(SHEEP BLEAT, DOGS BARK) (ALAN MOORHOUSE'S 'HILLBILLY CHILD') - The best of New Zealand's rural heartland ` Hyundai Country Calendar. - She's teaching people about nature and how to catch food in the wild. - This is an experience they won't forget. What did you think of that? - Nah, that was mean, Auntie. - You gathered all this yourselves? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Not many people give up their best spots and their best tips, but she does it for everyone. - Most of them wanna come back down here and live. (CHUCKLES) www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2025 (SEAGULLS SQUAWK) (SERENE MUSIC) - On the coast in Southland, a hands-on course in gathering kai is getting underway. Terressa Kollat is the host and teacher. - You boys can bring that float boat, eh? - Yep. - It's heavy. - She lives in town near Invercargill and works part-time at a local business. - Make sure you got your knives. - But Terressa spends much of the rest of her time sharing her skills and knowledge about living off the land. - I've got people from all around New Zealand who have come to stay with me for four days to learn about hunting and diving. They come here for different reasons. - Oh, I'm so excited. - When I first started doing this about 14 years ago, I thought I'd teach them how to get a feed. But I've learnt over time that there are other reasons that are just as important ` mental health, anxiety issues. So now I don't even ask them why they come, as long as they're keen to do a lot of hard work and get out in the environment and be exposed to the elements. See the weed? - Is that what the pauas eat, Auntie? - Yeah, the red one. Six today ` probably a bigger group than normal. I usually have around four. It's not so much about the food; it's about the experience and about being together as a group. Paua knives ` you've all got one of these ones? Today, we're going out diving for sea urchin and paua. We may see a crayfish. Do you know what its main predator is apart from human beings? - Starfish? - Yeah. So what the starfish... It's not just about gathering; it's also about teaching them about the life cycle of a paua. - Piper Lovell has been on the course before. - Cold water, but I've got a good wetsuit on me. Socks, gloves, everything I could need. Shouldn't be too bad. - Michael Taniora is Terressa's nephew. He's from the North Island's East Coast. - It's like a buffet going out with Auntie Terressa, so definitely excited. - We've had to come through a cocky's paddock today to get to here. When I come to places like that, there's still an abundance of paua and kina. So they're protecting the environment in their own way also. You've gotta fit in with nature with this experience; nature doesn't fit in with you. We can be up at 2 o'clock in the morning gutting deer; we can be in the water for a while and it's freezing cold; it can be hailing; it can be raining. This is Southland. Probably one of the main reasons why we've still got a lot of kaimoana, because you can't get out there every day in the elements. - Bit of a mission out there, huh? How'd you find it out there? - That was heaps hard. Never seen so much pauas on the ground. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) - Just looks like rocks, eh? - I've always had my nieces and nephews come to stay with me ` hunting and diving. My nephew, he said, 'Auntie, you should go on TikTok. 'You can teach people how to do what we're doing. People would be really interested.' I said, 'I don't even know what TikTok is. What is it?' So he explained ` it's a, I don't know, app or whatever on social media. - A few sneaky kinas hiding away in there, too. So I said to Auntie, 'Auntie, you should try TikTok.' And she goes, 'Well, what's that?' And I said, 'Well, you know your little videos you put on Facebook? It's just another app like that.' She goes, 'Oh, OK, that's cool.' So we went through her phone and we found a video of her slurping back a kina, and I said to her, 'Well, that will be a good one. People will like that.' - He rang me a couple of days later after we'd been diving and he said, 'Auntie, your video has gone viral.' I said, 'What's viral?' (CHUCKLES) He told me a lot of people had watched it. So, there was over 3.5 million people that were interested in me eating a kina, which I was fascinated with. - I think the rawness of the video and just her being herself and seeing a wahine out here... it's so cool. - These days, she's a TikTok regular, posting updates for her international audience. - Kia ora, we've been out diving today. We've been to get kina and paua. How big do the paua have to be, Piper? - 125mm. - And how many kina... is there a size limit with kina? - No. - We can eat on the beach, provided all our divers are out of the water. So, who wants the first try? - Ta. - OK. What do you