On the eastern edge of New Zealand, where the roads follow the Pacific through native bush and rolling farmland, lies a coastline unlike anywhere else. Remote, untouched and shaped by the elements.
For Chloe and her family, this remarkable place is home. For Bill Savage, WildCape's founder and beekeeper, it's where a childhood fascination became more than fifty years of working with bees.
For WildCape, it's where everything begins.
Our single-source UMF™ certified Mānuka honey comes exclusively from our own hives on New Zealand's East Cape. Its distinctive character reflects the landscape, climate and native flora of this remarkable region.
Through the stories of the people who call this place home, we invite you to discover the world behind every jar of WildCape.
WATCH NOTES FROM THE EDGE
The place that became home.
"My parents came from America with no real plan, only a sense that somewhere like this still existed, a wild, unspoiled coast."
They found it on New Zealand's East Cape. A remote stretch of coastline where the Pacific meets rolling farmland, native bush and rugged hills.
And they stayed.
Chloe grew up surrounded by the landscape her parents had crossed an ocean to find.
"They stayed, I grew up here, and it became the only home I understood.”
Today, Chloe and Johnny are raising their own family with that same connection to the coast. Weekends are spent surfing, fishing and returning to the places that have become part of their family story.
The boys are making their own memories, just as Chloe did growing up.
For Chloe, the East Cape is more than a place to call home. It has shaped the way she lives and the things she values.
And it is this same remarkable landscape that gives WildCape its origin.
Taking the long way.
"Some weekends we take the long way up the East Cape, to the bay we return to again and again.”
The journey begins near Gisborne, on the eastern side of New Zealand's North Island.
The road winds through farmland and native bush. Pōhutukawa trees lean against the coastal winds, and the Pacific appears between the hills.
The landscape is constantly changing. Ocean winds, seasonal rain and long summer days shape the native vegetation that thrives here, including the Mānuka from which WildCape honey begins.
It is a landscape that rewards patience and an understanding of nature's rhythms.
Along the way, Chloe and her family stop to spend time with Bill Savage, whose lifelong connection to this region is inseparable from the honey he produces.
Still learning. Still loving it.
Bill Savage was twelve years old when he first discovered beekeeping.
After reading an article in the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, he acquired his first hives and began what would become a lifelong pursuit.
More than fifty years later, his fascination remains.
"I got a couple of hives then, and 52 years on I'm still learning and still loving it.”
For Bill, beekeeping has always been about understanding the relationship between the bees, the seasons and the landscape they inhabit.
Every year, the native Mānuka flowers for just a few short weeks. The timing and abundance of the flowering depend on the conditions nature provides. It is a brief and unpredictable harvest, requiring a year's preparation and an intimate understanding of the land.
"A beautiful part of the East Coast, untouched, unspoiled.
One Cape. One Harvest. One Source.
The origin of Mānuka honey matters.
While some Mānuka honeys are blended from different regions of New Zealand, WildCape is produced exclusively from our own hives on the East Cape.
This commitment to a single geographical source means our honey remains connected to the landscape in which it was produced.
The coastal climate, native Mānuka and unique environmental conditions of this region contribute to its distinctive flavour and character. From selecting hive locations and caring for the bees to harvesting, extraction and packing, our team remains closely involved at every stage.
Every batch is independently tested and UMF™ certified, providing assurance of its authenticity, quality and potency.
The result is a Mānuka honey with a distinctive identity and an origin that can be traced.
THE WILDCAPE DIFFERENCE.
A DISTINCTIVE TASTE. A PLACE YOU CAN TRACE.
Life at the Edge of the World.
"It is remote in a way that is hard to explain, and that remoteness is the whole point.”
The journey continues towards Loisels, a secluded bay that has become part of Chloe and her family's story.
Here, the pace of life is guided by the tides, the weather and the changing seasons.
Johnny surfs, the boys explore the water, and the family spends their days fishing, sharing meals and enjoying time together.
There is a quiet freedom in a place so far removed from the demands of everyday life.
"It is the edge of the world, but somehow the centre of ours."
For Chloe and her family, this landscape represents something worth returning to, and worth protecting.
For WildCape, it is a reminder that the most remarkable things are often shaped by nature, given time and allowed to develop on their own terms.
A little of the Cape Every day.
"You cannot keep a place like this, but a little of it travels."
As Chloe and her family make their way home, the weekend becomes another memory of the coast they know so well.
WildCape honey has a journey of its own. From the native Mānuka growing on New Zealand's East Cape, through the care of our beekeepers, to kitchens and everyday rituals around the world.
A spoonful in the morning. Honey on toast or stirred through yogurt. Lemon and honey beside the fire at night.
Simple moments that bring something of this remarkable place into your everyday.
"A spoon of honey in the morning, lemon and honey by the fire at night. Something of this Cape, carried into an ordinary day, an ocean away.”
Wherever it's enjoyed, the honey's origin remains the same. Every jar of WildCape Mānuka honey comes from our own hives on the East Cape, independently tested and UMF™ certified for authenticity, quality and potency.
UMF™ stands for Unique Mānuka Factor, a grading system that independently verifies genuine New Zealand Mānuka honey. Our UMF™ 10+, 15+ and 20+ honeys each carry this assurance of quality and provenance.
Something of the Cape can reach you.
Every jar of WildCape carries a connection to its origin.
Through our batch traceability system, you can explore the UMF™ certificate and independent test results for your honey. A tangible connection to the place and people behind it.
Chloe's parents crossed an ocean in search of somewhere wild and unspoiled. Their daughter grew up here, and now her own family is creating memories along the same familiar coastline.
Meanwhile, Bill continues the work that first fascinated him as a twelve-year-old boy.
Different lives, connected by one remarkable place.
You may never travel these roads, stand beside our hives or experience the wild beauty of New Zealand's East Cape.
But something of this place can still become part of your everyday.
YOU MAY NEVER MAKE IT HERE. BUT THIS CAN.
Discover our single-source, UMF™ certified Mānuka honey, harvested exclusively from our own hives on New Zealand's East Cape.
To you. From Paradise.
BRING WILDCAPE HOME
