COPYRIGHT ABLE 2018 * This is my mum, Shirley Maddock. In 1964, she was the creator of New Zealand's first ever documentary series, Islands of the Gulf. SHIRLEY: To visit an island is to leave the mainland behind, even if it is only for the day. Those programmes shone a light on various islands in the 4000km2 Hauraki Gulf. I'm Elizabeth Easther, and over 50 years later, I'm retracing my mother's journey,... (SWELLING POP MUSIC) ...looking at the islands' wildlife,... There she goes. ...the history, and above all else, the people. I think there's a lot of people here that are a little bit different. I want to know what island life is like in the 21st century. Welcome to the yurt. It's so beautiful. (MUSIC SWELLS, KIDS SQUEAL) Welcome to my Islands Of The Gulf. Copyright Able 2018 When Mum was making her programmes, work opportunities on the islands were limited ` industries like forestry and mining were in decline; there were a few small fishing operations; teachers were needed in school, even if the roll consisted of just three children; SHIRLEY: Peter Ward, the young schoolmaster, is playing tagball with his pupils. some people ran general stores; others maintained roads or provided essential services. But farming was largely the backbone of these islands' economies. Farming on an island can be less than idyllic. Every head of stock coming and going can only be carried by scow. Times have, understandably, changed since Mum visited, and I'm curious ` how do people make a living on these islands today? (GENTLE MUSIC) Heading to Kawau Island, it's a popular day trip ` which is good news for our ferry skipper, John Laurie. It's a nice office. It's a beautiful office. And your dog really likes it as well. Yeah, Salty, last name ` Dog. Aww! Salty. And I know this is a personal question, but what happens when you dog needs to go to the bathroom? Oh, he's got certain spots. And he hails it down the end of the wharf and, um, does his business and then back again within the time frame. Right, so he knows where is opportunities lie? He knows if he gets off and doesn't get back on, I'll come and get him, cos his dad owns a water taxi business. Have you ever left him somewhere? Oh yeah, and then he'll be there barking on the end of the wharf. And people will say, 'Who are we picking up here?' I say, 'Oh, wait and see.' And we go in there, and all of a sudden he'll jump on, you know? Before running away to sea, John operated a digger business on Kawau. And he's lived there for more than 20 years. In the winter time, do you have to go back to digging? Is there enough ferry action`? Oh no, it's seven days a week. Basically daylight till dark every day. Even in the winter, carry quite a few people. And it's really nice in the winter because there's nobody around and the fishing's good, and you get a lot of tradies coming over, fixing stuff that needs to be fixed. What would you think that Kawau needed? If someone was listening to this and thought, 'Wow, it sounds amazing. I need to live there but I have to have a job.' Work-wise? I'm not sure about that. Um, Kawau's pretty good as it is, really. It is. I wouldn't change too much. Otherwise we'll end up with a Sky Tower. I can just imagine Kawau locals telling developers where they could stick a Sky Tower. And it's not as if they'd like anything to overshadow Sir George Grey's Mansion House. SHIRLEY: Though Sir George Grey left the island in 1888 a sad and lonely old man, Kawau has the indefinable air of a place where no one comes to work ` or at least, not very hard. These days, Kawau people are quite an industrious bunch. There are always houses being built, while modern technology allows residents to work from the island, like Georgia, a singer, teacher and healer and Simon, a database developer. So, welcome to the yurt. It is... significant. Yeah. It is the largest residential yurt in New Zealand. Fancy that! (LAUGHS) Fancy that, yeah. It's all right. So, Simon did all of this, this whole deck. He built this by hand. Designed and built this deck. Aren't you clever! Yes. Gazing across to Sir George Grey's elegant legacy, George meet Georgia. Georgia, George. So, come on in. Welcome to the yurt. (CHUCKLES EXCITEDLY) Ohh! It's so beautiful. Wow. Oh my goodness me. Hey, while you're here, just sing or say something. Hello there! Can you hear the resonance? Ooohhh! This is probably one of the most novel dwellings I've come across, so I have to ask ` how did their yurt dream become a reality? I had a gig in Spain, and we went to Morocco and Spain and saw people living really simply. And we both went, 'Oh my God, that's what we want.' You know, for me to balance the craziness of showbiz and for you with the whole database, computer programming, kind of, screen world, you know, which we're all sucked into nowadays. We just decided to change it up, eh, and to live a lot more simply. Yeah. This land has been in George's family since 1951, and the couple had thought about building a straw-bale home or even an Earthship. We originally thought of a yurt as something that we could live in for a couple of years while we designed and built our dream house. And then we realised we could actually have our dream house as a yurt. But this doesn't feel like a second choice. It doesn't feel like the consolation prize. No! It feels like the best idea. Yeah. Yeah, well, for us, in terms of that simplicity and connection to nature` Is it challenging for a relationship? Yeah, that would