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The journey of our honey, from the hive to the pot, and finally to our customers, is made up of a series of very special moments. Whether it is a single healthy bee landing on a wildflower or the careful smoothing of a label, we believe each and every moment contributes to making our honey so special.  That’s why we love being hands-on at every stage, taking pride in all the little things that really make a difference. Our philosophy of being as gentle as we can, so as to ensure our honey retains all of its natural goodness, is reflected in our decanting process.   It takes 5-7 days to slowly bring a batch of honey up to the same temperature it would be in the hive — around 35 degrees Celsius. Honey at this temperature flows beautifully into the packing ta

We think that extracting honey has to be the best smelling job in the world, and it’s probably the stickiest!  At extraction time, from Summer to mid-Autumn, our warehouse becomes a hive of activity. Packed with loaded honey boxes, the whole place is rich with the scent of honey. It’s almost as if summer lingers on for a while, with the delicious floral aromas really taking us back to those glorious harvest days in the South Island wilderness.  Our philosophy for extraction is to keep things simple. We are passionate about ensuring that our honey retains all its natural enzymes and antibacterial properties. That means doing as little as possible in terms of processing. There’s no creaming here. However, while extraction might be a simple process for us, it is a se

Beekeeping doesn’t exactly spring to mind when people are asked to name an action-packed job. However, during the Mānuka honey harvest, we sometimes feel as if we are on the set of a James Bond movie — starring Murray Elwood instead of Daniel Craig.  What with the stunning mountain scenery, top-secret locations, a swooping helicopter, and the very real danger of getting a bee stuck in your hair, it certainly is an exhilarating part of our honey’s journey from the hive to the pot.  But for us, the Mānuka honey harvest is not simply some sort of high-adrenaline gold rush. We put a lot of careful thought and planning into ensuring that our harvest is sustainable, ethical and good for bees.  While the majority of our hives will remain in the same location throughou

As New Zealand moves into ‘Alert Level 4’, Mountain Valley Honey will maintain a ‘skeleton staff’ to watch over and look after the bees so that we can keep providing honey going forward. As an essential business, we will remain open for online orders and our couriers (also an essential business) will continue to pick up and deliver those orders throughout New Zealand. For local customers, please note that we are not open for visitors and are unable to do refills during this lockdown period. We will make sure to let you know when this changes. We understand that this is an unsettling time so it is important that we all take care of one another, be kind and keep smiling. We thank you for your continued support and are thinking of you all Murray, Nicky

Summer just turned into autumn, and we barely even noticed! We’ve been so busy filling pots with this year’s golden harvest. All our hives are back safely from the wilderness areas where they spent the summer, which means lots of activity in the big sheds! We’ll be sharing the story of how the honey gets from the hive to the honey pot in our next blog. Autumn is such a busy and abundant time of the year in the Nelson region, with honey being just one of the summer bounties that we get to enjoy. Fridges everywhere are packed with harvest goodies, either from Nelson’s wonderful farmers’ markets or from people’s own gardens.  Sharing the harvest with friends and families is a real tradition — in fact, sometimes it becomes a bit of a competition to find homes for thos

Nelson is such a vibrant and exciting place in summer, with everyone taking to the beaches, mountains and rivers. At Mountain Valley Honey we are full of excitement too, and anticipation — because summer is when we finally see the results of the year’s hard work. Last week we began the extraction of this season’s honey.  As always, it was a pure delight to retrieve those first few boxes of the summer, all fragrant and oozing with sticky goodness. It is one of those little joys that makes our job so rewarding and marks the beginning of our most thrilling time of the year. In the summertime, our bees are really out in force, having built up their numbers over spring. Now our hives are truly buzzing away, each with up to 50,000 bees inside. The honey boxes, which we located

With only ten sleeps until Christmas, Nelson is beginning to buzz! Everywhere are telltale hints of the approaching holiday season. Our local markets and craft shops are packed with people foraging for special gifts for family and friends. Trees can be spotted here and there, clinging miraculously to the roofs of cars. Stalls are popping up on street corners, stacked high with local produce. Mysterious brown paper bags turn out to be packed with summer-ripe cherries — a sure sign that our Nelson Christmas is just around the corner.  Soon families will be heading to the beaches, rivers and lakes with baskets packed full of summer goodies. The hard work of our pollinating bees over the spring has ensured a bounty of fruits and vegetables. The berryfields are b

Spring has well and truly arrived in Nelson and that means a change of scene for some of our Mountain Valley Honey bees. Beginning around October, when the days grow warm with sunshine and soft breezes, our bees go on a special working holiday — into the local orchards to help pollinate fruit trees and vines.  Lending a helping hand with pollination around the Nelson region has been a long-standing tradition in our company, and one that runs in the family.  “I’ve been pollinating for around 28 years” says owner, Murray Elwood. “It feels like forever – but Dad was pollinating well before me. Makes me sound old!”  This treasured relationship with local farmers goes right back to when Murray’s dad, Merv was just starting out. Working in the

As the days get longer and temperatures begin to rise, here at MVH we are performing our spring checks in preparation for a busy summer. Likewise, our bee friends are also preparing for a busy harvest season. “This time of year the bees are focused on growing their numbers, with the queens increasing egg production,” says MVH co-owner Murray Elwood.  The number of bees per hive can double during spring in preparation for summer’s ideal harvesting conditions. Spring in 2019 “Spring this year has been a little challenging for our bees, with cooler temperatures and a lot of wet weather making life hard for them,” says Murray Elwood Bees stay in their hives while it’s raining. When it’s windy bees will stay closer to the ground and stay closer to the hiv

Bee Aware month is the perfect time to reflect upon the importance of honey bees in our gardens and our lives.  We New Zealanders enjoy a very special relationship with the humble honey bee — we need look no further than the Buzzy Bee, that charmingly noisy toy which has been following Kiwi kids about ever since the 1930s, for evidence of our strong affection for these tiny creatures. Of course there are some very important reasons for this enduring endearment.  These buzzy pollinators play a hugely significant role in supporting New Zealand’s wide range of agricultural and horticultural activities, from the tiniest garden to the largest commercial enterprise.  Next time you go shopping, take a moment to think about it — there is a very strong possibil

A beekeeper does far more than just produce honey. They also have a responsibility to protect their hives and ensure they’re healthy and safe from diseases such as American Foulbrood disease (AFB) – which affects the honeybee larvae and pupae and is prevalent worldwide. In New Zealand AFB it is the most serious honeybee disease beekeepers need to manage.  What is American Foulbrood Disease? American Foulbrood (or AFB) is a highly infectious bee disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. AFB exists in two forms (the spore form and the vegetative form), both of which are microscopic in size. These spores can survive outside a honeybee colony for over 35 years and can withstand very high temperatures, including boiling water. When a hive becomes infe

Looking to the future of New Zealand’s beekeeping industry, the priority is looking after our honeybees, and making sure they are in an environment where they can thrive.  “The honeybees are the most important thing,” according to Murray Elwood, co-owner of Mountain Valley Honey. “If you’re a good beekeeper, your priority is looking after your bees and making sure they’ve got enough honey year-round, as well as keeping them healthy.” When Murray first started beekeeping, beekeepers were in the business simply for the love of it.  “It was very hard to make a living out of beekeeping, and to do so you had to be very switched on.”  Beekeepers also respected the sites of other beekeepers and gave everyone a decent amount of space between api