Me and the first olives - with the house in the background
My name is Jared Gulian, and I’m still not entirely sure how I ended up living in paradise.
My partner ‘Rick’ and I (he’s shy, so that’s not his real name) are two American city boys who moved to rural New Zealand in 2006. We live on 20 acres just outside the charming wine and olive village of Martinborough, at the bottom of the North Island.
It’s a little different from where I grew up, which was the suburbs outside Detroit. I used to stay out till 5am dancing at clubs downtown, where we were frisked at the door for guns and knives. Now I get up at 5am to do yoga, write, and feed the chickens. Go figure.
The olive oil
Our ‘Moon over Martinborough’ extra virgin olive oil is a labor of love. It’s cold pressed, unfiltered, and absolutely delicious. It’s in stores and available from our online shop.
Read more about it on the olive oil page.
The blog
The ‘Moon over Martinborough’ blog is where I tell stories about living a deeply satisfying life in one of the word’s most beautiful places. New posts come out when the moon is full, of course.
The blog has received some recognition:
- Silver Bloggy Award
- Expat Focus Recommended Website
- Named one of the top 10 travel related blogs in New Zealand by GoOverseas.com
- Finalist in the ONYA awards
- NetGuide Magazine’s Site of the Month
- Selected stories appear regularly in Wairarapa Lifestyle Magazine – see the list of magazine stories here
- Podcasts played on Coast Access Radio 104.7FM and Radio Southland 96.4 FM
- Featured in Wairarapa Times Age and the Martinborough Star
- Featured in a white paper called ‘Using Social Media in Product Management’ by Brainmates
- On the recommended reading list for the Writing for the Web course at the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
- Lots of amazingly nice things said about it – see the “Talk about Moon” box below and on the right
I’ve always loved stories. In the blog I’m interested in telling true stories with conflict, rising tension, climax, and resolution. So sometimes I have to wait for the real life resolution to happen before I can write about events here.
For the sake of privacy I change people’s names – except for me, vineyard/retail staff, and the chickens. Other than the name changes (and a little poetic license here and there) the stories on ‘Moon’ are true.
“The only thing that keeps us from floating off with the wind is our stories. They give us a name and put us in a place, allow us to keep on touching.”
– Tom Spanbauer, The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon
The B&B
We run a cosy rural B&B on the weekends. It’s a little slice of paradise. Check out our accommodation listing on Travelbug and Destination Wairarapa.
The property
Our 20-acre property has about 500 olive trees and a trout stream just out the bottom gate. Plus we have heaps of other fruit and nut trees — apricot, peach, pear, plum, chestnut, almond, pine nut, feijoa, and even a quince tree. Cattle and sheep graze in the paddocks.
Me and Old Lady Lucy, 2009
There’s a 2-bay hay shed with a million dollar view, a veggie garden, green house, flower garden, native garden, some very well fed chickens, and some pet kunekune pigs.
Sadly our aged rooster, Old Man Henry, died in 2010, and our elderly pig, Old Lady Lucy, died in 2011. We figure we should put a sign out front that says, “The Moon over Martinborough Twilight Home for Geriatric Farm Animals.”
Let Frances Mayes have her Tuscan sun, and Peter Mayle his year in Provence. I’ve got my Moon over Martinborough.
For more on how Rick and I ended up here, take a look at the post ‘First time I saw the trees‘.
Or read my life story as recipe at ‘Make your own olive oil in 23 easy steps‘.
Comments
If you like what you read, please leave a comment. They make my day and let me know people are out there, enjoying my stories.
Contact
- Facebook: MoonOverMartinborough
- Twitter: MoonOverMboro
- Good ol’ fashioned e-mail: mail@moonovermartinborough.com
Love your blog and am totally jealous when I read about people living in such beautiful places! We are in Cincinnati which is (sadly) beginning to look like Detroit in some ways. I lived in Grosse Pointe for a couple years; couldn’t ever get comfortable with the total poverty across Mack Avenue with lifestyle closer to lake. I do miss Eastern Market though! & all the great restaurants…
Thanks Erin. We used to drive down Detroit’s Jefferson Avenue just to see the line where poverty ended and wealth began. Unbelievable. Detroit things I miss: Greek Town and the films at the DIA.
Great Blog, I’m thinking of moving to Greytown
You should. Greytown’s great. Good shops and a great baker.
Hiya – great blog – real olive oil is a bit different to the supermarket stuff isn’t it! Sadly not too many olive trees here in Scotland (…yet…)
Yes, it’s very different. Actually, the first time we tasted our fresh oil we thought we’d done something wrong, since it didn’t taste at all like the supermarket oil! We’ve learned a lot since then.
Hey, thanks for the blog comment. Your life sounds amazing, really enjoyable blog to read. I’ve always loved New Zealand and always enjoy the wine when visiting family over there.
Glad you liked the read. Yes, NZ wine is good stuff. How lucky you are to have family here.
Hi Jared…
I grew up in the Wairarapa till I was 13…I somehow just stumbled across your “blog’ and read about your river…The memories of my childhood in the sun came flooding back….thank you for that. I remember leaving New Zealand to go and discover what the world had on offer….I was sixteen!! Years spent in New York, London and Sydney…..like yourself……racing around finding out who I was…..now I have returned “home”, although I am now about 30 miles west of you as the crow flies……..and happier than I have ever been…..a loving partner,dog and two cats…….plus everything else that country life in New Zealand has to offer…..be sure to come and visit with us here….and swap some stories…..
