COUNTRY CALENDAR. HARD YAKKA

''Imagine falling in love with something you know is going to cause you grief. That's what happened to Colin and Marg Baynes who farm near the foothills of Te Urewera National Park, inland from Wairoa. When Colin and Marg were first shown Makapua Station 14 years ago, they didn't like what they saw.
"The first two kilometres from the road to the homestead were covered in blackberry. It was rubbish," says Colin. But as the real estate agent drove them over the hill, "a beautiful valley appeared and I told her to stop the car".
That was the moment Colin and Marg fell in love with Makapua, a 1480-hectare farm much of which was covered in reverting scrub.
The task ahead was daunting. "One of my mates whom I respect as a farmer told me I must be wired to the moon buying this place", Colin says.
Each year Colin and Marg clear, burn and re-seed 20 hectares of reverting scrub at Makapua. They use an old bulldozer to mow down the tops. Colin uses a chainsaw and Marg spends long days on the end of a scrub bar.'' TVNZ; tvnz.co.nz; 10/06/2008