KANGAROO ISLAND LIVING HONEY

What started as a passionate hobby in 1998 has developed into a small family run farm business for Shawn and Anthea Hinves and their five children on the picturesque farmlands of Kangaroo Island.  With almost 500 productive hives the family is kept busy tending to their precious Ligurian bees through all seasons.  A good season can see up to 20 tons of honey extracted. 

With Organic Certification through the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia [NASSA], Shawn adheres to strict guidelines to maintain records of hive locations, extraction, storage and sales so all honey produced can be traced through each step of production.

The result is delicious raw organic honey and honey products from seriously happy bees!  Once you see how beautiful Kangaroo Island is, you’ll understand what all the buzz is about.

You’re welcome to visit their farm to see the workings of the beehive, extraction plant and packing room where you can taste their honey.  You’ll even be able to meet the locals Kaz and Angel the dogs, Mace the magpie, mother and son Faith and Angus the cows and pat the goats Johnny, Mia and Abi. 

For those keen for a full-on beekeeping experience there are group and private sessions available during spring and summer depending on the weather. 

 

Kangaroo Island is the world's oldest bee sanctuary and is home to the only pure strain of Ligurian Bee in the world which originated from Liguria, a beautiful region of Italy.

In 1881, European beekeepers who migrated to South Australia decided to introduce the Ligurian bees to Kangaroo Island. Just four years later in 1885, Kangaroo Island was declared a bee sanctuary, promising the purity of the Ligurian bee strain on the island. The island is essentially ‘quarantined’. This was crucial in ensuring that the bees remain free from exposure to common diseases and bacteria, as well as hybridisation.

This also means that these Ligurian honeybees can’t just be relocated off the island to other honey farms, when the conditions are not adequate for producing honey on Kangaroo Island.

The purity of the Ligurian bees is of uttermost importance. They play an important role in measuring diversity and could even help scientists protect the rest of the world’s honeybee population.

Ligurian bees are known for their laid-back nature compared to other strains of bees.  We know this is from living the good life on Kangaroo Island.