High Heels and Gumboots

For anyone who has dreamed of living in the country, here's the hilarious, heart-warming brutal reality.

Rebecca Hayter was a high-profile yachting journalist based in Auckland when she followed a whim to buy a lifestyle block on the beach at Golden Bay at the top of the South Island – but she didn't know what she didn't know.

Unexpectedly in charge of chickens, sheep and an orchard, Rebecca shamelessly exploited local knowledge as she tackled drought, isolation and the mysteries of her Massey Ferguson 135. As a journalist, she explored local politics and the differences between urban and rural New Zealand. As a daughter, she explored the most complex relationship of her life.

Based on the author's column of the same name (Best Columnist/Blogger in the Media Awards 2020 for North & South magazine), this is a candid, hilarious, heartbreaking and heartwarming story of a woman learning the realities of life on the farm and finding confidence in new skills and in herself.