Warmest regards
Andrew
What a nice comment, Andrew. Thank you. Your lodge in Otaki looks great. A perfect place for a holiday!
Hi Jared,
I am a Brit married to a NZ’er living in Montauk NY, we have a small vineyard in M’boro and return each year for the harvest, I often check in on your blog to see what’s happening in our little town, we love it and miss it, and the olive oil from M’boro just like the wine is very special!
Best,
Sally
ps hope you don’t mind…added you to my blog.
It’s very nice to hear ‘the Moon’ is helping you feel connected to Martinborough while you’re away. If you ever need harvest help, let me know. I’d love to experience that – and write about it in the blog!
Hi Jared
I have just discovered Moon Over Martinborough through Benny’s Place and have just spent the whole day at work reading all of your posts (hope the boss didn’t realise!).
I am a Kiwi (orignially from Rangiora in the SI) currently living in Australia and have been away from NZ for the last 10 years. Reading your posts really remind me of how wonderful NZ is and how much I miss it. You are making me homesick! Luckily I am coming home for Christmas this year so I will get to see all my family, who all still live within 20kms of each other.
The language you use when you write and all the Kiwi terms and phrases that were/are so strange to you are very comforting for me to hear again. I don’t get to hear our unqie phrases very often and you have really made me laugh out loud.
Thank you to you and Rick for bringing a bit of comfort to a nostalgic traveller.
How nice to hear, Jo. Thanks heaps. Glad to help give you your NZ fix!
This was funny. Wine bouncer and only two trouble makers. lol.
Thanks Denise. Glad to hear you liked Behind the scenes at Toast Martinborough!
Wanted
6x Moonovermartinborough 250mls Olive Oil
Martinborough Wine Centre (the best shop in town)
!Reward Offered!
Amanda
You mean you sold the first lot?! Great. I’ll bring more over this weekend!
Matey,
Nice to hear your interview on cloudy Wellington morning.
Thanks.
Oh, I’m from Washington DC and, like you all, been here 7 years. Perhaps we have met?
Ronald
Thanks Ronald. Yes, we met years ago when we were both new to NZ. Time flies, huh?
Hi Jared,
Maybe you know already but your blog is on our list of recommended reading through the Open Polytechnic Writing for the Web course. I can see why, glad you love it here in NZ and keep up the good work!
Best wishes,
Martin
Hi Martin – Thanks for that. I suspected something was up when I received a flood of emails from Open Poly students! That’s great. I’ll add it to my list above. Thanks for reading and best of luck on the web writing path.
What magical stories! I look forward to visiting your pages and sneaking a peak at life in New Zealand. Your podcasts are great too! Wow! What fun. Love the chicken story.
Thank you so much.
Hi there, I love your lavendar aracunas, do you have any pullets available ? Thanks Fenella 021 24333 52
Hi Fenella – Sorry we don’t breed chooks, but here are some Lavender Araucana breeders around NZ:
HSwansson – Carterton, 06 378 7401
N&C Ennis – Levin, 06 362 6953
B&M Hogarth – Thames, 07 867 3222
Best of luck to you. They’re great birds. Although ours do have a tendency to get scaly leg mites. Never mind. The eggs are gorgeous!
See the post on scaly leg mites in our araucana here:
http://moonovermartinborough.com/2009/07/04/chicken-blood-on-my-boot/
Hi Jared ^_^ I’m happy to have stumbled across a wealth of blogs in NZ today to help me relieve (increase?!) my homesickness. I’m a Kiwi living in Austria and always look for good writing in a blog too – there are plenty of food porn ones and I like them too but good writing is what keeps me reading. Look forward to your posts!
Thanks Sasa. Just checked out your blog and it’s gorgeous and well written too. So many places you’ve lived! Some of us are global nomads. Thanks for reading.
Stumbled across your blog whilst googling for an ‘official’ Martinborough tourist site to include in my blog (I’m a blog-newbie). Made me laugh until my eyes watered – love it! Its a bit like reading a story on a magical make believe place in a make believe town, except that its all real! Makes me proud that I too live in this sometimes strange, funny but awesome country (I too immigrated to NZ).
Wish I found your blog before we went to the Martinborough Fair on Saturday. Would have popped in to say ‘hi’, for a couple bottles of your olive oil and a belly rub for Lady Lucy!
I follow a number of blogs but none quite like yours though. I’m going to really look forward to reading your posts as of today!
Comments like this keep me going. Thank you!
Hi guys, just wanted to say that I love your website! It’s awesome. I’ve only been living in Martinborough for about a year and a half, and I’m loving it. Sadly, I don’t have land, just your standard 1/4 acre, but a wonderful 1/4 acre!
Welcome to Martinborough!
Last night I retired early with National Radio playing quietly nearby and apparently drifted off to sleep. At around 2am I drowsily awoke to voices talking warmly and enthusiastically about olives, hills, pigs and chickens, the moon and a beautiful ever changing stream and I thought I was in a world I used to know in my youth, thank you.
Beautiful. Thank you.
For everyone else – the radio interview Donald heard is here.