Farmer died of hypothermia

Four friends of well-known farmer Neil Turner have made a non-stop three day road trip from Invercargill to bring his body home to his family in Katikati.

The 61-year-old died of hypothermia when he fell off a boat into the waters of Bradshaw Sound on July 3, during an extended hunting trip with friends.

Katikati farmer Neil Turner will be farewelled on his home farm at Work Road.

His death was the subject of a Coroner's investigation but by Sunday Neil's friends were able to begin his journey home.

In a large Ford 250 ute, the party left Invercargill at 11am and after a brief stopover near Nelson, caught the Cooks Straight Ferry to Wellington for the final leg of the journey to Taupo then Katikati, arriving around 1pm Tuesday.

Neil's wife Jenny says she is extremely grateful for the marathon effort the men put into bringing Neil home.

'I also want to extend and enormous thank you to everyone who has made phone calls, has visited, has sent cards, flowers and food. The love and support we have received has been overwhelming,” says Jenny.

A gathering to celebrate the life of the man universally known as Noddy, will be held on the family's farm at 816 Work Road, at 11am on Saturday.

'I want everyone to rug up warm, hunting gear and gumboots might be the best idea because it looks like the weather might not be good,” says Jenny.

'However, we are not waiting for fine weather and we can't send Neil off from anywhere else but the farm.”

The farewell gathering is expected to attract large numbers, as Neil, Jenny and their family are well known and loved in the district.

Those who attend will be asked to contribute written memories of ‘Noddy' for a book the family is preparing in his memory.

Jenny and Neil celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary while Neil was away on the hunting trip, an adventure he had been planning for a long time.

He was four weeks into the six week trip when he fell overboard from the 45-foot boat in the Doubtful Sound on Thursday, July 3. Neil was due to pick up friends out hunting onshore in the runabout when he failed to show up. His body was later found floating in waters of the Bradshaw Sound.

Neil is the much loved father and father-in-law of Allan and Teresa, Clare and Carl, Kristi and Paul and Suzie and Daniel and loved poppa of Sam, Blake, Dylan, Kyace, Paris, Keira, Jurell, Shaine, Rosie, Lukas and Renee.

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