think? - Yum. - So, there's certain tikanga when it comes to eating on the beach ` that's a Maori way of doing something. And every iwi, every tribe, has different ways about that. - The group met each other for the first time at Terressa's house earlier in the week. - Kia ora, Auntie. - Kia ora, Michael. How was your trip? - Oh, it was good, thank you. - Yeah? - Auntie, this is Toa. - Kia ora, Toa. - Kia ora, Auntie. - How was your trip? I'm lucky I have a good job. I work at the Tiwai aluminium smelter. I work four days on, four days off. So on the four days off, I have the time to be able to host these groups. - Mwah. - Piper. Since the social media side of it has become quite popular, I've gained sponsors. So, they'll send me gear ` sometimes diving suits or equipment and clothing. The people that do stay with me give a koha, so a donation of their choosing. And it might not necessarily be money. It may be they'll fix my sink or they'll see something that's broken and they'll help out there. The koha generally covers the petrol and extra food that I have to buy. Today we're going after patiki ` which means flat ` fish, level fish, which are flounder. The two species we go after are yellowbelly and diamond. We do get the odd sole, which is also a flat fish, but they mainly feed at night-time. They're in the shallow water, so we don't have to go out deep when we're gathering them. I've melted down some lead and a baked bean tin, just a wee bit, and that's gonna anchor the net to the ground. We're gonna have Toa go in first ` you're gonna go in the deep end ` and Piper. You hold that piece. Toa, come around here. You hold that like that. Shannon... - I'm feeling pretty good. You know what? It's pretty cold, but it's still a nice day. It looks like there's a bit of a tangle, though. I guess we'll be a little while. Getting a nice feed afterwards is always a bit of good motivation. I love being outside anyway. Terressa's been the most inspiration for me in general, really. Everything she does, it always motivates me to see what kind of food she's able to provide and get out in nature and enjoy it. - Ngatamatoa Rogers-Whangapirita is a first-timer on Terressa's course. - You're not gonna even touch that. Those` Well, the weights are doing the... holding that down, and you're gonna drag it like this. My father was a lighthouse keeper on Mokohinau Island, where I was born. We don't have to go out deep. I was raised foraging for food. We were a big family. My mother, Hine Kino from Ruatoria, she taught us how to identify different seaweeds that you could eat, how to dry them and preserve them. Keep on going. Keep on going. Our father, we always saw him cutting up sheep, butchering animals to eat. What do you think of that? - That was awesome. - Yeah. - I loved it. - And did you find it hard to drag the net? - (CHUCKLES) Yeah, it was a big workout on the quads. - Yeah, it was, eh? Now, one thing we don't do is we don't gut fish here. We've got diamond fish, and that's clearly too small. We'll give them back to Tangaroa. - OK. - It's beautiful. - It's a lovely fish. Well done. Very nice. So one, two. Yep. - Yep. - That's well in, so that's good. It's not just about catching kaimoana; it's about learning about the environment. And if you wanna be a really good hunter and gatherer, my father taught me you've gotta learn their eating habits, their habitat and how we impact that. And you've got more of a chance of catching something too. Don't just take ` also give. So the more informed they are, better choices they make and the more they can do this over time. - Can you feel it? Oh, there it is... - And the next lesson is learning about a special shellfish ` the toheroa. - Nice. Look at that. - Those are small ones. (LAID-BACK MUSIC) - Oreti Beach near Invercargill is where Terressa Kollat and a group of her students have come to dig for the fabled shellfish toheroa. They're welcomed by the local iwi. - Kia ora mai ra tatou, whanau. E te mihi a koutou. Tena koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai ` Te Moana-nui o te ara Kiwa me... the beach of Oreti Beach. Nga mihi nui, nga mihi a koutou. Tena koutou, kia ora tatou katoa. My name's Cyril Gilroy. I'm the kaiwhakahaere of Waihopai Runaka at Murihiku. We're down here at Oreti Beach today to get some toheroa for our young people, for our whanau to teach them how to do the toheroa here in Invercargill. - Anyone wanting to dig for the shellfish needs a permit from the Waihopai Runaka. - Come on, Michael. Here we go, everybody! Well done. - Look at the size of that one. - Look at that one. So that's over 150mm, which is well in. So, even though we've got a permit, they just want the experience of digging for it. So we don't want to eat them, cos this is breeding season at the moment. Nice. Look at that. - Those are small ones. - Breeding season's between