TGFC Producer Spotlight

Introducing Wayne & Pauline from Estuary Olives

Almost 20 years ago, Wayne and Pauline planted olive trees on their block of land overlooking the beautiful Kaipara Harbour. They decided very early on to grow olives in the most natural way possible and not drench the trees with a load of chemicals. Here we find out a bit more about how Estuary Olives got started!

TGFC/ How did you get started?
Pauline & Wayne/ We started growing olives mostly by accident.

We had a small yacht and Wayne had desires of sailing his own boat home. This did not work out as the first mate (me) got seasick as soon as we left the harbor! So we bought a 10 acre block not too far north of Auckland and said what are we going to do with this?

We did some research and decided that olives might be easy to grow as we did not need to look after them 24/7. Jobs were hard to get in the north so we had to stay in Auckland and spend our weekends on our little patch of paradise – not to mention looking after aged parents and all the other stuff that you think you cannot live without in the city.

Eventually the olives grew and it became harder to go back to Auckland after the weekend. By then we had reached retirement age and decided to build a house and live in the north and have not looked back.

TGFC/ You probably know a lot about extra virgin olive oil now?
Pauline & Wayne/ We started knowing very little about the health benefits of olive oil and as time has gone on (almost 20 years since the first tree was planted) we have become more aware of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and especially appreciate the benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

EVOO has been shown to help prevent heart disease, it is high in Vitamin E (an antioxidant) and K an anti-inflammatory. Trials also show that it may help with fighting alzheimers. AND it tastes so gooood.

TGFC/ How do you enjoy your EVOO?
Pauline & Wayne/ Our oil is consistently flavourful and aromatic. It's ideal for dipping with or without your favourite dukkah, pouring over salad, pasta, vegetables, soup or enhanced with lemon, garlic.

Ever tried olive oil on ice-cream?

TGFC/ What makes Estuary Olives special?
Pauline & Wayne/ Our products are special because we are a such a small operation that we can give each step of the process the care and attention it needs to ensure that we are producing the highest quality olive oil.

Our grove is spray free – no copper spray, no fungicide or herbicide. We do spray an organic biostimulant that activates naturally occurring soil and plant microbes.

TGFC/ Do you have a favourite product?
Pauline & Wayne/ No we don't. The oils we produce vary in flavor from year to year and the favourite is the one I need at any particular time for that particular purpose!

TGFC/ What’s your most popular product?
Pauline & Wayne/The biggest seller varies through the year. The stronger flavor oils sell first – people who like full flavoured oil buy up as soon as the new seasons oil comes on the market. At Christmas, we sell a lot of both oils.

TGFC/ Have you won any awards?
Pauline & Wayne/ We regularly win awards in the Oliveti Northland Olive Oil Awards. Our oil usually win a Gold or Silver award. We have just won a silver medal in the Blended Oil – Medium class for our Leccino Extra Virgin Olive Oil.