Tonight on Close Up ` the NZ city named in an influential top 10 list. There's just a lot of, like, openness and possibilities for it. What do you make of the other nine? And we meet the man developing a wetsuit that will actually send sharks packing. So we're essentially swimming around with a microwave door attached to our bodies. Due to the live nature of Close Up, captions for some items may be incomplete. ONE News captions by John Ling and Virginia Philp. Close Up captions by Sam Bradford and Faith Hamblyn. He was a legend of rugby as an All Black and captain. As you'd have now heard, Sir Wilson Whineray died today at the age of 77 ` the same number of Tests he played in the in the black jersey after making his All Black debut against Australia in 1957. After rugby he went on to become a leader outside rugby too, within Carter Holt Harvey and the Hillary Commission. Rugby writer Bob Howitt, after years of being turned down, finally convinced Sir Wilson to have his biography written. Its title spoke volumes ` it's called A Perfect Gentleman. I spoke to Bob Howitt a short time ago. A VERY SAD DAY. ONE OF THE GREAT MEN OF NZ SPORT, NZ BUSINESS TOO, AND HIS PASSING IS VERY VERY SAD. YOU OBVIOUSLY GOT TO KNOW HIM PRETTY WELL OVER WRITING, BUT WHAT SORT OF MAN WAS HE? HE WAS A VERY ASTUTE INDIVIDUAL, BUT HE WAS A LOVELY GUY. AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS A NATURAL LEADER AND PEOPLE RESPONDED BEAUTIFULLY TO HIM, HE WAS JUST A WONDERFUL PERSON. HE WAS ONE OF THESE DYNAMIC INDIVIDUALS THAT, AFTER YOU'VE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM, CAME AWAY GLOWING, FEELING BETTER FOR IT, AND I THINK IT WAS THROUGH MEADS, WHEN I WAS TALKING TO HIM ABOUT THE BOOK, HE SAID, 'HE'S AMAZING.' HE SAID, 'IT DOESN'T MATTER IF HE'S TALKING TO THE DUSTMAN, THE QUEEN, THE PRIME MINISTER OR ANYONE. 'HE'S JUST TOTALLY NATURAL, AND HE MAKES THEM ALL FEEL GOOD.' EIGHT YEARS AS AN ALL BLACK, 77 TESTS, A LOT OF THEM AS A CAPTAIN, AND STARTING OUT AS REALLY YOUNG ` HE WAS 22, 23 YEARS OLD WHEN HE STARTED OUT AS CAPTAIN ` IT'S PRETTY REMARKABLE JUST WERE HE AN ALL BLACK. HE WAS A NATURAL LEADER, AND HE ADMITS THAT IN THE BOOK. HE SAID THAT LEADERSHIP JUST CAME NATURALLY TO HIM. IT WASN'T SOMETHING HE HAD TO LUMP ON TO HIS SHOULDERS AT ALL, AND HE ENJOYED IT, YOU KNOW. AND PEOPLE RESPONDED TO HIM. IT WAS GREAT. BUT THE OTHER PART OF HIS LIFE AS WELL, AS A BUSINESS LEADER, IT WASN'T JUST COASTING ALONG AS, YOU KNOW, JUST THE ALL BLACK, HE REALLY WAS A BIG BUSINESS LEADER. OH YES. YEAH, YEAH. WELL, HE'S QUITE PHENOMENAL. WHEN YOU CONSIDER HE'S BEEN VESTED INTO THE INTERNATIONAL RUGBY HALL OF FAME, THE NZ SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND THE NZ BUSINESS HALL OF FAME. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYONE ELSE THAT GOES RIGHT ACROSS THE SPECTRUM LIKE THAT. HIS ACHIEVEMENTS WERE QUITE AMAZING. AS AN ALL BLACK, AS A CAPTAIN, WHERE WOULD YOU PUT HIM IN THE ANNALS OF ALL BLACK HISTORY? AS A RUGBY PLAYER, HE WOULDN'T BE TOO FAR FROM THE TOP. AS A CAPTAIN, HE WOULD BE RIGHT AT THE TOP. NZ HAS BEEN BLESSED DOWN THE YEARS WITH A LOT OF GREAT CAPTAINS, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE HAS BEEN A BETTER ONE BECAUSE OF HIS NATURAL LEADERSHIP QUALITIES, HIS FOLLOW-ME QUALITIES AND AS A STATESMAN AND AN AMBASSADOR. I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS EVER COME UP TO THAT LEVEL OR SURPASSED IT. JUST FINALLY, HE WAS A MAN WHO SAID HE DID MOST OF WHAT HE WANTED TO DO. THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THINGS HE DIDN'T, THOUGH. JUST TELL ME ABOUT THAT. YEAH. I WAS JUST FLICKING THROUGH THE BOOK AGAIN, AND IT WAS JUST DELIGHTFUL, COS HE SAID THAT HE FELT THAT HE HAD LIVED A FULFILLED LIFE, BUT HE SAID THERE'S PROBABLY ONLY A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT HE HADN'T ACHIEVED. AND ONE OF THEM WAS JUMPING FROM A PARACHUTE ` I HAVEN'T DONE THAT EITHER, GREG ` UNDERTAKING A GLIDER FLIGHT, AND PAINTING A DECENT PICTURE. THAT'S SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE HE LOVED ART. HE WAS REPONSIBLE FOR COLLECTING ART. HE LOVED CLASSICAL MUSIC. I'VE WRITTEN 20 RUGBY BOOKS, WILSON'S THE ONLY ONE WHO'S LISTENED TO OPERA WHILE INTERVIEWING. WHICH I FOUND UPLIFTING. MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE HAPPY WITH WHAT HE'S DONE. I THINK IF WE CAN ALL GET TO OUR FINAL DAY AND SAY THAT'S IT, IT'S GOOD. It's been a bittersweet weekend for our best triathletes with the ITU world series finale. There were plenty of Kiwi men and women competing, but none made the podium. But huge crowds cheered them on