be the major drawback, eh? Like... With the way we've done this, it is one large space. One big space, yeah. So our bedroom, our kitchen, our workspace, our lounge is all in the same area. It's like a big studio apartment. So how do you work your working lives? For me it's quite easy. I can sit at my desk here, connect to the internet and look out over Mansion House and do my work at any time of the day. I really wonder how you get anything done, though, cos I'd just be, 'Ohh.' I'd have to move my computer to face the inside of the house. Yeah. 3 o'clock in the morning in your undies, eh. I can do it if I want, yeah. And I've had clients come up and work with me here as a voice teacher, and I now do healing work as well. And that's been really amazing to have them come here, because it's just profound to work in such silence and solitude. I'm sold. (LAUGHS) You know you could probably start a movement. Well, I think we are part of a broader movement, actually, of people kind of getting a bit real. You know, people getting a bit simple and going, 'Yeah, we don't need SUVs and, you know, eight-bedroomed houses with eight bathrooms.' We just don't need it. It doesn't make us happy. A lot more vacuuming. LAUGHS: A lot more vacuuming. Yeah. You know, the idea of material possessions bringing happiness is just bollocks. Next we visit a couple with a different variation on the 'island dream' theme. When we first started, we didn't know anything about wine or growing grapes. (GENTLE MUSIC) When I first came home, I got out of the car and listened to the noise of the trees of the branches, of the leaves and of the birds, and at least two or three different types of birds sang. And that's not poetic; that was just factual. And I said to my wife, 'Wow. I haven't heard that for a while.' (GENTLE MUSIC) To book a free hearing check, visit... * (RELAXED ACOUSTIC GUITAR) Living on an island is something of an art form, and I'm keen to know how people rise to the challenges and thrive as a result. Well before Mum's visit, Waiheke was a rustically popular holiday destination. In the 1960s, the permanent population sat at around 1900, ballooning in the warmer months, much as it does today. SHIRLEY: Home go the weekenders back to the mainland with bundles and baskets and babies, pushing their tired, sandy feet up the gangway. Back in the swinging '60s, Waiheke's tourism industry was virtually non-existent. Today, though, business opportunities are booming ` or should that be blooming? Christie and Mike of Nourish Gardens moved to Waiheke over 10 years ago in search of a more pastoral life. Between them, they've worked in teaching, law and property. Now they're focusing on horticulture ` notably flowers, a small vineyard and a flourishing food forest. So, who are you growing these for? Wedding florists. And I have been taking them to our little local market as well. The Waiheke wedding scene is huge, isn't it? There can be as many as eight weddings in a single day. One of the statistics which we like to say on the island is that 10% of all weddings in New Zealand are held on Waiheke. So there's a lot of flowers coming across from town, but there's also, obviously, florists on the island who are doing lots of wedding flowers, so it makes sense to me. I've always had a soft spot for chickens. (CHICKENS CLUCK SOFTLY) This is Dawn. Oh, Dawn. Just keep her wings down. Oh, right. So she... Hello, Dawn, darling. Oh yes. What did you say? (CLUCKS) Christy grew up on far-flung Aotea-Great Barrier, so was used to a relatively simple live, whereas Mike was raised in Auckland. But he adapted happily. It's worked really well for us. And we feel now that this is where we want to be and where we want to live. I wouldn't want to call anywhere else home now. I've lived in other places, but I've never belonged to a community like I do here. And that's a special thing, and it sort of gets inside you. Aside from the flowers, much of their land is planted in grapes. Did you put these vines in yourselves? No, they had been planted when we got here. They had just started production, um, a year or so before we got here. The first commercial grapes were planted on Waiheke in 1977, and this paved the way for other vineyards. When a local association of growers formed in the mid-'90s, there were 22 members. These days there are close to 30 growers on the island. When we first started, we didn't know anything about wine or growing grapes. And we had some really good help ` very generous help, actually. Then having a beautiful place like this, it's easy to grow really nice grapes, and we've managed to grow award-winning grapes. Everyone's your friend when you produce wine. (LAUGHTER) Probably a gumboot manufacturer, nobody'd be interested. Is it starting to get quite big with some of the vineyards? Are they growing? Not really. Not on a national scale. And there's a lot of family-owned, family-run businesses out here. It's very small, very hand-tended. When I'm pruning, you get to know each vine individually as you go. All hand-harvested. The children are allowed to have a day off school when it's harvest day. Oh, what fun. (LAUGHS) And they actually each have a wine named after them. So our white wine is called Melina after our daughter. Means 'gentle and golden', Melina. Well named. So it suits the white wine. - ALL: Cheers. - (GLASSES CLINK) - Thank you so much. Our pleasure. In Mum's day, you were lucky to get a glass of Cold Duck. SHIRLEY: