Experience the best of Canterbury High Country hospitality
- Graham Pomeroy
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Ex-farmer and Driftwood guide Graham Pomeroy shares his first impressions of a visit to Mt White Station, in the Canterbury High Country.
Mt White Station is simply enormous. Spanning around 400 square kilometres, it is one of the largest stations in the country. To give you a sense of scale, at its widest point, the farm stretches about the same distance as Rolleston to Rangiora.
From the tarseal of State Highway 73, a modest junction leads away over “Mt White Bridge”, beginning a 40-minute gravel journey to the Station. Around every corner, spectacular mountains seem to grow into endless ranges, and the true size of the places slowly starts to dawn on you. The road stretches off into the distance, leaving you anticipating what comes next.
In the far distance, the first of the buildings comes into view, and as we roll up, one of the station workers greets us like we’re family. In recent years, the new Station owner has invested heavily in developing exceptional guest accommodation. Everything is themed as a shearer's quarters, but finished to very high standards indeed.
But it wasn’t always like this, and that evening around the crackling fire, we hear from the passionate and knowledgeable Station staff about the long history of Mt White. Long before the road was built, wool was carried out for days on horseback and I spared a few thoughts for the adversities experienced by the farmers of that bygone era.
My farming background was in dairy and beef, so when we were invited to learn about the honey-making operation, I jumped at the chance to see something new.
Not many people get to don a bee-keepers suit and get up close with commercial hives. Even fewer get to taste the Beech honeydew blend - nearly all of the 60 tons of it produced each a year are exported. But I can confirm it is something special indeed, and you’ll get the chance to taste it yourself when you visit Mt White with me!
Speaking of delicious, just about everything we ate came from the farm. As well as the honey, large market gardens produced all sorts of vegetables, and the venison, lamb and beef were turned into some of the best sausages I’ve ever tasted: and I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur!
We had the chance to head out with the musterers on a drive around the expanses of the farm, across rugged rivers and beneath towering peaks.
The highlight was a chance to watch for a while as the rest of the mustering team brought back a large mob of sheep. We even got to eavesdrop on shepherd’s laments on the 2-way radio when smaller mobs got away again, or lone sheep refused to budge from a precarious position.
That evening, after a pleasant stroll along the shores of Lake Letitia that borders the farm buildings, I felt like I'd had a pretty satisfying day. And to top it off, I enjoyed a moment to sit outside my room, glass in hand, and watch the sun set on the faraway hills.
At the end of the trip, I came away feeling awed, relaxed and spoiled by some of the friendliest and passionate farmers I’ve met. I can’t wait to share this Mt White Station experience with you during Driftwood’s Canterbury High Country & West Coast Tour. The 15 - 20 February 2026 tour is the only one this season - I look forward to guiding you on it!
Visit the tour page to book your spot and find out all the other experiences in this 6-day journey.
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