October through to February, and they can have up to 20 million eggs. A permit's only issued on special occasions. The toheroa has to be 100mm when you take it. So you can see why they call them in Maori 'toheroa' ` long tongue. - Long tongue. Look at him. - Digging his way back. All our kaimoana is looked after by us so that we can make sure that with fisheries and all those other people that have a part to play, that we make sure there's an abundance of food. - Oh, look at that. (CHUCKLES) Sort of got a flavour like sweet corn. But, yep, that's the foot, and see how he's trying to dig back into the sand? They don't like the wind; they dry out. The Prince of Wales came over in about 1920, and they gave him some toheroa soup. And he loved it that much that he said... asked for another helping. Well, after that, every single hotel in New Zealand had to have toheroa soup, wasn't it, Cyril? - Yeah. - So a whole lot more canning factories opened up. - That last factory canning toheroa closed in 1971. Oreti Beach is one of the few places where they're still plentiful. - It's taken many years to get these toheroa back to where they are today, and we have to look after them. They are a taonga species to us. - And see the siphons there? They're up the top there. So there's one there. I wanted to actually show the group what toheroa were and why it's important that they be preserved. And it's good for them to see them in their natural habitat. You get a better understanding when you have hands-on experience. They can actually see the holes in the sand. They can see the reasons why you don't drive on the beach. Thank you, Cyril. - Yeah, no, of course. It was awesome. - Real cool experience. - Well done. Well done, team. Now you know, when you come back again in a few years' time or whenever, you know where to get them, how to get them, and how to eat them. I can tell you how to eat them. Just invite me along. (ALL LAUGH) - (WHISPERS) - Shh. - Later in the day, the group's on a farm block hunting for deer. - SOFTLY: You're responsible for your own actions, OK? - Terressa has the farmer's permission to be on the land. - There's a couple in there. They might come out to the middle of the paddock like they did the other night. So just a waiting game. - Reece Klose is just 14, but he's already been hunting with Terressa for a couple of years. - I'd seen some of her TikToks and everything, and... yeah, thought she was pretty cool and that. - He had the right attitude. He's quiet, which you need to be when you're hunting, and he was keen. - One of the deer's main senses of survival is their hearing, so it's very important to be quiet. - His father would take him fishing, his mother made sure he had all his gears, and they've really encouraged him, and they allow him to come with me, with all my groups. I've had him with 10 groups so far. - Just making sure that the wind's always in your face, or else if it's behind you, the deer will smell you and they'll bugger off. (BANG!) - See where your bullet went? It's got it in the neck. What's your favourite bit, Reece? - Probably the back stacks or the eye fillet. - So that's for frying up, and you just lightly fry it up. You don't overcook it, otherwise it becomes chewy. He's also learning a wee bit about my culture. Have you learned a bit about our culture from... - Yeah, quite a lot. Yeah. - What have you learned? Sort of... - Just, like, Maori words and that... - Yeah. - ...and what they mean and everything. - Yeah. - Yeah. (LAID-BACK MUSIC) - This is the Rowallan Alton block of Maori land in Western Southland. Terressa and her group have spent the night in Rarakau Lodge. - Morena, everyone, and thank you, Kelly and Mike, for letting us come to Rarakau. You know, we really appreciate you giving us access to the pond here. And today we're going after kewai, or freshwater koura, or crayfish. We're just going to catch them, but we're not going to eat them. But if you wanna know what they taste like, they're similar to crayfish but sweeter. - Nice and slow. It's a different one, eh? - Yeah. - They're scavengers, so they don't go and hunt for their food. They wait for food to float by, and then they'll go and grab it. So, they're cleaning up our waterways in their own way. Female or male? - Female. - Oh, nice. Has she got eggs? - Yeah, quite a few. - Good. Don't worry about holding it. Then you can see the movement better. - Shannon Stone is from Christchurch. She and Terressa have become firm friends. - I came down and met her and did, you know, a bit of hunting and diving and all of that with her, and, yeah, I loved it, absolutely loved it, and I've just been going back since. I've learnt heaps. The main things is, like, your size limits and how to preserve so that there's plenty of kai for generations to come. - They can actually see it and think, 'OK, we're not gonna