JIM'S PLACE: More than 700 rhododendrons thrive on a remote patch of Taranaki farmland owned by Hopkirks for nearly a century

摘要

Jim hopkirk has the tell-tale wiry, weathered frame of a man who spends his days traversing a hillside garden. Apparently he's much heavier than he used to be, though. "I was very spindly as a boy," says the Taranaki gardener. "I had to stand twice inthe same place to cast a shadow in those days." The slight-framed figure has been working the same patch of soil for most of his 83 years. His father purchased the land almost a century ago, in the days when reaching the Hopkirks' sheep and dairy farm required a train journey from Stratford, followed by a horse ride. Jim's place is still well removed from the commerce and convenience of town living. It's an hour's drive from Stratford, winding east on the Forgotten World Highway before cutting south, over unpaved roads, through rugged farmland and the historic, hand-hewn Makahu tunnel.