Develop your self reliance skills

Explore our range of fun, educational activities focused on low impact, self sufficiency, gardening and resilience.

We run these workshops and learning activities on demand for individuals and small groups. An ideal addition to your overnight stay.

Book your experience today

Learn to use a scythe

This workshop covers the details of using and caring for a traditional Austrian scythe. These tools are ideal for keeping smaller areas of grass under control. You will learn about:
  • Safety
  • Correct setup for your body
  • Posture, motion and technique for effective use
  • Different blades for different jobs
  • Sharpening and repairing
1 and a half hours
  scythe  education 
$60.00
Book your experience today

Create a simple flax basket

Learn how to weave a traditional Maori square basket. Made from natural flax fibre grown at blockhill, this simple pattern can be used to create baskets of various sizes.
Identify, harvest and prepare flax leaves before weaving a small basket to take away.
1 hour
  education  craft  weaving 
$40.00
View 4 photos
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Day trip to the 'farm'

Day trip to the 'farm'

Come to Blockhill for the day! Bring a picnic and your gumboots. Explore our young food forest, meet the Kune Kune pigs, free-range chooks, and Muscovy ducks. A great place to enjoy the country with the birds and bees.
Suitable for groups of 1 - 8 people.

Adults $10 - Children $5 - (Children under 5 yrs - free)
Book your experience today

Water wise land shaping and rain harvesting strategies

  • Tour the numerous terraces, swales and water other catchment systems and learn how they intercept, redirect and retain water in the landscape
  • Witness how swales and raised beds can be deployed in a food forest setting and how they benefit chickens, ducks and pigs
  • Discuss and demonstrate various tools and techniques
  • Rainwater harvesting, tanks, piping and pumps
  • Utilising grey water and run-off with trees and gardens
  • Digital presentation and discussion covering key concepts and strategies in bad weather
2 hours
  swale  water  education 
$80.00
View 4 photos
Book your experience today
Book your experience today
Learn to graft fruit trees (seasonal)

Learn to graft fruit trees (seasonal)

Grow your knowledge of fruit tree cloning through the ancient art of grafting. Learn by seeing and doing with hands on examples and one on one tuition and explanation. We will cover:
  • Collecting and storing grafting (scion) wood from desired trees
  • Understanding and propagating rootstocks
  • Grafting tools and techniques
  • View many examples of grafted trees of various types, complexity and age
2 hours
  July   August   September  
  grafting  education  trees  propagation 
$80.00
Book your experience today
Effective fire making

Effective fire making

Details  Master the art of starting and utilising fire, essential for cooking, heating water and much more.
  • Locate, identify and create suitable kindling
  • Work safely with axe and saw
  • Build and light different types of fires
Duration  1 hour
Price  $40.00
Book your experience today
Winter fruit tree pruning

Winter fruit tree pruning

Learn about the various reasons for and approaches to pruning deciduous fruit trees such as apples, pears, plums, apricot and peach.
See how to tackle trees of different size and age
Discuss appropriate tools
1.5 hours
  June   July   August  

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Activities

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