There's a chemist here, a cinema, a once-weekly bank, and a branch of New Zealand's national play-centre, the TAB. One of the earliest accounts of wine production on Waiheke Island was in the 1950s, when the Gradiska family produced a drop that one local vintner described as 'a fairly ferocious fortified brew'. But my, how things have changed. With close to 800,000 visitors a year, in 2016 Lonely Planet rated Waiheke among the world's top 10 holiday destinations, while Conde Nast rated it the fourth best island in the world ` great news for local business owners who rely on tourists for their turnover. Like Bianca Ranson, owner and operator of Potiki Adventures. Moving to Waiheke when she was 5, Bianca grew up with a love of the outdoors and a strong sense of her Maori culture. So when the island called her home, it made sense to combine those elements. I host international groups and bring young people from Auckland and other parts of the North Island over here to share it with them. I really wanted to be able to introduce people to the outdoor environment from a Maori perspective. That's Motutapu, and then behind it is another island called Rangitoto. 'Rangi' means sky and 'toto' means blood. So when the mountain was erupting, it looked like the sky was bleeding. A lot of our stories of how the world makes sense come directly from the environment, and so giving them an understanding of our connection to the land. Central to that Maori perspective is the notion of kaitiakitanga, or guardianship. We could get people to buy into the concept of kaitiakitanga so that when they go around Waiheke they have the sense of wanting to protect it. That we're all guardians. Yeah. Because the concept of it is so beautiful and it's so old, and why would you not wanna be a part of it, and it's unique to Aotearoa. This bay is Oneroa, which is our main beach. And then if you look at that peninsula right out in the distance over there, that's the Coromandel Peninsula. As kaitiaki, Bianca is well aware that some of Waiheke's attractions can undermine its charms. You know, the whole vineyard thing is a big drawcard for people, but it's like, this is actually our home, you know? It's not just somewhere where you come over from Auckland or Ponsonby and jump on the ferry and start drinking and then come over and drink, drink, drink all day and then go home again. For us as locals, it's kind of hard, you know? And that's the thing, isn't it? It's the Waiheke cliche of the vineyard. That's where you go. Yeah. And there's this whole idea that Waiheke is the land of the rich, you know? It's like vineyards and big mansions. And it's not, you know? Yes, that's a part of the island, but then there's people here living in poverty. There's people here living in vehicles. There's a whole side of Waiheke that people don't know about and that doesn't get put out into the media or on to the Conde Nast Traveller site because it's not interesting. Mm. It's not nice for a brochure. It's not nice for a brochure but it's real. Coming up, Chris makes a bold move by angling for a fresh start. There we go. What do you reckon? * With the choice of a long ferry ride to Aotea-Great Barrier or a 30-minute spin in a seaplane, I choose the quicker, arguably more glamorous option. From the air, Aotea doesn't look much different than it would have when Mum flew over it, waxing lyrically as she went. The gaunt spine of the country is a noble morass of crags and bluffs and sharp-edged pinnacles. Aotea's isolation is also a big part of its charm. But a low population means limited business opportunities, in turn making it difficult for locals to find work. In 2013, the average wage among the 939 permanent residents was around $19,000, well below the national average. To learn more about life on this island, I stop in at Aotea FM, the only solar-powered radio station in the country. Welcome to Aotea FM. Thanks for joining us. Thank you very much. So, what do you reckon your mum would say about all this if she was still around? My mum would be so chuffed. She's been dead for 15 years, and if she knew that this was happening, for a start, she would just be overjoyed, and I would be able to ask her all the questions I want to ask her. Naturally, Kathy wants to know about the programme I'm making. So, how do you manage here. What are you doing here, if I may be so nosy? Well, I came to live permanently on the island just over two years ago. I retired at the age of, I think it was 36, when I arrived on the island. And I just kind of had enough of media and politics, which was what I was doing before. So bought a little shack in Tryphena, moved over ` and this is the same story as so many people will tell you on this island ` I didn't mean to stay for that long, but never left. So still here, yeah. I coordinate the radio station. We have about 30 volunteer presenters that keep the shows on the road. How much of your time does that take a week? It's only 10 hours. Right. So what`? Cos I understand Barrier people have to have lots of little jobs cos big jobs are` unless you're a builder. Yeah, employment can be quite piecemeal here, so you put together a week that has enough work in it that you can survive. So I also do a bit of work for Auckland Council. What do you do for them? A very lofty job title ` strategic broker, which basically means Great Barrier Island residents are getting what they can out of council, that they've got a really good relationship with