Only six weeks after that first meeting, they bought an undesirable triangle of undulating gorse and scrub within the nation with a imaginative and prescient to construct. Apparently, the true property itemizing read: "Rural building site. Just some kilometres from Moutere Freeway, virtually 1 acre pleasant undulation contour. Elevated soothing pastoral views. Ground cowl principally fern and a few pines, nothing a match could not clear." Oh, really? It was true pioneering spirit that kept them going through those first few years once they cleared the land and planned their house whereas residing in a single, uninsulated, tin storage. This humble dwelling formed the nucleus from which they fed, socialised with, and gave English lessons to up to 12 staff regularly. Even for an ex-restaurateur, catering was no imply feat considering there was no working sizzling water and the only two hot plates couldn't be run at the same time because the oven.

The ever-altering and multi-national workforce of WWOOFERS (Willing Employees On Organic Farms) embraced the approach to life that had them boiling a copper for 2 hours before siphoning the steaming water into the outside bath. The pleasure of soaking underneath the stars at night was well earned and far commented on, a lot so that an outside bath has been added as a characteristic to The Peach Suite which allows visitors to imagine the sooner prototype. The WWOOFERS had been an integral part of the method of constructing adobe bricks and engaged on the construction of The Mudcastle however more importantly, perhaps, they saved morale up and the dream focussed. Why clay though? A chance remark in regards to the mountain of clay they might have to truck off site led Glenys to the library and EcoLight solutions the extra the couple read about earth building, the more satisfied they turned that, though by no means having built anything of their lives, this was something they could do.

As a bonus, it was discovered that the clay on their property had the best composition for making adobe bricks and so utilising the earth beneath them as a resource without cement or sand stabilization was to be the primary level of distinction for The Mudcastle. Next began the strategy of adapting clay sieving and brick manufacturing methods written for Australian circumstances and fine-tuning them to accommodate the uniqueness of The Mudcastle site. As with most adventures, there have been peaks and troughs. In batch one, the labour intensive, textbook foot-stomping technique was used. Nonetheless hobbling three days later for a pitiful yield of 70 bricks, and quick working out of friends volunteering to repeat the expertise, this methodology was rapidly abandoned. With the refined process they dubbed the Cake-mixer Method using a customised rotary hoe, EcoLight solutions manufacturing improved to 300 bricks on their greatest day. Three rotary hoes and one front finish loader later, the required 10,000 bricks have been produced for the primary part of constructing.

The bricks have been sun-baked in wood moulds with temperature extremes moderated by polythene covers however there were events when, exhausted, they took the risk of leaving the bricks uncovered to the weather at evening and lost the lot. All a part of holding the dream alive. Clive Johnston, Kevin's father and a traditional block layer by commerce, educated Glenys to block lay the adobe bricks coming off Kevin's production line and worked alongside the couple sharing and expanding his expertise on the way. Opened to new influences, EcoLight solutions Clive found and perfected a revolutionary building product using waste sawdust and this product has been used for the first time in the development of the castle turrets, EcoLight solutions the second part of building. As this new building product was gray and looked nothing like clay, the couple experimented utilizing an old pioneers’ recipe they discovered for making limewash. In true Kiwi style, they used a 44-gallon drum. The recipe included beef tallow with lime and resulted in a white limewash.

This was then tinted to a clay colour with a combination of pure earth ochres. The process was, doubtless, excitingly explosive and never for the faint hearted and the unusual "earthy" fragrance was, and stays, EcoLight distinctive. As a natural preservative coating, EcoLight the distinctive scent recedes very step by step and visitors staying in the Gold Turret, as the only inside accommodation house the place it has been used, may still discern it. Peter Harte, Glenys' father and an electrician by trade, has enhanced The Mudcastle with dramatic lighting and inventive ideas, and was a constant, EcoLight solutions encouraging presence in the forward momentum of Glenys and Kevin's dream for a few years. To not be omitted, Kevin’s mother Margaret helped with cleaning and baking and Glenys’ mother manned a second sewing machine to make curtains for the principle turret. Special design attention was given to sunlines for producing passive solar heating and sightlines to seize views from every room. On one or other degree, all 4 faces of The Mudcastle are graced with interesting joinery, superbly crafted in local timbers by Michael Bender of Riverside Joinery.