Ohakune is the self-proclaimed carrot capital of NZ, and Pip had been excitedly waiting to revisit this monumental statement of the vegetable's importance.
The first market gardens in the area were established by several Chinese families back in 1925, helped by the railway, a late growing season, inexpensive land and a cold winter. (It's over 500m up, on the slopes of Ruapehu.) Much of the land was cleared by hand and explosives (the first bulldozer didn't get here until 1937) and the food was needed to feed troops. After the war, land was converted to rehabilitation farms for returning soldiers, but now the farms have been consolidated into less than a dozen large holdings. Although there is diversification, the carrot is still the most important crop.