-weather/01.avif) *Luna is small now, but the kennel is sized for the full-grown golden retriever she will become.* ## The design The kennel was built around Luna's adult size and the way she is likely to use the space. | Component | Measurement | |---|---:| |... --- ### Rebuilding soil on a clay hillside - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/rebuilding-soil-clay-hillside - Date: 2026-06-23 - Category: Garden - Tags: syntropic, swales, bana grass, tagasaste, tithonia, kikuyu, soil building, Northland, food forest - Author: mark Six contour swales, three pioneer species, one degraded dairy paddock, and a winter nursery for bana grass. This is the next step in rebuilding soil at Āhuru Mōwai. When we bought this block at Whangārei Heads, the paperwork called it pasture. The soil told a different story. Decades of dairy had stripped most of the goodness out of the top layer. [Kikuyu](https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/cenchrus-clandestinus/) had taken over the ground like a green concrete slab, and anywhere I pushed a spade past about 150 mm I hit yellow clay that wouldn't let water through and wouldn't let roots in. It's a north-facing hillside running from 39 m above sea level in the south down to 16 m at the northern boundary. It is wide open to the northeasterlies that come in off the Pacific at over 100 km/h in a bad blow. Beautiful view. Rough starting hand. This post is about the next move in rebuilding that soil. Six contour swales are in the ground, three pioneer species are going on them, and right now I'm setting up a winter nursery in the greenhouse to raise the bana grass component. ## The problem under the grass Former dairy land is a specific kind of degraded. It is not abandoned, contaminated, or eroded in the dramatic sense. It is just stripped. Thirty years of ryegrass and clover monoculture, hard hoof compaction, urine patches pushing nitro... --- ### Swapping small city apartments for rural life on the coast - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life - Date: 2024-02-06 - Category: Uncategorised - Tags: ourstory - Author: meg When we lived in London, we rented an attic flat in West Hampstead that I absolutely loved. It was small but bright and I liked that there were distinct spaces, rather than open plan living. We rarely cooked at home, preferring to eat out or order in. When our friend Ruthie ca... ![outside london flat.jpg](/images/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life/outside-london-flat.webp) ![kitchen london flat.jpg](/images/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life/kitchen-london-flat.webp) ![lounge london flat.jpg](/images/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life/lounge-london-flat.webp) ![fork this.jpg](/images/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life/fork-this.webp) ![washing machine.jpg](/images/blog/swapping-small-city-apartments-for-rural-life/washing-machine.webp) ![ahuru mowai.jpg](/images/blog/ahuru-mowai/ahuru-mowai.webp) For the first decade of our marriage Mark and I lived in apartments. First in Auckland opposite TVNZ; a manageable walk for me to work in Parnell and a short drive for him to Penrose. When we moved to Sydney, we looked for an apartment on the train line that had a spare room for friends and family to use when they came over from New Zealand. Ironically, we had a lot more visitors stay in the one-bedroom apartment we moved to next which was right off George Street. When we lived in London, we rented an attic flat in West Hampstead that I absolutely loved. It was small but bright and I liked tha... --- ### Summer garden: update sweet peas, capsicums and baby pumpkins - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/summer-garden-update - Date: 2024-02-05 - Category: Vegetables - Tags: vegetables, gardentotable, garden, summer - Author: meg It always surprises me that while we’re in the height of summer and enjoying blazing sunshine in the day, that come February the mornings are already so dark. I have the privilege of being woken before 6am most mornings by little voices and hands. In the last week I’ve noticed... ![peas.jpg](/images/blog/summer-garden-update/peas.webp) ![pumpkins.jpg](/images/blog/summer-garden-update/pumpkins.webp) ![trug.jpg](/images/blog/summer-garden-update/trug.webp) It always surprises me that while we’re in the height of summer and enjoying blazing sunshine in the day, that come February the mornings are already so dark. I have the privilege of being woken before 6am most mornings by little voices and hands. In the last week I’ve noticed how much longer it takes for the sun to lighten the sky in the morning. Growth in our summer garden has slowed down. We did a bit clear out of the plants that had gone to seed in the unusual humidity we had in December and January and made way for some new seedlings. In Northland we’re on high alert for the tropical army worm, so the clear out means we can more easily spot any intruders. We’ve been enjoying almost daily harvests of [green and yellow courgettes](https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/courgette-hack) and telegraph cucumbers. Our strawberries are making a valiant effort to continue what has been a bumper season for us since November, however I think they are pretty much done. The raspberries on the other hand are just ... --- ### Slow Sundays: Activating holiday mode - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/activate-holiday-mode - Date: 2024-02-04 - Category: Slow Sundays - Tags: slowsundays, beach - Author: meg Most Sundays you’ll find our little whānau at the beach. We’re spoilt for choice in Whangārei Heads. When our little ones wake up before 6am and we’re struggling to open our eyes, sometimes the best way to kick start the day is to get into the Hilux and head for Ocean Beach. ![ocean beach.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/ocean-beach.webp) ![kauri mountain beach.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/kauri-mountain-beach.webp) ![ocean beach north.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/ocean-beach-north.webp) ![taurikura.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/taurikura.webp) ![mcleods bay.