nevertheless in the sweltering heat and driving rain., and the event as a whole was the winner, this reflected today with the announcement that Auckland will host four more. Joining us from The Cloud on Auckland's waterfront is David Beeche, world triathlon champs CEO, and one of our best triathletes, Bevan Docherty. CONGRATULATIONS. THAT'S GREAT NEWS. IT'S BEEN A FANTASTIC WEEKEND. WE DIDN'T GET A KIWI ON THE PODIUM, BUT WE PUT ON A GREAT SHOW. BEVAN, WE'LL TALK ABOUT YOU. WHAT DOES IT MEAN HAVING THIS EVENT? CERTAINLY. I THINK NZ AS A WHOLE HAS A GOOD HISTORY IN THE SPORT. IT'S CERTAINLY GONNA CARRY ON THAT LEGACY. AND BRING TOP TALENT INTO THE COUNTRY. SO IT'S DEFINITELY GONNA HELP THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. NOT THE RESULT YOU WERE HOPING FOR, BUT A LOT OF SUPPORT. I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE FINISHED ON A HIGH. TO BE HONEST, I KNEW I WAS NOT IN BEST FORM. I JUST WANTED TO SOAK UP THE ATMOSPHERE. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY TORRENTIAL RUN, AND I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN. I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WE'D ENJOY IT, THE CROWD SUPPORT WAS AMAZING. SO IT WAS WELL WORTH IT. THAT SAID, THE NEXT ONE IS FIVE OR SIX MONTHS AWAY. I STARTED MAKING CALCULATIONS. IT'S GONNA BE TOUGH. I'M LOOKING AT DOING A HALF IRONMAN IN JAN. NEVER SAY NEVER. MAYBE DAVE COULD TWIST MY ARM. IT'S EXCITING FOR THE SPORT IN NZ. DAVID, IN TERMS OF LOGISTIC, WHAT DIFFERENCE IS INVOLVED IN BEING AT THE BEGINNING RATHER THAN THE END? I'M HOPING WE'LL GET BETTER WEATHER THAN THIS WEEKEND. BUT ASIDE FROM THAT, IT'S A SMALLER EVENT. IT'LL BE TWO DAYS. WE'LL STILL GET THE WORLD'S BEST TRIATHLETES DOWN HERE. WE'LL STILL HAVE A GREAT RANGE OF EVENTS. RYAN SISSONS IS THE YOUNG MAN COMING THROUGH. HAVE WE GOT MORE OF THAT STANDARD COMING THROUGH? YEAH, THERE'S A FEW IN THE PIPELINE. WE HAD A NUMBER OF TOP 10 LISTINGS IN THE WEEKEND. SOMETIMES THEY WIN TOO EARLY AND IT WORKS AGAINST YOU. THERE'S SOME GOOD YOUNG TALENT COMING THROUGH. THERE ARE PLANS TO CONTINUE THE SUCCESS OF CARTER, DOCHERTY ETC. BEVAN, THIS IS IT FOR THIS DISTANCE, BUT YOU'RE GOING ON TO SOMETHING TOUGHER, AREN'T YOU? NO, I DON'T WANT TO GET A DAY JOB YET. I TELL YOU, I LOVE THIS SPORT. SOMETIMES IT'S HARD GETTING UP AT 5AM, BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT ACHIEVING MY GOALS. AND ONE OF MY BIGGEST GOALS IS WINNING THE HAWAII IRONMNA. SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO MOTIVATE ME FOR FIVE MORE YEARS. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH. Coming up ` Lonely Planet sees Christchurch as a Top 10 city to visit. We check out its attractions with a couple of backpackers. And ` one reporter, 21 sharks, and a wetsuit you can stake your life on... hopefully. Christchurch has been named as one of Lonely Planet's Top 10 'must visit' cities for 2013. Despite the Garden City still reeling from the effect of the quakes, the guidebook says it's rising from the rubble with a breathtaking mix of spirit, determination and flair. But just what is there to offer tourists? Abby Scott spent the day with a couple of backpackers. Canadian backpackers Katie and Jocelyn have just flown in from Hawaii. It was honestly the cheapest place to fly into, which is why we did it. BOTH LAUGH Completely oblivious to the fact that they've actually flown into the sixth hottest city in the world. I assumed that places would be closed because of rebuilding, but we didn't really know what was available. That's hardly a surprise because this is the tourist brochure that's been circling the world for Christchurch ` images of a broken, battered city that's closed for business. Lonely Planet doesn't think so, though, naming Christchurch as number six on its list of must-visit cities for next year, so we put the city to the tourist test. Our backpacking duo are staying at a former jailhouse in an area the Lonely Planet has dubbed SoMo ` the area south of Moorhouse Ave. Not quite Soho, but it's Christchurch's new 'it' location. It's where we start our tourist test drive. First some fuel for the big day ahead and the Canadians' introduction to the container concept. That's cool. During the past two years, Christchurch has often felt and looked like a war zone. Camouflage goes with anything. (LAUGHS) So why not make our first attraction Tanks For Everything. Tank you very much. ALL LAUGH I've never been this close to a tank before. And who would've guessed that it'd be here in Christchurch? I would be so claustrophobic in here. So this one actually served in the British