A place to thrive
My livestock are driving me f***ing nuts,” says Wendyl Nissen. We’re meant to be chatting about the tranquil serenity of her life in Hokianga, but today, the media-queen-turned-wellness-guru is tearing her hair out.
Free-range eggs and faraway neighbours are one thing, but sick cows, psychotic roosters and feral cats are giving her a dose of rural reality.
“It’s bloody hard work,” she says, sinking into the sofa at the far north home she shares with husband Paul Little. They moved here permanently three years ago to escape their fast-paced, and ultimately unsustainable, city lifestyle and it’s an undeniably idyllic spot. Their two-hectare plot runs down a gentle slope to the Hokianga Harbour, the picturesque view over the water offering a soothing antidote to any stresses of the day.
But right now, Wendyl doesn’t give a damn about the view, she’s more worried about the four-legged waifs and strays meandering on the paddock in front. Her main concern is Betty the cow, who was adopted as a neglected calf. Wendyl has spent the past few months nursing the cow back to health, traipsing after her twice a day with a
