Book Review
“The Road to Chatto Creek”- subtitle “leaving the rat race for life in the country” by Matt Chisholm published by Allen and Unwin. Price $45. Reviewed by Tony Orman.
Matt Chisholm and his wife Ellen and family left the Auckland rat race to buy some land in Chatto Creek, near Alexandra, Central Otago.
It was a big change in lifestyle from the bright lights, busy bustle and pressures of Auckland to the expansive, relatively little peopled landscape of Central Otago. In Auckland Matt Chisholm was a TVNZ Sunday reporter and television host of Survivor New Zealand and Celebrity Treasure Island programmes.
“Compared with Auckland and the newsroom of course, it was calm. It was peaceful. It was heartland New Zealand. Where people would give you the shirt of their back. It was beautiful. Quiet. Real.”
Matt now spends his time on the family’s small farm at Chatto Creek, juggling speaking events across the country often as an Ambassador for Rural Support Trust.
Matt admits to one or two dark depths mentally and the change from Auckland to Chatto Creek has helped enormously.
“I now know probably as well as anyone, the importance of living in the present. This little farm and my family are helping me get better at living in the now. A meal around the table. Kicking a ball round with the kids. Feeding the stock. Watching the sun go down on the farm,” he reflects. “More time with the family. I’m looking forward to spending more time with Elle. I want to show the kids how lucky they are calling Chatto Creek, Central Otago, New Zealand, home.”
Teach Kids Fishing
Matt wants to teach his kids to hunt rabbits, go fishing with them, cook some home grown lamb or beef for dinner, go kayaking on the rivers and lakes and take the kids in the “bush” tramping..
It’s a book that breathes a positive quest for quality of life.
And then there’s the farm. The author writes with candour and humour about his farming satisfaction and successes punctuated by a few mishaps, amusing in the recounting – in a few words the realities of farm life
Matt Chisholm has much sympathy for farmers who often get unjust criticism from urban “greenies” of the irrational, insensitive kind.
“Farming is a tough gig. It feels like you’re always battling something …. perfect isn’t the word down on the farm. No matter what conditions you’re facing there’s always a negative. It’s Mother Nature letting you know she’s still in charge. If you don’t get enough rain, the grass doesn’t grow. If you get too much rain, your sheep get bad feet.”
Here’s the Rub
When stock returns are low, farmers work 70, 80, 90 hours a week and don’t make any money. Criticism from cocooned urbanites doesn’t help either.
“On top of that, everyone wants to have their say on how farmers should farm, even if they don’t know very much about farming. But here’s the rub – many of those people pointing the finger at farmers, are flying to Hawaii for their holidays. And people don’t need to fly to Hawaii for their holidays, but they do need to eat.”
This is a fine, very engaging book, perhaps there’s just a tad too many expletives but that’s a small point to cavil over. Humour is often to the fore. A special mention for some great photography by Lottie Hedley. Also it’s for a fine job by publishers Allen and Unwin.
I did the escape from the rat race to a small farm, really a farmlet near Motueka.
It was a great experience. Frustration with learning how to get a pig on a trailer, but success eventually and laughs afterwards!
I developed a little black faced sheep flock with great lambing percentages.
Yes the quiet was real quality of life. Great upbringing for kids too.
Farming is a tough gig but a very satisfying way of living.
In today’s world there’s a big difference between corporate industrialised farming and the genuine Kiwi farmers; unfortunately corporate farming is taking over.
Corporates only have eyes, invariably, for profits and exploitation and have little or no regard for the environment.
Probably the biggest reason for feeling against corporate farming is competes with family farming. Family landowners cannot compete against fat-cat corporations for growth and large farms buy supplies at bulk discounted prices and produce on a scale that is hard for family style farmers to compete with. Family farms are declining sad to say.
It sounds like a very good book. Small units can be very productive per hectare.
People are against big corporate farming because it is heartless and lacks passion and stewardship for the land. It is maximum profit in aim. Animals are often treated badly, large farms drive small family farms out of existence.
Yet I read somewhere that about 98% of the farms in the US are still family owned and account for 88% of production. So why the trend in NZ to corporates?