Army, most of its time in West Germany and Germany and it sold off to an idiot in NZ ` me ` in 2010. Oh cool. This one's a little scout car. It's our smallest but our fastest vehicle. This one goes nearly 100km/h. Whoo-hoo! (LAUGHS) It's like mud is no big deal at all. From braving mud... Welcome to Scott Base. ...to braving freezing winds... The wind, that's cold. ...as the gateway to white continent, the Antarctic centre's popular with tourists. But some attractions don't have a ticket price. When we flew in, the first thing we saw were the mountains and then sheep. BOTH LAUGH They look like little cotton balls. Up until now you'd be fooled for thinking, 'Earthquake? What earthquake?' But a visit to Christchurch these days has to acknowledge what's happened. Christchurch had over 300 heritage buildings like this, and we're losing two-thirds of them, so it's a real shame. Wow. If you look to our right, this is the buildings at the back of High St. Whoa. Another big loss is this empty lot on our left. This was the Christchurch convention centre. At every corner and every turn, reminders of what this city has been through and lost. It was quite magnificent. I can't believe all the damage. When you go to other older cities, it's like they tell you about the history and you're, like, very far removed from it because it's not really changing that much any more. But this is, like, 'This just happened, and this is what we're doing to fix it.' Even the traditional now has a new soundtrack. BOOMING That was actually what's left of the tallest building in Christchurch. And it was standing at 20 storeys tall. Now it's just a pile of rubble. Quite a large crack just there. But in between the cracks, things have popped up. There's a lot of creativity, it seems like, with the rebuilding. Like, this would be super trendy in Toronto. Definitely. Things are changing so rapidly that this is a city where your experience as a tourist could be different week to week. This is, like, a more unique place in that, like, you're part of the history of the rebuilding. And what better way to top the day off than beers in a bus with a hottie? Cheers. (LAUGHS) To a successful day in Christchurch. Mm-hm. There's just a lot of, like, openness and possibilities for it, and that's, like, exciting to be here at the beginning of all of that. UPBEAT MUSIC I feel, you know, comfortable here, as well as intrigued by what's going on. MUSIC CONTINUES I'm glad that we got an opportunity to be here at this time. CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS So, with Christchurch sixth, you might be wondering what the other cities that Lonely Planet picked were. Well, they're an interesting bunch. One or two - fair enough. San Francisco, flowers in your hair. Then on to The Netherlands ` Amsterdam and dope smoke in your hair, and more canals than you'll ever actually need. Then it gets a bit weird. Hyderabad, the Indian Silicon Valley, is number three, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and Beijing at four and five. Seven ` forget about Sydney or Melbourne, apparently Hobart is Australia's shining diamond. Who knew that? Presumably, though, Vancouver and Toronto are equally bemused at Montreal making number eight. Then the epicentre of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, comes in at nine. Last but not least, Puerto Iguazu, based around a massive waterfall and at the intersection of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. So, like Niagara Falls but with a thriving drug trade instead of wax museums. So, do you think Christchurch should be in the top 10? Do you think some of these cities are really worthy, or are these kind of Top 10 lists that Lonely Planet loves to do really that important anyway? We'd love to hear your views. You can go to our website, email us at: And we're on Facebook as well: We'll have some comments at the end of the show. After the break ` how does reporter Matt Chisholm swim with 21 hungry sharks? The secret is in the wetsuit. Technology there is blocking that. If you're scared of sharks or want to get closer to them, for some strange reason, then this story is for you. Using the same technology that keeps us safe when using the microwave ` yes, the microwave ` a Kiwi's helped develop a wetsuit that allows people to go virtually unnoticed by sharks. Sound too good to be true? Well, we tried feeding Matt Chisholm to the sharks. TENSE MUSIC We're talking about being amongst wild animals. They're unpredictable. We can't assume what they're going to do. So this little two-piece suit's gonna save me? You bet