ZQRX Mt Nicholas Station

Mt Nicholas Station is a 40,000 hectare (100,000 acre), high-country merino station on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown.

The property is owned and run by Kate and Jack Cocks, who believe in working with nature and farming with a light touch. On Mt Nicholas, they don't measure sheep per acre, they measure acres per sheep. Stock spends summers in the high alpine. In autumn, a 10-day muster by horseback and foot brings the sheep down from the snowline to pastures which have had months to recover.

Mt Nicholas runs on hydroelectricity produced from the overflow of their own protected wetlands. The Cocks monitor water quality with regular testing and aim to have all their streams and rivers at “drinkable” standards.

Kate & Jack Cocks, Children Jess & Tom
Mt Nicholas Station, Queenstown, New Zealand