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/mcleods-bay.webp) ![pataua south.jpg](/images/blog/activate-holiday-mode/pataua-south.webp) Most Sundays you’ll find our little whānau at the beach. We’re spoilt for choice in Whangārei Heads. When our little ones wake up before 6am and we’re struggling to open our eyes, sometimes the best way to kick start the day is to get into the Hilux and head for Ocean Beach. It's best to get there just as the sun rises, when the top car park is still empty. At high tide our closest bay, Taurikura, becomes almost like a swimming pool. Usually peaceful and calm, and only a few minutes down the road where the metal becomes tar seal again. We can pull up, take ten steps and be in the ocean. The kids love playing in the sand at the water's edge which is often sheltered by the shade of mature Pohutukawa trees. It’s my favourite ... --- ### 3 tricks to get more helpful answers from ChatGPT - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/tricks-to-get-more-helpful-answers-from-chatgpt - Date: 2024-02-02 - Category: AI - Tags: artificialintelligence, chatGPT - Author: meg Mark and I have been using AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard and Midjourney more and more to help us in both our work and personal lives. In our day jobs we create training content for people in the tech industry and AI is a big focus. Things are changing so quickly that we’re less... ![](/images/blog/tricks-to-get-more-helpful-answers-from-chatgpt/midjourney.webp) *A Midjourney image using the prompt: super Blue Moon, farm meets sea landscape, New Zealand, photorealistic, 16k* Mark and I have been using AI tools like [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/auth/login?ref=upstract.com), [Bard](https://bard.google.com/?hl=en-GB) and [Midjourney](https://www.midjourney.com/) more and more to help us in both our work and personal lives. In our day jobs we create training content for people in the tech industry and AI is a big focus. Things are changing so quickly that we’re less concerned about trying to keep up with all the new AI tools and companies, and more interested in getting good at asking questions and defining problems that AI tools can help us solve. For example, one of the challenges we’ve repeatedly come up against as we’ve been learning about syntropic forest systems and permaculture is that so much of the advice is not specific to Aotearoa New Zealand. Or if it is, it’s broad for the whole country, which means we need to cross-check what would work in our sub-tropical oceanic climate. Mark started using ChatGPT to do some of the heavy lifting when it... --- ### Garden to glass: Bellini with homegrown peaches - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches - Date: 2024-02-01 - Category: Cocktails - Tags: cocktails, peaches, bellini - Author: meg Since we planted our tree a few years ago I’ve been looking forward to being able to make a Bellini with homegrown peaches. The Bellini is a delightfully simple cocktail made by combining peach puree with Prosecco. The sweetness from the peaches pairs with light Italian sparkl... ![peach tree.JPG](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/peach-tree.webp) ![peaces.JPG](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/peaces.webp) ![peach.JPG](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/peach.webp) ![blanched peaches.jpg](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/blanched-peaches.webp) ![peach puree in a glass.jpg](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/peach-puree-in-a-glass.webp) ![bellini.jpg](/images/blog/bellini-with-homegrown-peaches/bellini.webp) We had to rescue our peaches from the birds recently. Our peach tree is in a part of our property that I don’t visit every day, so I hadn’t realised there was a decent number of fruits beginning to ripen on the branches. We picked them while they were still firm so they could ripen safely in our fruit bowl. Since we planted our tree a few years ago I’ve been looking forward to being able to make a Bellini with homegrown peaches. The Bellini is a delightfully simple cocktail made by combining peach puree with Prosecco. The sweetness from the peaches pairs with light Italian sparkling wine to create a refreshing drink that’s perfect for brunch or early afternoon. Start by making the peach puree. I ... --- ### The best espresso machine for people who don't know how to use one - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/the-best-espresso-coffee-machine - Date: 2024-02-01 - Category: Coffee - Tags: coffee, breville - Author: meg When I was at university, I had a very short-lived part time job as a barista. I spent an hour shadowing the outgoing barista and then the title was passed to me. I was a terrible barista, and I’ve often thought I should issue a general apology to anyone who bought a coffee fr... ![](/images/blog/the-best-espresso-coffee-machine/coffee-machine.webp) *Our Breville Oracle espresso machine is one of the best presents we’ve ever bought ourselves* When I was at university, I had a very short-lived part time job as a barista. I spent an hour shadowing the outgoing barista and then the title was passed to me. I was a terrible barista, and I’ve often thought I should issue a general apology to anyone who bought a coffee from me. It couldn’t have tasted very nice. I have no idea, because at the time, I didn’t drink coffee. Fast forward to 2024 and I now utter the phrase “coffee is life” after that first sip in the morning. Before having kids, I used to love going out for coffee. In fact, I remember saying to Mark that I didn’t think we’d ever want to have an espresso machine at home because going out was the part of the ritual that appealed the most. When we lived in London we used to wander up to the high street once or twice a day to indulge in a leisurely cup, free to read or talk as we liked. Since having our kids though, that scene is not quite so relaxing. Cafe experiences inevitably involve constant movement, futile distraction attempts, and abandoned ha... --- ### Where’s Robbie? Are we giving up on our robot lawnmower? - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/wheres-robbie - Date: 2024-01-31 - Category: Lawnmower - Tags: robomower, wheresrobbie, scarification, lawncare - Author: meg Mark put up a post in our local Facebook group recently that sparked some concern for Robbie, our robot lawnmower. His post asked for assistance with lawn care, specifically looking for someone to scarify our mainly kikuyu lawn. A few minutes after he asked the question, I got... ![](/images/blog/wheres-robbie/wheres-robbie.webp) *To be fair, Robbie can be pretty hard to spot.