Page 13 - Totaranui Angus Catalogue ebook

eing a breeder, delivering bulls and servicing the needs together 3700 hectares of suitably tough coastal farmland,
of the commercial breeder over time means that as the manuka and native bush, for which, from time to time, they
Byears tick on, one gets to know people from all sorts of need a Totaranui bull. The properties are called Pukenui and
different journeys. Not everyone is a third generation farmer Kotekahu. Overall, a very successful and varied career, which is
or been a farmer from the get go. One such farmer is Ali Reid still ongoing and most definitely, interesting. Point of interest is
of Masterton. When I delivered his first bull, I saw the account that Ali’s father, Rex, did much of the quality carpentry work in
was called Sea Rhythm Trust and immediately thought there’s the Totaranui house.
something different going on here.
In March I had the opportunity to join Ali and a few others
A little bit of searching on the internet found that in fact Ali on Glistening Waters for the Tatapouri Marlin and Tuna game
was not a farmer (that’s a bit tough…), farming was only a fishing tournament in Gisborne. A southerly had just been
front to a much more interesting past and present, and farming through the week before, water temperatures were down but
was to some extent, a semi-retirement option - a means of we were enthusiastic and off we went. Three days of watching
managing other interests. lures behind the boat and one short sighting of a marlin left
us feeling deflated. With only about 2 hours of fishing to
Alistair, like many of us, went to University and did something go on the last day of the tournament we hooked up and it
academic, an Ag Science degree, before being useful to turned out to be a 52.25kg yellow fin tuna, enough to win
society. After doing some work land capability mapping and the competition.
some travel to Canada, he changed tack to go fishing. 23
years of apparently very successful cray and paua fishing on So we are not all the same, even though we buy black bulls!
the Wairarapa coastline. After getting up to 10 tonne of paua Our journeys are different and cross over from time to time.
quota, Ali eased out of commercial fishing and in 2011 built John and Mary Anne have always said you meet some very
a game boat, Glistening Waters and started a new chapter interesting people along the way with bull breeding, Tally
of his life as a game charter operator. In between then and and myself are finding that to be true. Thanks for the fishing
now, he and wife Bridgette have acquired coastal farm land Alistair, look forward to seeing the coastal block!
to start their next (and land based) ventures; farming, guided
hunting and….bees. Over a period of time, they have pulled BELOW: ALISTAIR IN HIS FAVOURITE PLACE.

TOTARANUI 2YR OLD BULL SALE 11