The Good Life

Gillian Swinton is trying to live self-sufficiently: living off the land and adapting to the seasons. With her partner Hamish, their two dogs, a cat, a few sheep, some bees and a lot of chooks, they are also building community and remembering not to take it all too seriously.


On their 2.7-hectare property in Central Otago's heartland, Gillian and Hamish lead a lifestyle that harks back to a time when people led a simpler life.

In this gorgeously illustrated guide, Gillian shares all the tips and tricks she's learned about how to be a modern-day homesteader, and how you can be one too - whether you're looking after livestock on a lifestyle block, or tending to an inner-city garden (or planter box).

Includes more than 25 recipes for pickling, preserving and delicious meals to help you get the most out of your kitchen, garden and paddock.

Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, Gillian Swinton has called New Zealand home for the past 15 years. Initially only meaning to pop over on her OE, she went as far away from home as you could go without coming back again, after falling in love with the Kiwi life - and a good Southland farmer.


Ski lift operator, snowmaker, DOC Ranger, farmer, station cook, vet tech, relief milker and calf rearer... she's a bit of a 'Gill of All Trades'. Gillian and her partner Hamish now live on their lifestyle block in Central Otago, trying to live as self sufficiently as possible and remembering to try and have some fun along the way. Animals, food preserving, beekeeping, gardening, trapping - they love it all.

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