* Mark put up a post in our local Facebook group recently that sparked some concern for Robbie, our robot lawnmower. His post asked for assistance with lawn care, specifically looking for someone to scarify our mainly kikuyu lawn. A few minutes after he asked the question, I got a message asking what happened to Robbie. #### Where is Robbie? We’re big fans of our [robot lawnmower](https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/why-a-robot-mows-our-lawns), Robbie, who handles our steep 3,300 metre square section. It’s so satisfying to see the tidy cross hatch pattern reappear on the grass after his weekly mow. Robbie isn’t losing his job any time soon. But the warm, humid conditions this summer have seen a lot of lawn growth. Poor Robbie has been working nights and weekends to keep on top of it. The Kikuyu is spongy, making it difficult for the wheels to get traction. Mark, drawing on both his knowledge from his previous life as a groundskeeper, and the wisdom of the internet (thanks [@timthelawnmowerman](https://www.instagram.com/timthelawnmowerman/)), concluded that our lawn needed to be sca... --- ### 5 reasons why we planted bananas in our food forest - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/5-reasons-why-we-planted-bananas - Date: 2024-01-30 - Category: Food - Tags: foodforest, bananas, tropicalfruit - Author: meg Last week we got another exciting delivery of plants for our burgeoning food forest from our friends at Twin Falls Nursery. Amongst them were six lady finger banana corms (they look a bit like pork knuckles), the part of the plant that produces offshoots that will become our f... ![](/images/blog/5-reasons-why-we-planted-bananas/bananas-for-cooking-close-up-birayi-bujumbura-2023-11-27-05-01-44-utc.webp) Last week we got another exciting delivery of plants for our burgeoning food forest from our friends at [Twin Falls Nursery](https://www.twinfallsnursery.co.nz/). Amongst them were six lady finger banana corms (they look a bit like pork knuckles), the part of the plant that produces offshoots that will become our first banana palms. Since Mark read about how other growers have been growing tropical fruit like bananas and pineapples in Northland last year, he has been planning where our own banana circle would go. It required some earthworks in an area of our property that we aren’t currently developing though, so getting these corms in the ground now will allow us to learn about growing bananas in the meantime. Here’s why we’ve been so keen to start growing bananas. #### Shade A while ago I fell into one of those conversations with my eldest brother where we both regressed to our childhood argumentative selves, vehemently debating, of all things, whether banana palms could create a shady environment. Now every time I see banana palms, like the mature a... --- ### From creating Minecraft worlds to curating a living ecosystem - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem - Date: 2024-01-29 - Category: Uncategorised - Tags: - Author: meg Minecraft was one of the ways Mark stayed connected with his son, Connor, while we were living overseas. Mark set up a virtual server that Connor and his mates could use whenever they wanted to play. When we lived in a high-rise apartment in the middle of Sydney, Mark also use... ![aerial view 2023.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/aerial-view-2023.webp) ![ahuru mowai.jpg](/images/blog/ahuru-mowai/ahuru-mowai.webp) ![grasslands+and+edges.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/grasslands-2band-2bedges.webp) ![aerial view 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/aerial-view-2018.webp) ![gate in 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/gate-in-2018.webp) ![kikuyu grass in 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/kikuyu-grass-in-2018.webp) Minecraft was one of the ways Mark stayed connected with his son, Connor, while we were living overseas. Mark set up a virtual server that Connor and his mates could use whenever they wanted to play. When we lived in a high-rise apartment in the middle of Sydney, Mark also used to use Minecraft as an escape. He’d meticulously plan the layout of the villages he created. Thinking about how to make the most of the resources available, and not above using cheat codes to make the game more enjoyable. At the... --- ### Slow Sundays: Resetting our morning coffee ritual - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/morning-coffee-ritual - Date: 2024-01-27 - Category: Coffee - Tags: coffee, hario, siphoncoffee - Author: meg One of the ‘to-dos’ that makes the list most weekends is to sort through one of our sheds or cupboards and pile up the things we don’t use so we can sell them or give them away. A few months ago, after a cupboard sort, I came across an unusual device that I couldn’t remember u... ![](/images/blog/morning-coffee-ritual/siphon-coffee-pot-2023-11-27-05-25-39-utc.webp) *Swapping our morning espresso for a siphon coffee has slowed our mornings down* One of the ‘to-dos’ that makes the list most weekends is to sort through one of our sheds or cupboards and pile up the things we don’t use so we can sell them or give them away. This is a task that I love doing in theory, but in practice what usually happens is the stuff stagnates in that pile for another few weeks before I get around to doing anything with it. A few months ago, after one well intentioned cupboard sort, I came across an unusual device that I couldn’t remember us ever using. It took a little bit to figure out how to fit the pieces together, but when I looked up *Hario*, the brand on the glass, I found out it was a Japanese coffee siphon. Since we were happy with our espresso machine, I didn’t see us using the Hario siphon, so I took photos and got ready to list it for sale on Trade Me. Then when I was reading about siphon coffee riturals to write up the sale listing, I started to wonder if we should keep it instead. When Mark came in from whatever he was working on outside and noticed the device... --- ### Tips to start growing your own food - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/tips-to-start-growing-your-own-food - Date: 2024-01-25 - Category: Food - Tags: food, garden, gardentotable - Author: meg I’m getting so used to treating our garden like a supermarket, sometimes I forget how many failures we’ve had on our journey learning to grow our own food. There’s been so many hard lessons, we’ve had issues with soil quality, wind, pests, too much water, not enough water. ![HiTech Hippies-raised garden bed.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/hitech-hippies-raised-garden-bed.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-hanging herbs-003.