ya. (LAUGHS) You'll be just fine. You've done all the necessary testing, have ya? Heaps of it. Yep, all good. This little black number and an old wetsuit all that'll come between me and 21 hungry sharks. I'm not worried about this at all. Good. You don't look it. (LAUGHS) You look a little tense there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Any issues down there, I want my brother Nick to have my house and my cowboy boots. With final instructions given, into the drink. And while the sharks couldn't care less about us, my heart's all but bursting out of my chest. One thing is imagining what its like, but actually being there with them, um, getting that close, it is special. Making our mission more palatable ` wearing new technology that allows humans to go virtually unnoticed. It's the technology that is the same as in your microwave, so its blocking that energy coming off your body, so the energy that the sharks pick up is reduced dramatically, almost blocked 100%, so they're not picking that up at all. That's why they're so relaxed out there and just cruising around. So we're essentially swimming around with a microwave door attached to our bodies? Yes, that that's the best way to describe it. (LAUGHS) Doesn't really sound right, though, does it? Like microwave doors, these new human-energy concealment system, or HECS suits, use what's known as a Faraday cage ` an enclosure made of conducting material that blocks static and electric fields. So animals ` sharks, say ` they sense energy better than we do? Yeah, 100%. It's been bred out of us over the hundreds of thousands of years as humans because we can't see it, we can't smell it, we can't hear it, so we don't even really think it exists, but for animals and marine species, its one of their major devices for either as a predator or as a defence mechanism. So a little bit different here at Kelly Tarlton's ` these sharks are quite sort of human-friendly, if you like. Would you be as confident in the open water? Definitely. Definitely. The technology works. We can see going forward in years to come that every wetsuit will have our technology in it. That is a massive claim. It is. It is. This, well, aquatic game changer actually started out on terra firma, in the States about six years ago. It was technology that was developed for hunters, bow hunters, by a bow hunter. And here that hunter wearing a HECS suit calls a wild deer in to just a couple of metres from him. The deer can still see, hear and smell, but curiously approaches the caller and his camera before peeing and casually walking away. Remarkable? Extremely. I mean, this is a wild animal. All this talk about energy sounds a little bit airy-fairy. Have you had people say this is a crock of the old proverbial? Definitely there's the naysayers, because its a difficult thing to understand. You're saying that you're blocking something that's invisible. So its only instruments that can tell us when the technology actually works. And we've got those instruments all set up to test our technology. Aucklander Warren Bird's been involved in the apparel business for 30 years, been with HECS for four. I was approached by the inventor, asked if I was interested to develop it. We've built the technology. It's knitted into the fabric. It's a carbon yarn. Carbon being very soft, we've had to reinforce the carbon yarn with polyester. The product's been tested for more than two years, and Warren says it stacks up. There is a noticeable lack of aggression from the shark when they're around the divers with our technology. When they were with divers in traditional wetsuits, the sharks harassed the divers. Do you guarantee user safety? No, we can't guarantee. We're talking about a wild animal, unpredictable. We've just come up with a technology that can only assist. And that assistance should be available here this summer, with the lightweight rash suit going for about $300 and the Xcel wetsuit ` expected middle of the year ` for around $600. Blocking the energy underwater allows to get closer to marine life in their undisturbed state have a more relaxed experience underwater. But if you're anything like me, when it comes to sharks, it might be a good idea to stick to somewhere like Kelly Tarlton's. You could almost touch them, couldn't you? Oh, many times. They were that close. Let's have some of your feedback now. This is on Lonely Planet's top 10 cities for tourists in 2013. Ken Duncan writes... Pete Monk says... Finally, Flo Brown says... That's all for tonight, and that's NZ Close Up. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.