Kiwi Tales

Frank Wright is known for his high quality aircraft rebuilds, however he has had a lifetime of adventures (both in and out of aviation) including barefoot waterskiing, pacific ferry flying, jet boating, venison recovery with Supercub and helicopter, movie star, and many others. PLEASE "LIKE" AND "SUBSCRIBE" IF YOU ENJOYED THIS VIDEO. IT HELPS A LOT. THANKYOU!0:00 Introduction10...

The Nolan family has 150 years of history in South Westland, and still farm the same land they did in the late 1800's. Patrick has a lifetime of experience in NZ deer shooting, helicopter flying, and live capture, and has flown in 9 countries. 0:00 Nolan Family History 6:35 Paddy Nolan 8:55 Dinny Nolan 13:04 Poem - Deserted Arawhata by Dinny Nolan 16:03 Robbie Nolan 19:31 Des Nolan 24:04 Early...

Charlie Janes is very well known in hunting and bush flying circles due to his five hilarious and entertaining books written in the 80's and 90's, and could be referred to as a modern day Barry Crump. He has spent years in the bush, mostly by himself in all weather, at all hours of the day and night. He has owned and flown various aircraft into tiny bush strips built by himself with months...

Ray Patchett has had a long and interesting career as an Ag Pilot in Marlborough, and "by necessity" has also developed various innovations and inventions along the way. He has owned 32 aircraft in his life, is a great story teller, and a deep thinker. This interview is a great insight into the fixed wing ag industry over the past five decades, with plenty of Ray's unique entertainment thrown in....

Keith Neylon has had a career ranging from coal mining, to shearing, to ag flying, to venison recovery, to entrepreneurship in several primary industries. In this interview he tells many hilarious stories from his flying and venison recovery days, and shares the challenges of starting and running his various new "sunrise" enterprises from scratch. PLEASE "LIKE" AND "SUBSCR...

Jim Lynch is the founder and visionary behind the Wellington ecosanctuary Zealandia. He tells of the story and struggles behind the creation of Zealandia, and talks about conservation in the modern world - what works, and what doesn't. He is also a very strong advicate of the concept of "Large Conservation Zones" - a different (but surprisingly common sense) way to save New Zealands...

Willie Sage has had a hugely varied career, ranging from shearing, to bush flying, to helicopters, to jets, to a highly respected Flight Examiner. In this interview (his second on Kiwi Tales), he tells a few stories of his aviation career, and offers some common sense thoughts and insights about relevant aviation topics. 0:00 Introduction 7:36 Flying Jets 13:46 International Ferry Flights 17:35 Bu...

Bernie Lewis is a 96 year old RAF and test pilot veteran. He has had an incredible aviation career that most of us can only dream of, having flown a huge range of fixed and multi-wing aircraft including the Vulcan bomber flying test bed. Not bad for a farm boy from Takaka who was no good at maths!! He has written a book titled "From Tiger Moths to Test Pilot" telling of his career. It is available...

Cynric Temple-Camp has been a Pathologist at Palmerston North Hospital for nearly 40 years. In that time he has performed countless autopsies on murder victims, accident victims, unexplained deaths and many others, and has studied multitudes of viruses and diseases. He has documented many of these cases in his three published books - The Cause of Death, The Quick and the Dead, and the Final Diagno...

Dave Baldwin (aka Doctor Dave) is a practicing GP in Bulls, and operates the Bulls Flying Doctor Service throughout NZ. He has a personality that is infectious, and is one of those larger than life characters that never seems to slow down. In this interview Dave tells with openness and honesty his personal story of how it all came about, the Healthy Bastards campaign, and the tragic loss of their...

Ewan Smith founded Air Rarotonga nearly in 1978, and is still the Managing Director nearly 50 years later. In this interview he tells the story of how it all started, the ups and downs of running an airline in the remote south pacific, and also how personal tragedy has shaped his and his family's lives.

Kevin recently wrote an article titled “Golden Moments”, where he described his diagnosis and ongoing battle with the big “C”. He has received feedback from many people who have found it both moving and helpful in their own lives. Kevin was Chief Flying Instructor at the Marlborough Aero Club for 17 years, and has taught and mentored many pilots through their aviation training with his typical com...

Ruth Shaw, author of bestselling "The Bookseller at the End of the World" and "Bookshop Dogs" describes with great courage and honesty her amazing life. This is an incredibly moving and inspiring story of tragedy and despair, but interlaced throughout with many heart warming moments. Episode Links: Two Wee Bookshop's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100...

Andrew London is an incredibly clever and talented songwriter, singer and musician. He has a reputation for his witty, satirical lyrics that comment on everyday life in New Zealand. Episode Links: Andrew's Website https://andrewlondon.co.nz/ Andrew's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@otakilondons Andrew's Facebook page https://facebook.com/andrewlondonnz 0:00 Introduction 6:58 I...

Kylie has climbed and explored all over the world, including being the first New Zealand woman to ski to the South Pole. She has started and run various businesses, and along with her husband Ivan owns and runs Wings and Water - a floatplane company based in Te Anau, New Zealand. Episode Links: Wings and Water Website https://www.wingsandwater.co.nz ⁠0:00⁠ Introduction ⁠9:15⁠ Wings and Water ⁠31:0...

Chris Long was raised in the wild and remote Gorge River. Since leaving home he has travelled extensively, working in some of the world's most hostile and beautiful environments, including Antarctica, Norway, China, and many others. He has written an autobiography titled "The Boy from Gorge River", and has documented many of his experiences on his WildKiwiAdventurer social media chan...

Ken Tustin has spent decades searching for the elusive moose in Fiordland, New Zealand. He has flown helicopters in Antarctica and all over the world, has spent many years researching Himalayan Tahr in NZ, and is a biologist and author. Episode Links: Stealth Films - "Fiordland Moose" & "Mountain Monarchs" DVD's https://www.stealthfilms.co.nz/dvds Natural History - &quo...

Simon Heath founded and set up the Mistletoe Bay Trust and the Mistletoe Charitable Foundation. He has been a school teacher, principal, and has held many other education roles for nearly 40 years. He is passionate about sustainability, strong leadership, and excellence within schools. Also available on Spotify and other major podcast apps. 0:00 Introduction 3:53 NZ Education System vs Other Count...

Richard Rayward has an incredible 60 years of aviation history that began back in 1966 when he quit his job and moved to live in a remote high altitude area of South Westland to hunt venison. With him he took his new wife, his new Cessna 180, and 70 hours total flight time. Since then he has created and stills runs (with his family) Air Safaris based in Tekapo. NOTE: I do apologise for the very av...

Ross Millichamp worked for New Zealand Fish and Game for 25 years and is a very well known and respected author on all things hunting and fishing. In 2008 he fell sick with Necrotising Fasciitis (flesh eating disease) but after many tough months and years recovering is now back hunting, fishing, and flying his own aircraft. 0:00 Introduction 2:46 Early Life and Salmon in NZ 9:28 Salmon Life Cycle...

This is the very first of what I hope will be many interesting tales told by equally interesting Kiwi characters. In this first episode, my very good mate Willie Sage is my guinea pig, and we discuss his early life, getting started in his aviation career, Sounds Air, Vincent Aviation, and he gives advise for those entering an aviation career. 0:00 Introduction 0:50 Early Life 9:18 Gaining Confiden...