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/hitech-hippies-hanging-herbs-003.webp) ![tomatoes.JPG](/images/blog/tips-to-start-growing-your-own-food/tomatoes.webp) ![pests.jpg](/images/blog/tips-to-start-growing-your-own-food/pests.webp) ![harvest.jpg](/images/blog/tips-to-start-growing-your-own-food/harvest.webp) ![courgette staked close.jpg](/images/blog/courgette-hack/courgette-staked-close.webp) I’m getting so used to treating our garden like a supermarket, sometimes I forget how many failures we’ve had on our journey learning to grow our own food. There’s been so many hard lessons; we’ve had issues with soil quality, wind, pests, too much water, not enough water. We still have heaps to learn and in the last couple of years my respect for gardeners has grown immensely, especially those that rely on the produce they grow to make their living. I saw that there has already been frosts in the South Island this week, a reminder of just how real climate change is. One of the ways we’re trying to live more sustainably is to reduce the jou... --- ### Experimenting with solar powered devices - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/playing-with-solar-power - Date: 2024-01-24 - Category: Solar Power - Tags: solarpower, offgrid - Author: meg Going off-grid is one of our long-term sustainability goals. For now we’ve put it in our “someday” idea bucket, but we’re following the technology closely. It’s always exciting to talk to people who are living off-grid and hear about their set ups. Several of our close neighbo... ![](/images/blog/playing-with-solar-power/christmas-tree.webp) *We planted a pinenut tree in a half-barrel to create a perpetual Christmas tree* Going off-grid is one of our long-term sustainability goals. For now, we’ve put it in our “someday” idea bucket, but we’re following the technology closely. It’s always exciting to talk to people who are living off-grid and hear about their set ups. Several of our close neighbours are off-grid and rely on solar power. If it’s something you’re looking at, check out the kits from the crew over at Off-grid Collective, they’ve got a detailed guide you can download. There’s also a Solar Power Calculator tool from GenLess that can calculate the value you might get from solar based on your circumstances. While we’re waiting for “someday”, we’re still having a bit of fun playing with solar powered devices. #### Fairy Lights Last year we decorated our perpetual Christmas tree (a pinenut tree planted in a half-barrel) with solar powered lights from Bunnings. We also strung solar powered fairylights along our retaining wall and up the pathway to The Bath House. #### Oxygen Pump Aerator Mark has been creating a frog habitat in a trough in the... --- ### Courgette hack: From missed marrows to easy zucchinis - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/courgette-hack - Date: 2024-01-22 - Category: Food - Tags: food, vegetables, garden, gardentotable - Author: meg I’ve fallen in love with courgettes this season. Thankfully ours are growing well this year since we gave each plant a stake to climb. Last year we had several plants in our garden, but I feel like I wasted them. I’d regularly forget to go and check for fruit under the huge, s... ![courgette staked.jpg](/images/blog/courgette-hack/courgette-staked.webp) ![courgette flower and fruit.jpg](/images/blog/courgette-hack/courgette-flower-and-fruit.webp) ![courgette staked close.jpg](/images/blog/courgette-hack/courgette-staked-close.webp) I’ve fallen in love with courgettes this season. Thankfully ours are growing well this year since we gave each plant a stake to climb. Last year we had several plants in our garden, but I feel like I wasted them. I’d regularly forget to go and check for fruit under the huge, spikey zucchini leaves. Then when I did, I usually needed to spend some time cutting off the dying leaves only to uncover marrows, the name given to courgettes that have grown beyond about 10cm. They don’t taste as nice but are still usable. It’s incredible how quickly they grow from perfect size to oversized. This year I’ve been careful to check our plants every day, and I err on the side of smaller when it comes to picking the fruit. Yes, that’s the second time I’ve referred to these commonly named vegetables as fruit. I had to check it with the plant experts at [Kew gardens](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/summer-veg-courgette#:~:text=What%20is%20... --- ### Giving Kiwi kids the chance to learn in outdoor garden classrooms - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/oke-charity-outdoor-classrooms - Date: 2024-01-22 - Category: School Gardens - Tags: schoolgardens, okecharity - Author: meg Last year I joined the Board for Oke Charity, an inspiring organisation that create outdoor classrooms for schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. I hadn’t heard of Oke before I saw the board role but the more I read, the more I wanted to get involved. Last year I joined the Board for [Oke Charity](https://oke.org.nz), an inspiring organisation that create outdoor classrooms for schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. I hadn’t heard of Oke before I saw the board role but the more I read, the more I wanted to get involved. Oke was founded by Paul Dickson, who you might recognize from the current season of The Great Kiwi Bake Off. Together with the Oke team they’ve funded and built 37 school gardens in Auckland and Waikato since 2016. These gardens produce over 1,000kgs of food each year and give 21,784 kids the opportunity to learn how to grow kai in outdoor classrooms. There are so many benefits of having gardens in schools. Here’s just a few I’ve observed: #### Community Fund raising, building, and running a school garden brings communities together. It takes a huge amount of effort, but that effort teaches our tamariki (kids) the value of the garden, to respect it and look after it. Which ultimately becomes a source of pride for them in their school community. #### Independence In planting seeds, nurturing seedlings and eventually harvesting and eating kai from school gardens, kids learning where food comes from. I’ve seen this... --- ### Slow Sundays: what happened when we took a break from weed spraying - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/slow-sundays-poppies - Date: 2024-01-20 - Category: Slow Sundays - Tags: slowsundays - Author: meg Over the summer we have made a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy time with our friends and whānau. We also wanted to enjoy our place, Āhuru Mōwai, the sheltered haven we’ve worked so hard to create. ![](/images/blog/slow-sundays-poppies/surprise-poppy.webp) *One of the “surprise poppies” that has popped up while we’ve taken a break from weed spraying* Over the summer we have made a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy time with our friends and whānau. We also wanted to enjoy our place, Āhuru Mōwai, the sheltered haven we’ve worked so hard to create. Mark is the most energetic, productive person I’ve ever met. He’s constantly planning his next project, and always has several on the go. From building our woodshed, to developing our [syntropic food forest](https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening), to maintaining the systems that keep our property running. Besides this he works full time for an international consulting company and has multiple side hustles including a [podcast](https://podcast.nz365guy.com), a [mentoring challenge](https://ako.nz365guy.com) and contract work. Late last year I decided to leave my job at Google to work for our [digital enablement business](https://www.cloverbase.com). Mark