About Us

A unique High Country Merino Station set in the stunning splendour of New Zealand’s Southern Alps with Lake Tekapo. The township of Lake Tekapo is on our doorstep, along with Mt Dobson and Roundhill ski areas. The splendour of Mt Cook is an excellent day trip from this location, along with Lake Alexandrina and Lake McGregor, beautiful location for family picnics. Tekapo has a range of excellent activities; walking up Mt John, around Cowans Hill. There is an excellent café on top of Mt John, and the best Japanese restaurant in town.

Sawdon Station is a high country pastoral lease property, of 7500 ha. Boundary’s with Lake Tekapo, through to Sawdon Stream. We run around 5500 merino sheep. Double this number in the summer months with the lambs. Our merino wool is sold in an auction system in Christchurch. The wool is around 18 micron, which is used for making merino sportswear and socks.

This property has been in my family for 4 generations – Walter Don, Andrew and Kath Don, Rob & Anne Allan and now our family the Loxton’s. We love the land, and will do anything and everything to look after it, like the generations before us. We have a come a long way from the horse and a couple of dogs. All the fencing, trees, housing, shed, paddock development is from all my family working hard in the extremes of High Country farming.

Sawdon grows a range of plants for the sheep to eat, including Lucerne, and lupins, tricale, and ryegrass.  I love seeing the sheep eat the flowering lupins, from the tops of the flower to the bottom, almost like a child with an ice block.  Over the winter, the sheep are brought down from the hill paddocks and into the paddock areas, and feed sileage, which is saved Lucerne harvested in the summer.  With their big wooly coats they stay warm.  They are feed every day, and are waiting at the gate for our arrival!

If at any time you would like to see the activities on the farm, or hand feed the sheep or chickens – only too happy to show you around. And Snow provides detailed farm tours – explaining our farming systems, otherwise there is the option of feeding our farm pets. We fit your tour around our busy farming life, and activities happening on the day.

Beautiful piece of paradise, especially the beautiful morning light on the mountains, the stars at night, and the evening light ever changing as the sun goes down at the end of the day. If you are so lucky to have a snow fall as you stay, enjoy the quietness, put another log of wood on the fire and sit back and enjoy.

Accommodation Options

We have three farm accommodation options to choose from – our humble, original Shearer’s Quarters, our sweet and cosy Allanvilla cottage, or the beautiful Sawdon Homestead.

Our Location

Sawdon Station is situated just 7km from the Stunning Lake Tekapo and 35km from Fairlie. Our houses make a great base for busy, adventurous holidays or the perfect place to relax beside the fire and watch the snow fall outside.

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