Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Last week, over three nights, Anne and Philip Todhunter from Lake Heron Station were very generous hosts to three separate groups from Icebreaker stores around NZ.  They introduced us to their amazing property that sits in a wide, once glaciated valley inland from South Canterbury, and gave a snapshot of their lives and a much deeper understanding of the start point of the Icebreaker we were all wearing.

We struck it lucky with the weather, clear, calm and COLD!!  The fringes of Lake Heron were frozen over, as was the smaller lake behind their beautiful house.  This cold weather served to somehow amplify the beauty of where we were, and clearly illustrated how valuable our Icebreaker layering system can be.

Each of the three groups was treated to a tour of their 100 year old woolshed, gaining insights about when and how the fleece leaves the Merino and enters the Icebreaker supply chain.  Lake Heron is one of a dwindling number of stations that still blade shears most of its flock.  The blade shears are essentially a large, hyper-sharp pair of scissors that the shearers work over the sheep by hand - hard work indeed!

After seeing the woolshed we walked up a back track to a point where the expanse of Lake Heron Station was easily seen.  Philip explained where the Summer and Winter country are - along the 40km of valley that is the backbone, and main “highway” for the property - and how the flock of 10,000 Merino are moved with the flow of the seasons to maintain quality feed and keep them off the higher country, away from the worst snows of Winter.  Speaking of snow, this place is home to some incredible heli-skiing - Philips “other” job being the lead Pilot for Methven Heli Ski…

Evenings were spent enjoying the families beautiful home, Anne’s amazing cooking, and on one night a 9pm football match “curtain raiser” to the All Whites first match at the World Cup, played at  brisk -5oC.  Of course there were some other very real shenanigans - but we won’t go into that here!

Every group left with a feeling of awe, and very real respect for the people and places that we draw both inspiration and the raw material for Icebreaker from.

If you want to know more about Lake Heron Station, and the Todhunters themselves, please visit www.lakeheron.co.nz and discover more about where we were.  A huge thanks again to yet another high country family for opening their home and lives to us.

Jem Culpitt - Sales Manager, Icebreaker New Zealand

Your daily kick in the pants…  Jeremy Moon features on Rattle Ya Dags.

Sometimes you’ve got to be out of your depth to experience some of the most profound and memorable experiences of your life.  I did that literally, a couple of weeks ago sharpening my scuba diving skills in Indonesia.  By sharpening I really mean remembering what the hell I learnt a month before when I did my first ever scuba dive in Fiji.

There’s nothing like taking on a new challenge to open your mind and teach you new ways of looking at things and solving problems.   We were lead by marine biologists and scientists  to untouched coral reefs and marine reserves in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere, in Raja Ampat - in the Coral Triangle.  Diving with these technical experts in their backyard, learning new skills and seeing life through another person’s eyes, gave me a different perspective on the way the world seems to just be.

Sure we swam with sharks, sea snakes, rays, and turtles - but it was the little things that hit me.  We watched tiny sea slugs and pygmy seahorses the size of your little fingernail at 30m (100 feet) below, things that we would never have noticed had we not taken the time to look and experience what was right underneath our noses.  It’s amazing to think about what you don’t see in day to day life.

We got to dive among beautiful marine reserve’s that have been set up as ‘Fish Banks’ solely to preserve marine life and teach the locals about sustainability so that there will be more food and marine life for their families to enjoy in the long term.  It’s quite humbling to realize how just making one small change may impact many a generation of people ahead of you.

We’ve got a new year just around the corner, what change do you resolve to enrich your life, and the lives of those around you?

- Jeremy Moon, Founder & CEO Icebreaker

We get to head away to some pretty exciting places when we shoot our new clothing ranges. And for the last couple of years we’ve managed to take some nice footage along the way.

We’ve had some memorable experiences on these trips, including a car crash in the back blocks of India, photographing our models surrounded by bodyguards in Sao Paulo, and climbing up tree’s to relieve ourselves on the shores of the Amazon so the infamous ‘penis fish’ didn’t make their mark on our journey.

Icebreaker Superfine Journey - Brazil Summer 09

Our Spring/Summer 09 Journey to Brazil is worth checking out.  We were amazed by the breathtaking landscape and wildlife of the Amazon, not to mention the copious amount of cheap caprihana’s we drunk along the way.  Maybe you can tell by the shakiness of the camera in some of the shots!

Icebreaker Photoshoot - Mt Aspiring Winter 09

We shoot our Fall/Winter ranges in the home of Icebreaker clothing - the Southern Alps of NZ.  Take a look at some of the crazy locations we have to shoot in this video - we’re on the edge of cliffs, sleeping in sheep station woolsheds over night, and even have our models swimming in ice cold water just so they can get another top to keep (dedication!).

Join us on our journey’s.