Everyone's got a story to tell.
John loves the outdoors, he is an avid hunter and fisher. A trained motor vehicle mechanic, he gave it away to follow his passion for hunting.
As a young man, he worked in South Westland hunting on foot and from helicopters in the venison boom.
John has always looked for opportunities to spend his life doing what he loves. He had a go at farming for a couple of years and spent a season lobster fishing.
When he married Robin they managed a fishing lodge in Artic Canada for 4 months. John thought he wouldn't mind having a lodge of his own in New Zealand.
John describes walking into a nice piece of property, overlooking the Hanmer Valley. To finance his dream he worked on a lucrative little niche market. John captured and exported live Chamois to international zoos to pay for the foundations of the Lodge.
Once they started building, they found it had to be completed faster than expected. The dry nor-west wind threatened to warp the timber and John had to launch himself out of choppers again, catching more chamois with net guns to pay the builders.
Robin is the strong backbone of their business. She's his muse, manager and support crew.
"I'd be lost without her."
John says "We're pretty rich from the point of view of the people we meet and the lifestyle that we've got. That’s our wealth."
"Everyone's life is different, everyone's got a story to tell."
John loves the outdoors, he is an avid hunter and fisher. A trained motor vehicle mechanic, he gave it away to follow his passion for hunting.
As a young man, he worked in South Westland hunting on foot and from helicopters in the venison boom.
John has always looked for opportunities to spend his life doing what he loves. He had a go at farming for a couple of years and spent a season lobster fishing.
When he married Robin they managed a fishing lodge in Artic Canada for 4 months. John thought he wouldn't mind having a lodge of his own in New Zealand.
John describes walking into a nice piece of property, overlooking the Hanmer Valley. To finance his dream he worked on a lucrative little niche market. John captured and exported live Chamois to international zoos to pay for the foundations of the Lodge.
Once they started building, they found it had to be completed faster than expected. The dry nor-west wind threatened to warp the timber and John had to launch himself out of choppers again, catching more chamois with net guns to pay the builders.
Robin is the strong backbone of their business. She's his muse, manager and support crew.
"I'd be lost without her."
John says "We're pretty rich from the point of view of the people we meet and the lifestyle that we've got. That’s our wealth."
"Everyone's life is different, everyone's got a story to tell."