clear the land around our pond, 'because now we know that there's fresh water koura in the streams, and they need to feed on that.' So it's just educating them hands-on. (TRANQUIL MUSIC) - Back in the ocean, the group catches dinner in the company of surprise visitors. (RELAXING MUSIC) - This is Bluecliffs Beach in Western Southland. It's another day of learning for Terressa Kollat's group. Today's task is to catch enough seafood for a kai on the beach. - Don't go too deep. - Let's make this work. - Michael Taniora and Ngatamatoa Rogers-Whangapirita are dragging a net for flounder. - There's something in there all right, I can feel it. Mauri ora. Bit of a kai. - (CHUCKLES) - Because there are Hector's dolphins in the area, set-netting is banned, but dragging a net is allowed. - Dolphins. - (WHOOPS) - Yeah, there they are. - Whoa! - They're threatened, so it's good to see the population thriving here. And that's due to no set-netting ` leaving nets in the water. That's why this method of fishing is a lot better, because we take the net out of the water when we're finished. - We're swimming with dolphins! - Whoo-hoo! - Look at them, eh! - And they're excited. I can tell they're excited. Toa was a bit apprehensive. He wasn't sure whether it was a shark or what it was, but this is an experience they won't forget. You know, part of this kai gathering is just creating happy memories for a lot of them, something to reflect on. Go to the end of your rope so the pole's dragging on the ground. If you pull the rope in, you're gonna lift the pole up and the weights up. Well done. What did you think of that? - Nah, that was mean, Auntie. - Oh, I thought it was a shark. - Yeah? - Cos it was coming right` it started swimming around him. - Yeah? How did it feel? - It felt mean. - Pretty amazing. - Cos you don't see that very often, do you? - Nah. - Like it wanted to actually play with us. - And can you see how if you had a set net sitting in the water how they would get tangled up in it? - Yep. - So this is a better way, cos you're taking it and you're getting a feed and you're bringing the net out of the water. - Yep. - So, you're gonna put one back to Tangaroa, so don't muck around. (LAID-BACK MUSIC) - Thank you, Tangaroa. - Then it's time to gather some mussels. - Come a bit closer to the water. - I was just noticing all the rings. Sort of like a tree. - Yeah. So that's how you age them. You count the rings. Hard case, eh? - Yeah. - You can see why, if you stick to the limit, you can get a feed all the time, eh? What else are we putting in? Parengo? - You wanna see something ruthless, bro? - Whoa! - We're cooking our crayfish, our flounder, our paua, our mussels that we've gathered and southern bull kelp, or Durvillaea antarctica. - Put some paua in that. - In the old days, they used to preserve a lot of their muttonbirds in that, but they called it poha. We're just gonna cook our food on an open fire, and the kelp. Nice one. - You just put the work in, and then we reap the rewards. I'm looking forward to tasting this. (CHUCKLES) - All right. Make sure you're standing around the fire and go close in, cos I wanna do a TikTok. How did you find the whole experience? - It was so good. - Yeah, it was really fun. - One of a kind. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Do you not wanna go back? - Nah. (ALL CHUCKLE) - Good, I've got someone to pull the net. - Yeah. Always. - Youse have done really, really well, and does it beat playing on those PlayStation things youse have? - Yep. - Yep. - Yep? There's nothing better than experience, eh? We've gone and gathered a... They're gonna go away with some skills and a different perspective on life. - As we were driving in here, and how excited we were talking about, 'Oh, we should start our own little thing and going diving.' - I love being out in nature. I'll definitely get out there again. - You learn something new every time you go out. - I feel real lucky. Not just to live in New Zealand and have this as an option, but that there's people like Terressa who are willing to take us out and do this. Not many people give up their best spots and their best tips to complete strangers, really, and... I mean, she does it for us and she does it for everyone. I just feel very thankful. That's my main takeaway. - They love it. Just the smiles on their faces. I never hear them saying, um, oh, they'll never do this again. Most of them wanna come back down here and live. (CHUCKLES) Mmm, that tastes nice in there, eh? - That's yum. - Next time ` - It does look like organised chaos. - a battleground at the beach. - I don't like losing. - These tiny larvae are creating huge waves for the country's mussel industry and giving this family a chance to take on the world. - Put the work in and you reap what comes back. - That's next time on Hyundai Country Calendar. (LAID-BACK MUSIC)