- In this episode of "Fly Brother", we tip the top of the South Island of New Zealand by rail.

We start off wining and dining in Marlborough, go whale watching in Kaikoura and hit the wild west coast.

It's culture and nature by train in Aotearoa.

Let's get fly.

(plane engine humming) I am Ernest White II, storyteller, explorer.

Don't try this at home.

I believe in connecting across backgrounds and boundaries.

(lively music) Join me and my friends.

Just like home.

And discover that no matter the background, no matter the history, the whole world is our tribe.

This is fun!

Come with me.

See how my friends do.

"Fly Brother".

- [Announcer] Major funding for this program is provided by: (gentle music) (lively violin music) (upbeat music) - New Zealand's South Island is 13 miles and a world away from its sister to the north.

Just about a quarter of the country's 5 million people live here in a landscape shaped by the backbone of the Southern Alps.

Ready?

From snow capped peaks to rugged coastlines, this is a place to explore spectacular scenery and the fascinating culture of the indigenous Maori people.

I'm getting here the same way the Maori did centuries ago, by sea.

But thanks to the inter islander ferry, I don't have to paddle my own canoe.

You're never far from the ocean or a mountain range here, and you get incredible views of both on a Coastal Pacific train ride along the island's eastern shore.

This route takes you through lush wine country in the Marlborough District, where with friends old or new, you can pair New Zealand's world-famous Sauvignon Blanc with delicious local seafood.

Is my pinky up?

From the rail depot in the town of Blenheim, you can explore this beautiful countryside by car, bike or boat and discover hidden waterways and sandy bays tucked into 1500 kilometers of coastline.

A hike up the Queen Charlotte Track leads to amazing views, or you could cruise your way through Marlborough's sounds and meet more of the locals, like dolphins and fur seals.

Marlborough is also home to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Center, one of the world's biggest private collections of World War I aircraft.

It's here, thanks to native New Zealander Sir Peter Jackson, who loves planes almost as much as he loves making films.

Now, how could a fly brother pass up a chance to see this?

Rachel Brown takes us back into aviation history.

- I'm excited to be here.

- We're excited to have you here and show you around our place.

- Let's do it.

- Yeah, come on.

- [Ernest] All right.

- [Rachel] All of the film sets have been made by Sir Peter Jackson, the film director, and then all of the mannequins are from Weta Workshop.

- [Ernest] Okay.

- Yeah, so they're pretty cool.

You can take photographs, you can see where things are and where they're placed.

That first aircraft, that was virtually a kite with an engine because it was mainly a wooden frame with like Irish linens stretched over the top of it.

For me, I mean, I probably wouldn't go up in one of those.

- Sure.

- Just gives me a little bit of, but the technology, so from that first one through to the end, it's pretty full on.

(gentle music) - [Ernest] Airplanes were still pretty new inventions in the 19 teens, but by the Second World War, they were evolving into powerful military machines.

- [Rachel] This is like 2050 horses.

- [Ernest] That's a lot of horses!

- Yeah, that's a lot of horse.

- Talk about cavalry.

- That's a lot of horse.

Whereas like one of those first ones, back in World War I that was like, I think one of them was 70 horses.

- Wow.

You could we run just as fast maybe?

- Exactly.

So 70 horses to 2050 all within such a short span.

- Why is this interesting for you?

What's the personal kind of connection that you have to the museum?

- Yeah, I think it's about that sort of the human aspect too, and how all these people from different backgrounds had to come together to fight for their respective countries.

And I guess there's that little bit of romantic thing, but until you realize the pointless loss of life, but then also those technologies that came out of it.

I think if we hadn't had those conflicts, then air travel would definitely not have progressed at such a rate.

(lively music) - What do you feel most passionate about when people come here to visit?

- I feel passionate about sharing our place and our history and at the time I probably didn't appreciate growing up in a small town.

I mean, it wasn't even here.

It was a city 30 miles south of Blenheim.

So it was mainly farmland and you grew up and then as soon as you finish high school, you kind of left.

- I understand.

- I thought I wouldn't come back here 'til I retired, but after traveling a lot, for me, there's no place like home, New Zealand, but especially in Marlborough.

I mean, it's everything in such a small compact space.

- It's beautiful and I've only been here for a few days and I'm already looking up real estate.

- Brilliant.

That's what we like to hear.

- [Ernest] Located in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand was one of the last places on earth to be settled by humans when Maori ancestors came by canoe from Polynesia in the 13th Century.

They named their new home Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud.

Dutch and English explorers followed and built wealth in gold, whaling, timber and agriculture.

The islands became a British colony in 1841.

And in 1863, New Zealand's first steam powered public railway began service inland from the South Island coast, laying the groundwork for great journeys across the Southern Alps.

By the time New Zealand gained full independence in 1947, it had built a reputation for resilience and progress.

This was the first country to give women the right to vote and the first to set a minimum wage.

(gentle music) Back on the Coastal Pacific Railway, I'm heading south between the mountains and the sea toward the magical town of Kaikoura, a place where marine life outnumbers the locals.

My next stop is the whale way station at Kaikoura.

Giant sperm whales live here year round, and I'm hoping to see one or two of them with my friendly guide, Abba Kahu.

- So Abba, what do you love most about Kaikoura?

- We were known to have arrived here on the shores of Aotearoa riding the back of a whale.

Our company's story, it starts with that.

So that's where the strong connection.

- Creation story.

- Exactly, yeah.

- [Radio Voice] Hope we have a good trip.

- Thanks, George.

(lively music) - Now Abba, we are out here on the Pacific Ocean, which is huge and vast and grand.