has been helping me with that transition to self-employed consultant too, both by helping me shape my development strategy and by... --- ### Create new growing spaces in minutes with these sustainable grow bags - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/sustainable-fabric-grow-bags - Date: 2024-01-19 - Category: Food - Tags: food, vegetables, growyourown - Author: meg Sustainable fabric grow bags are one of the easiest ways to create more growing space. While our property has lots of space for us to turn into growing areas, it can be a bit of effort to set up new spaces. We experimented with planting rambling crops like potatoes, kūmara and... ![](/images/blog/sustainable-fabric-grow-bags/grow-bags.webp) *Growing peanuts in sustainable fabric grow bags with our automated irrigation system* Sustainable fabric grow bags are one of the easiest ways to create more growing space. While our property has lots of space for us to turn into growing areas, it can be a bit of effort to set up new spaces. We experimented with planting rambling crops like potatoes, kūmara and pumpkins on a mulched bank but found that they struggled in poor quality clay soil that lacked nutrients and couldn’t hold moisture. Mark didn’t want to give space in our raised garden beds to these and other root-based food crops, so he came up with another idea. For about a year now he’s been using fabric grow bags to plant turmeric, ginger, galangal, potatoes, kūmara, yams and peanuts. He lines them up against our retaining wall, each with a little sprinkler that’s connected to our automated irrigation system. The bags are made from a porous fabric which allows for great aeration, meaning plants don’t suffer from overwatering or too much heat buildup. They’re reusable and easy to move. Put them somewhere you can water them easily, on a surface that can a... --- ### Our raspberries are destined for Clover Club cocktails - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/the-clover-club - Date: 2024-01-19 - Category: Cocktails - Tags: cocktails, gin, raspberries - Author: meg Fresh raspberries have to be one of my favourite luxuries. I look forward to raspberry season every year and try to wait until the prices for the little punnets come down a bit before I indulge. The Clover Club is the very best way to use fresh raspberries. ![raspberries not ready.jpg](/images/blog/the-clover-club/raspberries-not-ready.webp) ![raspberries.jpg](/images/blog/the-clover-club/raspberries.webp) ![the clover club.JPG](/images/blog/the-clover-club/the-clover-club.webp) Fresh raspberries have to be one of my favourite luxuries. When we moved to Sydney, I couldn’t believe we could buy fresh raspberries all year round. Growing up, I don’t think I’d ever seen them for sale in a supermarket at home in Aotearoa. That’s all changed with the success of local growers like [Maungatapere Berries](https://www.maungatapereberries.co.nz/). I look forward to raspberry season every year and try to wait until the prices for the little punnets come down a bit before I indulge. Last year, Mark wanted to see if we could grow our own supply so bought more than two dozen raspberry plants to go in our food forest. As that area has evolved, we had to rethink the placement of those raspberry plants and, unfortunately, cut them all the way back to make room for other species. So, this season I wasn’t expecting much of a harvest. Even so, I’ve checked our raspberry bushes every few days just to make sure I don’t give the birds a chance to steal... --- ### How we monitor our rainharvested water level remotely - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/monitor-water-level-remotely - Date: 2024-01-17 - Category: Water - Tags: rainwater, rainwaterharvesting, tankgauge, bluemountainco - Author: meg Mark grew up on a farm that relied on bore and tank water. Water was a vital resource. Showers were quick, and if anyone took too long his dad would turn off the tap from the wetback to the hot water cylinder to cut off the flow of hot water and cut short the person’s shower. ![HiTech Hippies-water tanks-004.jpg](/images/blog/monitor-water-level-remotely/hitech-hippies-water-tanks-004.webp) ![Tank Gauge Plus.jpg](/images/blog/monitor-water-level-remotely/tank-gauge-plus.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-water tanks-001.jpg](/images/blog/monitor-water-level-remotely/hitech-hippies-water-tanks-001.webp) Mark grew up on a farm that relied on bore and tank water. Water was a vital resource. Showers were quick, and if anyone took too long his dad would turn off the tap from the wetback to the hot water cylinder to cut off the flow of hot water and cut short the person’s shower. While Mark & I lived in city apartments connected to mains water in Auckland, Sydney and London, we honestly didn’t give much thought to our water usage. Most people don’t because everything just works – turn on the tap, turn on the shower and water flows. When we moved onto our property though all those childhood memories came flooding back as we looked at how we would harvest, store and conserve water as a vital resource once more. Mark became obsessed with rainfall, wanting to know how much we were collecting whenever it rained. He looked at tank gauge options available at the time and... --- ### Why we named our home Āhuru Mōwai - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/ahuru-mowai - Date: 2024-01-16 - Category: Uncategorised - Tags: - Author: meg We were in Dubrovnik, Croatia when we started looking for our forever home. It was November 2017 and Mark and I had been traveling since we left our jobs and packed up our central Sydney apartment in February of that year. For us travel was a way to forget everything we knew a... We were in Dubrovnik, Croatia when we started looking for our forever home. It was November 2017 and Mark and I had been traveling since we left our jobs and packed up our central Sydney apartment in February of that year. For us travel was a way to forget everything we knew about ourselves and take the time to figure out what kind of future we wanted. In Copenhagen, Denmark we mapped out our dreams with post-it notes on the walls of an Airbnb out of a Scandinavian lifestyle magazine. A bit of land. Close to the ocean. Somewhere we could build a haven for ourselves and our whānau. A few weeks later when I saw the Trade Me listing for this property, I knew it was perfect for us. It wasn’t as big as Mark’s ideal five acres. And it wasn’t as close to the water as I would have liked. But it was protected by Manaia maunga to the southwest and faced Kauri Mountain to the northeast. The elevated section was safe from floods and tsunamis, with a view across farmland out to the Poor Knights. I knew straight away that this was our home, but I also wanted to feel like I wasn’t only making a