Cate and Mike King of Pauariki Honey lost a quarter of their beehives after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Tai Rāwhiti in February, but they count themselves among the luckier honey producers in the region.
It is early June on another wet winter’s day when Country Life visits the Kings’ plant in an industrial area of Gisborne.
The couple and their bees, like the rest of the region, are in recovery mode.
Dozens of hives are stacked up in a corner. The bees have died, but it is hoped some of the boxes can be salvaged.