The Trail Less Traveled

Recorded in sea kayaks in the Milford Sound on New Zealand's extremely remote west coast while the kayaks get blown around & surfed during recording. Mandela interviews fellow sea kayak guide, Courtney Quintrell. Courtney is an international adventure guide specializing in sky diving, sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, motorcycle touring, sailing, orienteering & beer brewing. Courtney spent many years in Alaska but now calls New Zealand home. She is passionate about Maori culture & is the ultimate outdoor babe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded 28 feet below the surface of the water, join Mandela in the Discovery Center's Underwater Observatory for an interview with Daniel Crook & Andrea Ferris. Daniel & Andrea are nature guides in The Milford Sound of Fiordland National Park on New Zealand's South Island's West Coast. The Discovery Center is a floating building which gives visitors the chance to view extremely rare species usually found between 50-5,000 feet deep in the ocean.Overlaying the sea water in the fiord is a layer of fresh water, the result of high annual rainfall in Fiordland. This combined with the narrow shape of the fiord causes a phenomenon known as deep water emergence where light is not allowed to penetrate past the fresh water. This creates a similar environment to the deep ocean at a much shallower depth, allowing visitors the chance to see deep sea species close up.Unlike an aquarium, the fish are free to come and go; it is the people who are contained. This provides a unique opportunity to observe real life sit

An American living in Queenstown, Lisa Sackville, has been an active international adventure guide all over the world for almost two decades. Specializing in whitewater, mtn. biking, sea kayaking, ice climbing & alpine skiing. She has guided in Mama Africa, South America, New Zealand, Canada, Europe & Alaska to name a few... This phenomenal woman survived temperatures downwards of -60 degrees for upwards of 3.5 hours. She shares her stories, lessons & focus with us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olive Butcher is a sea kayak guide in The Milford Sound, the most northern Fiord on New Zealand’s South Island’s west coast. Guiding in the Milford Sound is considered class V sea kayaking due to the most extreme wind, waves & weather in New Zealand and potentially the entire world. It’s a typical day to guide in 30+ knots of day breeze, 3-10 meter swell from the Tasman Sea, dead zones for radio contact & solo guidiing beginner kayakers upwards of 15 kilometers from base at any given time. This said, it is by far the most spectacular and best sea kayaking in New Zealand (& potential the entire world). Olive grew up in water of the Marbourgh Sounds on the South Island. Her parents sailed the world for six years & raised her in a life of water adventure including sailing, kayaking & swimming.Olive studied outdoor education at University in Auckland with a focus on whitewater kayaking. Olive is now changing her focus to whitewater & plans to guide rafting expeditions outside Missoula, Mon

Recorded aboard a cray boat in the infamously wild Tasman Sea, Mandela spends 15 hours on board recording & after a day at sea finally manages to get sea sick mid-interview... Featuring an interview with Possum, a hard working second generation crayfisherman on a 54' cray boat called, "The Southern Legend." This boat brings in the most crayfish in all of New Zealand, about 80 tons per year. 90% of the crayfish caught in New Zealand is live exported to China. Possum grew up in the tiny fishing village of Jackson Bay on the South Island's isolated west coast. To this day, Possum's parents still live in a small home heated by coal. Possum's father continues to help out with fishing from time to time. Possum works with a crew of two other fisherman who start their day at 4am pulling crayfish from pots in reefs of the wild & extremely remote west coast of the South Island. Possum works almost everyday of the year & hardly ever gets to see his family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf

Callum Morrison is from Harrogate in North Yorkshire. He had a unique childhood & grew up adventuring from a young age. He is the owner & operator of River & Soul Adventures, custom river & culture tours around Nepal. He gives back to the community by employing locals & giving computers to schools. Callum is also a class V whitewater kayaker & sea kayak guide in the Milford Sound on New Zealand's South Island's West Coast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Collier is a native north islander who has salt water running through his veins. Adam has worked seven season as a sea kayak guide & skipper in New Zealand's South Island in Fiordland's Milford Sound. Due to the isolated nature of this region of the world, Adam & his friends have decided to brew their own fun using the fresh glacier melt water of Lady Elizabeth Bowen Falls. The waterfall is the main source of water & electricity for the hamlet of Milford & it is three times the size of Niagara Falls. Adam is a home brewer who created the "Wild Foods & Brews Festival", an annual gathering of locals featuring home brewing, hunting & gathering from the sea & from the land. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Ewart is from New Zealand's south island and has been whitewater boating since he was 13 years old. Chris guides in New Zealand, Honduras ​& currently on the forks of the American River in Northern California. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded inside a sacred Maori ancestral meeting place called a Marae, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. Mandela interviews Robyn Rauna, of the indigenous Maori Tribes of Aotearoa. Robyn is a proud indigenous woman of Ngaio Tāmanuhiri, Rongoa fakata & Teitangamahaki. the Marae, sacred open meeting area, generally situated in front of the "whare runanga", communal meeting house, is the area of greatest mana, the place of greatest spirituality ; the place that heightens people's dignity, and the place in which Māori customs are given ultimate expression. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank traveled to New Zealand 30 years ago on a surfing trip & never returned. Frank Russell grew up in Whittier, California & at age eight started surfing on belly boards, surf mats & body surfing. Then at 17, Frank found Cal Western University located right on the Sunset Cliffs, a Mecca for reef breaks. In 2003 Frank started his surf coaching school called, "Surfing with Frank" & he led surf trips in Mexico when the water in New Zealand is too cold. www.surfingwithfrank.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interviewing Geoff Carpenter, AKA "Carp". Carp is a second generation herpetologist and boatman who specializes in lizards. Geoff has been rowing rafts and studying herpes in the Grand Canyon for over a decade. Geoff teaches field herpetology at the University of Oklahoma's biological field station. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded on location in Gisborne, New Zealand where lieutenant James Cook and his men first made contact with the Maori people on October 8th, 1769. Mandela interviews Sheridan Gundry, an award winning journalist and author of five books. Her most recent book is titled "A Splendid Isolation," which covers the general history of Gisborne and New Zealand's north island's eastern coast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded in Gisborne, New Zealand in the C Company Memorial House featuring an interview with a descendent of the Maori Battalion. The Maori Battalion served in both World War I & II, they were famously feared in battle and consisted entirely of volunteers as the "Price of Citizenship" to their country. Mandela interviews Zandria Taare, who tells us the story of her famous grand father who spent four years in a POW camp in Germany, the son of the man on New Zealand's $50 note. Zandria will also speak about how the Maori are trying to protect the foreshore and seabed from oil companies as well as how Missionaries have affected the art & culture to this day. Zandria will also share Maori songs and language tips.​ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georges de Giorgio was born in a car wreck in France while his father, Italian Count of Santoponte, raced his mother of chilean indian/spanish decent to Italy--where he was supposed to be born. George's father moved the family to Chile at the age of 4 where he grew up working in his father's wooden ship boatyard. Georges has spent over 30 years sailing the oceans of the world & was the first navigator for the famous explorer HW Tilman on the ship, "Mischief." Georges hunted for Sir Frances Drake's lost treasure on Robinson Crusoe island. Georges also survived tsunami by surfing his ship in a massive tsunami off the coast of Chile. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georges de Giorgio was born in a car wreck in France while his father, Italian Count of Santoponte, raced his mother of chilean indian/spanish decent to Italy--where he was supposed to be born. George's father moved the family to Chile at the age of 4 where he grew up working in his father's wooden ship boatyard. In 1947 at the age of 17, Georges joined an American Expedition to Antarctica becoming the youngest person to ever spend a year there. Georges lived a month alone on the Palmer Penninsula plateau, was the first to cross from the Atlantic to Pacific by dogsled with a joint British/American party, & has a mountain named after him. Because Georges was Chilean, his presence secured the Chilean claim to Antarctica. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An interview recorded aboard the famous OCEARCH great white shark research vessel, which has completed 26 worldwide expeditions. In addition to global conservation outreach & education, OCEARCH shares real-time data through their free "Global Shark Tracker." You can download the app on your phone to track white sharks all over the world. Scientists attach a small tracking device to the animals dorsal fin which automatically turns off when submerged and transmits gps coordinates once it has been exposed to air for at least 90 seconds. This device eventually falls off the animal as the shark continues to grow (Great White Sharks can grow upwards of 20' in length). Many things set the OCEARCH apart from other research vessels, one major contributor is the fact that they lift the animals out of the water using a hydraulic crane which is safer for both the researchers and the animals. www.ocearch.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adventure under water off the coast of Africa during the Cold War in the head chef's kitchen of South African submarines & travel the world barefoot with an animal skin for bottoms. An interview with Mandela's father, Sam van Eeden, who speaks about the history of southern Africa including what it was like to grow up during Apartheid in an Afrikaans family whom opposed the Apartheid regime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Turk grew up on the shores of a wooded lake in Connecticut, and he attended Phillips Academy, Andover and then Brown University. Jon earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado, in 1971. The same year, in honor of Earth Day 1, Jon co-authored the first environmental science textbook in the United States. It sold 100,000 copies and spearheaded the development of environmental science curricula in North America. Jon Turk has written over 27 books in his lifetime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon grew up on the shores of a wooded lake in Connecticut, and he attended Phillips Academy, Andover and then Brown University. Jon earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Colorado, in 1971. The same year, in honor of Earth Day 1, Jon co-authored the first environmental science textbook in the United States. It sold 100,000 copies and speaheaded the development of environmental science curricula in North America. Jon Turk has written over 27 books in his lifetime. Jon began wandering the globe, visiting people and places that were so far from my childhood upbringing. Over the decades, Jon has kayaked across the North Pacific and around Cape Horn, mountain biked through the Gobi desert, made first climbing ascents of big walls on Baffin Island, and first ski descents in the Tien Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzia. In the summer of 2011, Jon Turk and Erik Boomer circumnavigated Ellesmere Island: 1,485 miles in 104 days. Jon is 67 years old, and still blessed with fantastic health. Jon's body and h

Recorded on location in Australia on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. One of 5,000 indigenous Aboriginal Australian groups & the longest continuous living culture on earth. Indigenous Australians have occupied Australia for at least 40,000-60,000+ years. They have evolved with the land, changing it & changing with it. This interview features Russell Dawson, Didjeridu player & director of Koomurri. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.