Me and the first olives - with the house in the background
My name is Jared, and I’m still not entirely sure how I ended up living in paradise.
My partner Rick and I 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.
The blog
‘Moon over Martinborough’ is my little blog about living a simple yet deeply satisfying life in one of the world’s most beautiful places.
The blog has received some recognition:
- An Expat Focus Recommended Website, September 2010
- Named one of the top 10 travel related blogs in New Zealand by GoOverseas.com, July 2010
- Blog stories published regularly in Wairarapa Lifestyle Magazine
- Podcasts can be heard on Coast Access Radio 104.7FM
- Finalist in the ONYA awards, February 2010
- NetGuide Magazine’s Site of the Month, October 2009
- Featured in Wairarapa Times Age and the Martinborough Star
- 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 – listed in the “Talk about the Moon” box below and on the right.
I’ve always loved stories. In this 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 olive oil
Our olive oil is a labor of love. It’s in stores. Read about it on the Olive oil page.
You can find blog stories related to making olive oil in the Olives & olive oil category.
The property and B&B
Our property has about 500 olive trees and a trout stream just out the bottom gate. Plus we have apricot, peach, pear, plum, chestnut, almond, pine nut, feijoa, and even a quince tree. 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 hens, and a geriatric rooster we call Old Man Henry. Cattle and sheep graze in the paddocks.
We run a B&B on the weekends. Check out our accommodation listing on Travelbug and Destination Wairarapa.
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. I don’t make any money from this blog, but the pleasure I get from comments makes me a very wealthy man indeed.
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!