Houhora Honey Bees — Local services in Te Hiku Community

I gave two stars only for the ice cream. We have been camping up there five of the past six years and always stop in for a pie or an ice cream or both. Usually, quite good.

This past week we were there twice. Two bad experiences. As I hadn't been there in two years, I didn't know the new routine. It wasn't busy, so they didn't have the overflow shop open. We paid for a cone and walked to the the next window. The teeny bopper there was doing her nails, wiping the bench, essentially anything to avoid contact with "the public" while I stood in front of her for two minutes.

I didn't realize that I was supposed to be rude and interrupt her manicure and ask for service. The very nice lady that was the only one doing anything (making coffees) said that I had to ask for service. I did. We got our cone.

A few days later, we stopped by again. This time for two pies and an ice cream and the overflow shop was open. The cone had a whole lot more ice cream than the previous visit. Apparently, "manicure girl" gets paid based on the amount of ice cream left at the end of the day.

The pies were awful. They weren't actually pies. They were soup in a crust. There was far more fat than meat and far more "gravy" than the fat and meat combined. We will return to Rarawa many times for the next 15 or so years. But, we won't be buying any more fat...

Simply the best. They do the mahi and their love for what they do comes through in the pies and honey they sell. The pies - absolutely sensational, the paua pie is perfection encased in pastry...the steak and mushroom is tender and tasty and juicy. Honestly, you have to taste the pies to believe them. Coffee that is strong, fresh and perfect and the local honey that makes you a little sad that the bees are missing out on it but unbelievably yummy. All their products are the mahi of the most genuine kind lovely team behind the counter...after losing my eftpos card they safely looked after it and mailed it back to me happily. Such generous people, they deserve your patronage and trust me, you won't regret it after hoovering a pie or two...or three. Make it a compulsory stop anytime you're in the...

Unfortunately the lack of customer service from 2 of the staff serving ice creams today reduced my rating for this road-side stop business. Home made pastry pies and delicious fruit/fresh soft-serve ice creams in waffle cones. I was given a different flavoured ice cream to what was ordered and despite a polite request to remake it, or add the berries ordered to the existing icecream there was no attempt made to rectify this. Instead Option 1: pay for another by rejoining the 10 minute payment queue, or Option 2 : have no ice cream at all after being advised “cos we’re not going to take it out...