council. Kathy's myriad skills see her take on numerous roles. And her favourite? Washing dishes at a restaurant. And it really is just a really pleasant way to pass an evening just scrubbing, you know, steak remains off plates. Do you get fed? Yeah. Yep, yeah. I'll just deep-fry some fish and chips just whenever I feel like it. Yeah, there's perks. Massive perks. So, what are your plans for the future? I am building a little house that's a little bit more sustainable. I currently live in what could only be described as a shack. Um, no running hot water and no proper front door, not really a proper floor, it's sort of uninhabitable in winter. So, yeah, I'm gonna future-proof my existence on the Barrier. which I guess is quite a big indication that this is where I'm probably gonna live for the rest of my life. (CHUCKLES) Precious metals and kauri trees. In earlier days, those commodities established the island's economy. SHIRLEY: Gold, copper and silver have all been mined on the island in the past. Millions of feet of kauri were felled here in the logging days. Today the focus is often on more sustainable endeavours. And to find out more, I'm going cruising with Hooked On Barrier skipper Chris Oliver. So, I like to crush down the barbs... if I can, if I'm strong enough. It's a much easier process to remove the hook if the barb's not on it. You're much less likely to kill the fish. Is this common amongst conscious fishermen... people? No, I don't` Um,... there's a growing awareness that it really is worth doing. So, we're just going to... Through the gills. And lay it so the hook's sticking out. The idea there is you're making it so that the fish is as natural as possible, but the hooks are there where they're most likely to bite into it. So they'll slam it from the side. We're going to catch something quite big with that, aren't we? Of course. (CHUCKLES) Right. So we'll just flick that out there into the current. Born in New Zealand, Chris has over 30 years of ocean-going experience, including a period spent overseas as a marine surveyor. One of the most common things when people book a charter is they say, 'I want to catch a big fish.' No one rings up and goes, 'I'd like to catch a tiny fish, please.' And I go, 'Yeah, right.' The guarantees we can't make. Yeah. So, why did you come to Barrier? I'd been in Perth for 15 years. And it was just time of life that we were ready for that sort of change. I brought Margaret over with me and we had a look. She'd never been to New Zealand before. Never, ever been to New Zealand. So brought her over from Perth, showed her this, and she loved it. And so we moved. That was 11 years ago. Anything? What have we got? No, I think we're just catching on the... On the bottom? So for a person who does fishing charters and takes the barbs off the hooks, you've obviously got quite an ecological conscience. I suppose its grown since I've been here. I mean, watching 12 people catch fish all day, they're not aware that the bin is filling up and there's just an over-quantity of fish being taken. And so when you see that on a regular basis, you get kind of going, 'Do I really want to be part of this? 'Do I really want to make this be the focus of what I do?' Even though he takes people fishing, Chris is passionate about ensuring these precious seas aren't overfished. We're saying, 'You've got enough fish now. You don't need any more. 'What are you going to do with them?' And so we're kind of encouraging people to think more ecologically. (LINE WHIRRS) Oh. Do you want to? May I? Yes. Hey! (CLEARS THROAT) Sorry. No, OK, so just` Keeping it cool. So wind it in. Keep the tension on him so that he doesn't try and get away. - He's not getting away. - (BOTH CHUCKLE) Come on` Oh, actually, he might be just on legal. OK, stop now because you've reached the swivel. Oh, right, yes, I have too. Here we go. There we go. What do you reckon? Just probably a smidge under. Yes, probably. Shall we give him the benefit of doubt and he can go back. Yeah, all right, then. So you can see that it's very easy to release them` I'll give him a kiss. ...when you haven't got the barbs there, cos it just pops out. (KISSES) That's a nice fish. Bye, fish. (SPLASH!) Like everything on Aotea Great Barrier, operating a fishing charter is more challenging than it would be closer to the mainland. The costs of running my boat and meeting all the regulations for carrying passengers and things make it a very marginal business. The biggest stumbling block for businesses on Great Barrier Island is the lack of people. And so we need to turn that round enough to make it worthwhile but not enough to make it lose what it really has, which is that, sort of, charm and isolation. Half a century has seen great change on Waiheke. Could Great Barrier go the same way? SHIRLEY: Waiheke's island days are shrinking now. The planes and the hydrofoil will soon see to that. Many think not, with a lot of the people who years ago decamped to Waiheke having subsequently migrated to Aotea. Next week ` some of the endearing characters who call the Hauraki Gulf home. I quite often hear the phrase 'only on Waiheke'. So being a mermaid here on the island fits in perfectly. Next thing you know, the ferry just goes boom! Ooh! Just runs straight over it. They will literally fly straight at your head. But the thing to do is, like a charging bull, face straight up. Yep. Make yourself bigger. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018