heart-led decision. I created dossiers for five properties in total so that we could logically compa... --- ### Our family's most used Google Assistant commands - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/most-used-google-assistant-commands - Date: 2024-01-16 - Category: Home Automation - Tags: homeautomation, googleassistant, alexa - Author: meg We have lived with Alexa and Google Nest devices for several years now, and we’ve got used to using voice commands. Our kids have always lived in a home that had these devices, in fact our three-year-old is almost able to say “Ok Google”. To be honest we don’t mind if it takes... ![](/images/blog/most-used-google-assistant-commands/google-nest-hub.webp) *The Google Nest hub on Mark’s desk doubles as a digital photo frame* We have lived with Alexa and Google Nest devices for several years now, and we’ve got used to using voice commands. Our kids have always lived in a home that had these devices, in fact our three-year-old is almost able to say “Ok Google”. To be honest we don’t mind if it takes her a little longer yet to figure that one out. There are a few commands we use every day that have made our lives easier. #### Ok Google, play music Everywhere. Used almost every morning while we get ready for the day. Nothing like a 6am dance party to kids action songs to get the day started. Our Google Nest devices are grouped together in a group called “Everywhere” because that’s how Alexa devices are grouped. We’d got used to using that command while our Google Nest devices were being shipped from London when we moved home to New Zealand. #### Ok Google, set a time for X minutes. Great for baking or cooking. We’ve also found timers can help our toddlers manage transitions. We’ll often set a timer for screen time, or before bed. When the timer goes off, t... --- ### What we're planting in our syntropic garden this summer - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer - Date: 2024-01-14 - Category: Syntropic - Tags: foodforest, food, fruit, syntropic - Author: meg This weekend we spent a lot of time in our food forest: weeding, planting, playing and even eating. It’s early days in our syntropic gardening journey but we’re already reaping the rewards. All the hard work was worth it to hear our daughter proudly proclaim that we were havin... ![japanese raisin tree.jpg](/images/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer/japanese-raisin-tree.webp) ![raspberries.jpg](/images/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer/raspberries.webp) ![blueberries.jpg](/images/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer/blueberries.webp) ![first fruit trees.jpg](/images/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer/first-fruit-trees.webp) ![lime tree.jpg](/images/blog/what-were-planting-this-summer/lime-tree.webp) This weekend we spent a lot of time in our food forest: weeding, planting, playing and even eating. It’s early days in our syntropic gardening journey but we’re already reaping the rewards. All the hard work was worth it to hear our daughter proudly proclaim that we were having a feast when she sat down to eat blueberries and raspberries from the food forest. Our ambition is to create several food forests on our property in time, and this spot between our raised garden beds and our bath house is just the first experiment. Mark is always researching which plants we should introduce and learning from what other people are doing. In the cool of the morning, we planted bana grass, tithonia, sugar cane and Japanese Raisin trees in amongst the existing com... --- ### Our secret to keeping house plants alive - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive - Date: 2024-01-13 - Category: House Plants - Tags: houseplants, waterchecker - Author: meg If you’re a great plant parent, you won’t need this. But if you’re like me and guilty of killing a house plant or two, you might find this little tip could help you go from overwatering or neglecting to water your plants to watering them the exact right amount. ![succulents on a shelf.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/succulents-on-a-shelf.webp) ![water checker.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/water-checker.webp) ![potted plant.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/potted-plant.webp) ![staked potted tree.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/staked-potted-tree.webp) ![blue water checker.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/blue-water-checker.webp) ![potted tree.JPG](/images/blog/keeping-houseplants-alive/potted-tree.webp) If you’re a great plant parent, you won’t need this. But if you’re like me and guilty of killing a house plant or two, you might find this little tip could help you go from overwatering or neglecting to water your plants to watering them the exact right amount. Having plants inside has changed the mood in our home. They bring a bit of nature inside and brighten up our spaces. They also help purify the air and create oxygen. When we visited Vienna in 2018, we learned about renowned artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s concept of a [tree tenant](https://hundertwasser.com/en/texts/baummieter_sind_botschafter_des_freien_waldes_in_der_stadt), which has inspired us ... --- ### Creating an outdoor living space for now and the future - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/outdoor-living-space - Date: 2024-01-13 - Category: Outdoor Living - Tags: outdoorliving - Author: meg The first summer we lived at our property we had a newborn baby so didn’t spend a lot of time dining outside. With no mature trees we didn’t have much shade, though in the cool of the evening we’d sometimes cook on a little Webber coal BBQ in the shade thrown by our North-East... ![](/images/blog/outdoor-living-space/umbrella-at-night.webp) *The outdoor living space we created in our car park* The first summer we lived at our property we had a newborn baby so didn’t spend a lot of time dining outside. With no mature trees we didn’t have much shade, though in the cool of the evening we’d sometimes cook on a little Webber coal BBQ in the shade thrown by our North-East facing barn as the sun set. Since we bought our property, we’ve spent countless hours imagining our ideal outdoor dining and entertainment areas. Even when we were living in London, we’d regularly indulge in conversations about pizza ovens, huge family sized wooden tables and open fire pits. Of those areas, the ones we imagined using the most are attached to the house we will one day build. Living in the barn with a newborn felt like maybe we’d just have to wait for the house to really get to incorporate outdoor living into our everyday life. But just as everyone told us, those baby days zoomed by so quickly that before long we found ourselves