Charm the farm

Meet a modern-day homesteader and Gill of all trades

- MICHELLE JOE

After finishing university in Scotland, Gillian Swinton was 21 when she decided to head off on her OE. While working on the ski fields in Queenstown, nearly 15 years ago, she met a Southland farmer called Hamish, and the couple have been together ever since. Their rural experiences on their homestead, are detailed on a blog and Insta, as well as in a recently released book.

What did you do before homesteading?

So many seasonal jobs. I've worked at ski fields as a liftie and a snowmaker in New Zealand, Canada and Australia; a station cook in Western Australia; lodge attendant on the Milford Track; a ranger for DOC in Fiordland; veterinary technician, relief milker and calf rearer. Currently, I am working from home, freelancing doing digital marketing, as well as rearing calves. I think a common thread of it all has been working outdoors, in the elements, with the season and respecting nature.

What led you to Central Otago and self-sufficiency?