HIVES Manawatu

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We have had confirmation that we are able to continue shipping out honey products during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Our facilities are on our home property, so we are able to pack and send directly without contacting anyone outside our home bubble. Because we are rural, we have changed to CourierPost to be able to send directly without leaving the property, however it may take a little longer for packages to get to you, so please allow a couple of days for your order to arrive.

We are still offering free shipping on all Palmerston North orders over $20 - they're just coming by courier instead of being hand-delivered.

We've tried to answer the most common questions we get, but if you can't find what you're looking for here, please use the button to get in touch with us.

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What areas do you cover for Hive Rentals?

We currently cover the Manawatu region around Palmerston North, Ashhurst, Feilding and Tokomaru.

Because of the nature of hive rentals, with each site only having a couple of hives, we need to keep our sites reasonably close together otherwise we would spend all day travelling between them, with very few hives actually serviced per day.
Will the bees sting me?

We can't guarantee that bees from our hives won't sting you if you host one - however it's very rare that it happens!

Unlike wasps, bees will generally only sting in defense of themselves or their hive. If you stand on one, they'll probably sting you, but if one bumps into you on her way to a flower, she'll just carry on unless she gets stuck in your hair or clothing.
We choose our bees carefully before putting them onto peoples property. All of the worker bees in a hive are the daughters of the queen, so through careful breeding, the temperament of the hive can be controlled to some degree. If we find a hive that is aggressive, we can replace the queen and the hive will very quickly calm down.

The location of the hive can also be a factor, so we take the time to find a suitable spot where their flight path isn't going to have them flying into you as you spend time outside on your property.
$40 a month seems a lot for 5kg of honey

We try to be really up front that if all you want is local honey, there are much cheaper ways of getting it. Most of our clients are genuinely more interested in the bees and getting pollination for their fruit and veges.

The monthly cost reflects our annual cost of servicing the hive, spread evenly over twelve monthly payments. Servicing individual hives like we do often adds up to more time spent getting from site to site than we actually spend in the hives - this is in contrast to the traditional honey production model that will have 12-20 hives per site. Add to that the cost of registering the hive, treating for varroa, equipment costs, the inefficiency of extracting honey from each hive indivudually etc, and you may begin to understand why we charge what we do. At the end of the season any surplus honey is available to the hive host at a 25% discount off retail.
What if I want more than 5kg of honey from each of the hives?

At the end of the season any surplus honey is available to the hive host at a 25% discount off retail. We can pack it in your choice of 500g, 1kg or 6kg containers.

We typically mix any surplus from each neighbourhood into regional batches shortly after extraction for retail sale, so if you would like extra honey, let us know as soon as possible.

What kind of honey do you sell?

Most of our honey is sold in one of three categories - urban, bush or pasture depending on where it comes from.

We source all of our honey from our own hives - most of those being in local Manawatu backyards, lifestyle blocks, or our permanent rural honey production sites.

Because we don't move our hives around, we generally get 'multifloral' honey, meaning it's a mixture of whatever is flowering in the area.

As much as possible we keep our honey to quite small batches (300kg or less) and from just one apiary or geographical area, so you'll find our honey listed with a location rather than a floral type like clover or manuka.
Do you have manuka honey?

No we don't - without moving hives into remote areas where only manuka is flowering it's difficult to get a good manuka honey, and so while some of our bush honeys may have some manuka in them, we don't generally get a high enough percentage to be able to call it manuka.

Unless you're using it as a wound dressing, you're not really going to get any extra medicinal benefits from eating manuka honey. If you like the strong taste of manuka honey, we suggest trying our bush honey instead.
I bought some honey from you, can I get more of that batch?

If you can't find the batch listed that you want it probably means we've sold out. We suggest checking out the tasting notes and type listed for each of the available honeys, and you should be able to find something that appeals to you.

Because we don't blend our honeys much, we have fairly limited amounts of each batch, and once it's gone we don't have any way to replicate it.

We like to think of each batch of honey like a wine vintage - each vineyard produces a slightly different flavour each year, and every vineyard is different in a given year.
Temperature and rainfall affect what plants flower and how much nectar they produce, so time of year, location, and weather all affect the flavour of the honey.
I bought some liquid honey, and it's gone gritty/hard

We use as little heat as possible in the processing of our honey. The benefit of that is the volatile flavours and enzymes are retained. The downside is that you may find it crystalises

Raw honey crystalising is a natural process and not a sign that it has gone bad, spoiled or that it's not a 100% natural product. If you don't mind the texture (or are using it in baking etc) then feel free to keep using it as is. If you want to get it back to a liquid, warm it gently to melt the crystals.

Double boiler method
• Keep the lid on your honey to prevent any water from getting in.
• Place in a pot with hot water. To preserve the good flavours and beneficial enzymes in the honey use water below 50°C (your hot tap should be around 50-55°C).
• Use the lowest heat setting on your stovetop to keep the water hot, and stir the honey occasionally until no crystals are visible

Microwave method
• Loosen the lid and place in the microwave on its lowest power setting for 30 second bursts
• Check and stir every 30 seconds until no crystals are visible.
• You’re more likely to overheat the honey using this method, so use the double boiler if possible.
Where can I buy your honey?

Our honey is available from:

Steve's Wholefoods, 101 Albert Street, Palmerston North

Boho Cafe, 2 Pitama Road, Awapuni, Palmerston North

The Duke's Roadhouse, 2 Koraenui Street, Mangaweka

Our retail stockists don't always carry our full range of sizes and types, but you can alway buy our full range here!

How much is your shipping?

Shipping cost varies depending on where you are - options will be given automatically as you proceed through the checkout

We're currently offering free delivery within Palmerston North - if your postcode is in the applicable area it will be given as an option.
If you spend over $100 we'll ship it anywhere in NZ for free too!
All other areas will vary depending on the order weight and your location

If you are on a rural route, please make sure you select the rural delivery option as we won't be able to send your order until it has been paid for.
Do you ship internationally?

Sorry, at this stage we only ship within New Zealand.
I'm trying to cut down on plastic, what about your courier bags and packaging?

We are using 100% compostable courier bags (certified for both home and commercial compost) and an expanded paper product for protection instead of bubblewrap.

To put the courier packaging in your compost just remove the adhesive strip and it's good to go!

Call us: 021 228 4133

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