Troy Kingi is exploring Aoteroa's smaller islands. Photo: Fire Fire
Troy Kingi, one of New Zealand's most beloved musicians, talked with Sunday Morning about his documentary exploring the fascinating 'other' islands of Aotearoa.
Our Other Islands is a visually stunning celebration of some of Aotearoa's most beautiful islands and the people who inhabit them. The series delves into the history of each island, and the challenges for the current inhabitants to preserve their beauty and bounty for the future.
Our Other Islands is available to stream for free from Monday 26 June.
Kingi said the opportunity to dip into places that felt so different to other parts of New Zealand was very special.
"It was amazing... it didn't feel like a job, basically I just got to hang out with cool people and eat a lot of seafood. It was really cool."
"We just got to know the locals and how they live on the islands and how it differs from the mainland. The more we got away from civilisation, what it felt like is you got to know why people would do that.
"It just feels like nothing else matters, it's just you, your whānau, and everything else that's happening in the outside world doesn't really matter. It's just you, your nucleus, surviving off the land, surviving off the moana and just being content with that, not needing much else. Just living a really simplistic life.
"I really loved that ... I'm really privileged to go see these spots like that."
Kingi used to be a dive instructor, and so was excited about getting out in the water at Rakiura Stewart Island.
"Rakiura was amazing... it definitely feels like its own country. The people just go on their own time and it's a really special place down there.
"I was a bit worried about how cold the water was going to be, but it wasn't as icy as I thought it was going to be. The tastiest kinas I've ever had in my life, the biggest - the most paua my eyes have ever seen, and really beautiful people."
In the Bay of Plenty, the size of Matakana Island and nearby islands surprised him when he got there: "It's huge."
"But again, people go on their own time, it would be hard to find a car that had a warrant and rego over there - because you live on an island and mechanics or plumbers or builders aren't all readily available when you need them, you have to be multi-faceted over there.
"So you learn to be really makeshift. So I saw some real crack-up stuff over there, car doors held together with bungy cords, things for cutting lawns that aren't lawnmowers. They just do their own thing over there and it just works.
"And it's super-Māori-fied. It was beautiful - really beautiful place. Not much to do except play cards in the night time. There is a pub but I think it only opened on Fridays or Saturdays ... there is a shop, but every time we went past it was never open."
Aotea Great Barrier Island is a place Kingi knows well, but was pleased to go back to.
"One of my really dear friends has a whānau bach over there that they've had in their whānau for generations, so I have been there a few times.
"I feel like they have their own accent ... you're talking to them and it feels like you're in another country. And even the words they use, mannerisms.
"That's the common thread I found. I don't feel like it's going back in time, but they don't care about time, they're not restricted by time. They go from sunrise to sunset that's their time, and if it's a bit wet they stay inside maybe."
On Wellington's Kāpiti Coast they made the short boat ride across to Kāpiti Island.
"This place was quite magical, and we were glamping while we were over there - and just the bird life!
"It was fun for a couple of days, and then when you're getting woken up at 4am on the third day sounding like a safari. As we were walking around there was just birds everywhere ... it's pretty much untouched apart from that little community of whānau that stay there and they bring tours over there."
Kingi was shown photos of the island before restoration efforts kicked into full gear to recover the native vegetation and bird life.
"They said it wasn't always like that - even 30 years before they say it was all farm ... it was amazing to see the forest had grown so much, and bird life had come back.
"So it just goes to show that if you put in the effort you can make a change, if you put an exerted effort into it you can really make a difference.
"[It's a] beautiful place - I do recommend a weekend stay if you want to get away and just read a book, those glamping tents are amazing, and those views are amazing."
Kingi said he's hopeful a possible second season of the show will go ahead. And he recommends people consider a visit to one of New Zealand's less well-known islands as an alternative to jetting off overseas.
"New Zealand doesn't feel that massive, but you go to a place like this and it feels like ... you've gone somewhere completely different.
"So if you're looking for somewhere to go for a trip or for a holiday or to visit, these islands are amazing and just an experience."
Kingi will soon perform his album Zygertron with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, on 13 July, and then with the Christchurch Orchestra on 5 August.