spending more and more time outside. Meals with an inquisitive toddler are so much more relaxing for everyone when they have freedom to roam. Last C... --- ### Why we love our woodfired hot tub - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/woodfired-hot-tub - Date: 2024-01-12 - Category: The Bath House - Tags: bathhouse, hottub - Author: meg The Bath House is one of my favourite spots on our property. It houses our Stoken Stainless wood-fired hot tub and provides the perfect shady spot to hang my hammock while we wait for our big trees to grow. ![](/images/blog/woodfired-hot-tub/hot-tub-hammock.webp) *When it gets too hot in our woodfired hot tub the hammock is the next best spot to enjoy the view* The Bath House is one of my favourite spots on our property. It houses our Stoked Stainless wood-fired hot tub and also provides the perfect shady spot to hang my hammock while we wait for our big trees to grow. We live in a high wind zone so asked Ben from Fieldhouse Builders to build The Bath House for us out of macrocarpa to create a haven so we can use the tub in any weather. This summer we’ve used it as a ‘cold tub’ more often that a hot tub. The Bath House roof has the added benefit of collecting the water we use to fill our tub. We added a 10,000 litre water tank behind it which gravity feeds down into the tub. It takes about 1,000 litres to fill so without this extra water collection we’d struggle to justify that when water is short. We went into summer with that tank full so have had lots of guilt free enjoyment. We love the ritual of filling the tub, lighting the fire and waiting for it to come up to the perfect temperature. Mark’s ideal temperature is what the lads at Stoked Stainless recommend - 38 degrees ce... --- ### Why we're embracing the priciples of syntropic gardening - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening - Date: 2024-01-10 - Category: Food - Tags: food, garden, syntropic, foodforest - Author: meg Learning is one of Mark’s superpowers, he can consume, understand and apply large volumes of information about a range of topics. This has been a huge asset for us as we’ve developed our land and our home. Last year, he focused on syntropic gardening – a method of cultivation... ![bana grass.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/bana-grass.webp) ![critters.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/critters.webp) ![twin falls delivery.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/twin-falls-delivery.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-garden path-001.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/hitech-hippies-garden-path-001.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-garden path-002.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/hitech-hippies-garden-path-002.webp) ![IMG_7559.jpg](/images/blog/embracing-the-principles-of-syntropic-gardening/img-7559.webp) *1.Newly planted bana grass from* [*Twin Falls Nursery*](https://www.twinfallsnursery.co.nz)*. 2. Critters enjoying the comfrey. 3. Delivery of bana grass, tithonia and japanese raisin-tree. 4. View to the garden from outside The Bath House. 5. Our bank a few months ago. 6. Our soil on the bank back in 2020 when we first tried to plant* Learning is one of Mark’s superpowers, he can consume, understand and apply large volumes of information about a range of topics. This has been a huge asset for us as we’ve developed our ... --- ### How to grow enough strawberries for daiquiris - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/strawberry-daiquiris - Date: 2024-01-10 - Category: Food - Tags: food, cocktails, strawberries - Author: meg Our kids eat all the strawberries we grow as soon as they’re ripe. A lot of them don’t even get the chance to ripen before they’re plucked by hungry little fingers. The good news? You only need four strawberries for this delicious daiquiri recipe. Our kids had a sleepover at t... ![strawberry daiquiris.jpg](/images/blog/strawberry-daiquiris/strawberry-daiquiris.webp) ![strawberry.jpg](/images/blog/strawberry-daiquiris/strawberry.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-sneaking strawberries.jpg](/images/blog/strawberry-daiquiris/hitech-hippies-sneaking-strawberries.webp) Our kids eat all the strawberries we grow as soon as they’re ripe. A lot of them don’t even get the chance to ripen before they’re plucked by hungry little fingers. The good news? You only need four strawberries for this delicious daiquiri recipe. Our kids had a sleepover at their nana’s this week, which gave me an opportunity to swipe a handful for frozen strawberry daiquiris. #### Here’s our favourite recipe (serves 1, scale up for a crowd): *1 ½ ounces white rum* *½ ounce Maraschino liqueur* *2 ounces lime juice* *1 ½ ounces simple syrup* *4 pieces of strawberry* *Ice* *Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend until you’re happy with the consistency. Serve in martini glasses (or any glass really) and enjoy!* I’ve been giving our strawberries a lot of love this season and it’s been paying dividends. Our plants are on their second year in our raised garden beds. It’s been a warm, wet summ... --- ### Why a robot mows our lawns - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/why-a-robot-mows-our-lawns - Date: 2024-01-08 - Category: Robot - Tags: robot, robomower, lawnmower - Author: meg If you have been thinking about switching to a robot lawnmower, do it. When we bought our acre and a half the kikuyu had well and truly taken over. There were no visible fences and when Mark walked down the boundary line in search of them, he sunk to his hip in the overgrown g... ![gate in 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/gate-in-2018.webp) ![aerial view 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/aerial-view-2018.webp) ![kikuyu grass in 2018.jpg](/images/blog/from-creating-minecraft-worlds-to-curating-a-living-ecosystem/kikuyu-grass-in-2018.webp) ![robbie mowing.JPG](/images/blog/why-a-robot-mows-our-lawns/robbie-mowing.webp) ![Robbie mowing close up.JPG](/images/blog/why-a-robot-mows-our-lawns/robbie-mowing-close-up.webp) ![Robbie mowing aerial.jpg](/images/blog/why-a-robot-mows-our-lawns/robbie-mowing-aerial.webp) If you have been thinking about switching to a robot lawnmower, do it. Mark thought about it for a long time before we made the switch last year. Some of the things he considered were: 1. Could a robot lawnmower handle the texture of our mostly kikuyu lawn? 2. Is there a model that could traverse a section as steep as ours? 3. How would it cover the large area of our former paddock (5,000+ square metres)? When we bought our acre and a half the kikuyu had well and truly taken over. There were no visible fences and when Mark walked down the boun... --- ### How Starlink helped solve our rural internet issue - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/starlink-rural-internet - Date: 2024-01-07 - Category: Internet - Tags: internet, starlink - Author: meg Starlink has been a game changer for our internet connectivity. When we first bought our property there was almost no mobile signal, we had to go up the road to the top of the hill to be able to send messages and make calls. We couldn’t be HiTech Hippies without good internet... ![](/images/blog/starlink-rural-internet/hitech-hippies-starlink-001.webp) *Our OG round Starlink dish is mounted on a pole in our grasslands area outside our barn for uninterrupted signal* Starlink has been a game changer for our internet connectivity. When we first bought our property there was almost no mobile signal, we had to go up the road to the top of the hill to be able to send messages and make calls. We couldn’t be HiTech Hippies without good internet access, so we knew internet connectivity was going to be an issue we needed to solve. A few years later when we started living in our shed during covid we were incredibly lucky that the signal had improved enough so that we could use mobile data to work remotely. We burned through data at an unprecedented (sorry, I couldn’t resist) rate during the first few weeks of lockdown. Then when we were able to get our telecom cable installed, we were disappointed to see the glacial upload and download speeds it provided. Our challenge was not unique, we regularly saw people post in our local Facebook group asking about internet services because they were so frustrated with the speed or unreliable connections of their current p... --- ### Stoked with The Bath House - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/bath-house - Date: 2023-10-20 - Category: The Bath House - Tags: thebathhouse, woodfiredhottub, hottub, stoked, bathhouse - Author: meg One of the best presents I’ve ever bought myself is our Stoked woodfired hot tub. We originally planned to install a pair of outside baths, but then Mark discovered the stainless-steel hot tubs made in Wanaka. One of the best presents I’ve ever bought myself is our [Stoked woodfired hot tub](https://stokedstainless.co.nz). We originally planned to install a pair of outside baths, but then Mark discovered the stainless-steel hot tubs made in Wanaka. I was a bit dubious about whether I would like the experience of soaking in a stainless-steel tub, but it's delightful. Because we live in a high wind zone, we decided to build a Bath House so that we could use the tub in any weather. We took inspiration from the Onsen spa complex near Queenstown. Having huge shutters that open up means we can enjoy the stunning view day and night. Whenever I go up to the Bath House, I feel like I’m on holiday. It’s one of the features of our property that makes going on holiday less appealing than it used to be. The nice thing about this option over a traditional spa is that we don’t have to use any chlorine, so it’s much more eco-friendly. We fill the tub with water harvested from the roof of The Bath House. It takes a bit more than an hour to fill the tub, but we don’t need a pump since our tank is higher than the outlet. The water can be used up to three times; then we empty it into our grey water syste... --- ### Growing our veggies instead of buying them - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/growing-our-veggies - Date: 2023-10-20 - Category: Food - Tags: food, growyourown, gardentotable, garden, vegetables, plants - Author: meg Starting a veggie garden was something we’d always planned to do at some point, but the question of access to fresh food was top of mind at the start of the pandemic, so as soon as we could buy plants, we got planting. ![IMG_7559.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/img-7559.webp) ![IMG_7565.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/img-7565.webp) ![IMG_7566.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/img-7566.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-raised garden bed.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/hitech-hippies-raised-garden-bed.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-sneaking strawberries.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/hitech-hippies-sneaking-strawberries.webp) ![HiTech Hippies-hanging herbs-003.jpg](/images/blog/growing-our-veggies/hitech-hippies-hanging-herbs-003.webp) We moved to our property during lockdown in 2020. Starting a veggie garden was something we’d always planned to do at some point, but the question of access to fresh food was top of mind at the start of the pandemic, so as soon as we could buy plants, we got planting. Our first little veggie patch was on the side of the hill behind our barn. We dug straight into the clay and figured out quickly that we needed to fence off any plants we wanted to grow; otherwise, the rabbits would be the only ones who got to eat the produce. That first little garden was quite a humbling experience. Mark grew up on a farm in the Bombay hills with a flourishing market... --- ### But what are we going to drink? Harvesting Rainwater in New Zealand - URL: https://hitechhippies.co.nz/blog/rainwater - Date: 2023-10-19 - Category: Water - Tags: water, selfsufficient, remotemonitoring, rainwater, rainwaterharvesting - Author: meg Our water source was one of the first things we thought about when we bought our property. We knew there was no access to town supply, so securing our water source by getting set up to collect rainwater was a top priority. ![HiTech Hippies-water tanks-004.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/hitech-hippies-water-tanks-004.webp) ![IMG_7444.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/img-7444.webp) ![IMG_7429.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/img-7429.webp) ![IMG_7439.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/img-7439.webp) ![IMG_7449.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/img-7449.webp) ![IMG_7452.jpg](/images/blog/rainwater/img-7452.webp) Our water source was one of the first things we thought about when we bought our property. We knew there was no access to town supply, so securing our water source by getting set up to collect rainwater was a top priority. From Mark’s experience of growing up on a farm, he knew that water can be the difference between plants that grow and plants that die. Of course, we also needed water for drinking, cooking, and washing. As part of building our heritage-style barn, we had a 30,000 litre polyethylene water tank installed. Mark was particular about positioning the tank as close to the barn as practical. This surprised the builders; they couldn’t figure out why we’d worry about saving a few metres of space when we had plenty to spare. But by keeping the tank snug up against the barn wall, we’ve been able to use the...