But we're looking for something special.

What is that?

- What we would call is (Abba speaking foreign language).

(Ernest speaking foreign language) - Yes, so (Abba speaking foreign language) meaning our area's treasure, that's what we are looking for today.

- [Ernest] Okay.

- So that is the mighty sperm whale.

So they live in the canyon here off the Kaikoura coast.

And they are semi resident whales.

So they are here year round and migrate past during the year.

- And there's a whale right on queue.

(gentle music) - [Announcer] He's going to bring that tail up.

I'd step back.

He's going to bring that tail up in three, two, one.

Beautiful.

- Oh my gosh.

That was cool.

Kaikoura, the name means eat crayfish.

And there's a community of farmers, fisher folk and foragers here who are committed to sharing delicious, sustainable food.

Fiona Read and Chris Sturgeon left the big city for a life closer to nature and its rhythms and a chance to connect the garden with the sea and the kitchen in wonderful meals and cooking classes at Hapuku Kitchen.

- Kia ora, welcome, welcome to Hapuku Kitchen.

- [Ernest] Thank you so much.

- Nice to have you here.

- I have a basket.

- So let's pick some rainbow chard over here.

- So we just here?

- Yeah, right on the base.

Yeah, that'll encourage shoots of new growth.

- All right.

The basket already looks colorful and delicious and nutritious.

- Let's go this way and grab some lemons.

- Okay.

Now I'm just being silly.

Lemon.

- Nice.

This is Mrs.

Pig.

She's the boss.

- Well, I will not make any jokes at her expense.

- Yeah okay, that's good.

- Yeah, we are going to respect our pork.

- Where's that going thing?

(Fiona and Ernest laughing) Come on in.

- Some decent service, please.

Thank you.

- Oh look, it's absolutely my pleasure.

- All right, so.

- Yeah, lovely to have you here.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Hope you enjoyed yourself.

I have been enjoying myself.

It's a amazing immersive experience, into sustainability and farm-to-table everything.

- Yeah, we really like to think that we are reconnecting the kitchen to the land and sea and that we're all about getting your hands dirty.

So picking things fresh, grabbing lettuce out of the ground.

Sometimes we even plant something together.

- Yes.

- And then come back into the kitchen and everybody collectively cooking up a storm and really getting to know what to do with fresh vegetables.

Do you know like a lot of people will throw out a part of the vegetable that is actually probably the best part, like we were talking about the chard before.

The stalks are delicious and should be treasured and used.

- Oh, Chris.

- Oh well, it's Fiona, really.

(everyone laughing) It's Fiona's creation.

- What you've got here is a nice wintry soup made with roast chestnuts, local celeriac and we've topped it with some brown sage butter.

More fat, delicious.

- Yes.

- And some toasted walnuts from our own tree.

- I'm going to dig in right now without further ado.

- Good.

Enjoy, bon appetit.

- This is the best soup I've ever had.

I'd love to stick around for more, but I've got a train to catch.

(upbeat music) The Tranzalpine Train leaves the coast behind and climbs over the spine of New Zealand's Southern Alps through 16 tunnels and five viaducts above the Waimakariri River Valley and Gorge.

It's one of the world's great railway journeys.

And Kellyanne Bullen invited me along for the gorgeous ride.

Look at this is amazing, I love it.

- Wow, this is stunning.

So this is the Taramakau River.

- Are there moments where you still feel kind of awestruck?

- Yes, every day, absolutely.

The scenery changes every day.

So if it's pouring down with rain, it doesn't matter because the wall out to the side has 12 waterfalls running down it, but on a dry day, you won't see that.

It changes out here all the time, all the colors.

You'll have leaves, you won't have leaves.

The whole scenery throughout the whole journey changes minute by minute.

It's not just a job for us on board.

We are also traveling the journey with everyone else.

So every day is different.

We always say out here, no two days are ever the same.

And it is very much true.

- And what's special about this route right now?

- So it takes you from one side of the country to the other, so right across the middle.

- It's an adventure, isn't it?

- [Kellyanne] It's absolutely adventure.

Everyone's got a journey.

Everyone's out having their holiday or they're just going - [Ernest] Seeing grandma.

- Using it just to see grandma or like a commuter train.

What's so special about it is that you can actually just sit back and relax and take in all the scenery.

You don't have to worry about the stresses of driving, other mad tourists on the road.

Get to enjoy some beautiful food.

- One thing that I'm finding completely uniform everywhere we go, is the friendliness and warmth of the people.

- Yeah, New Zealanders are a lot friendlier.

I'm not going to compare to any other country.

Terrible.

- Everybody's friendly and welcome here.

(upbeat music) New Zealand's West Coast is a beautiful landscape of rivers, rainforests, glaciers and mirror lakes.

And it's a beautiful boat ride to Lake Mapourika in Westland Tai Poutini National Park.

Joe Wright is helping to protect wildlife in this breathtaking spot in the Franz Josef Glacier Valley.

- We're hanging out around rainforests that are like a couple of thousand years old.

And yeah, the geology of them dates back thousands, hundreds of thousands of years.

(upbeat music) (Joe hooting) - So I guess it's my turn.

- Yeah, go on.

- Okay.

(Ernest hooting) - The one thing I love about this area is just how quiet it is.

It's purely natural environment, and I just find it so rare these days to find a place like that.

Yeah, Franz Josef, well, the West Coast in particular is pretty blessed.

It's such a large natural region with a population of about 25,000 people.

Huge, huge area.

So it makes it, yeah, a very, very special place for us to be able to hang out in.

And we get to be in a spot like this and have it all to ourselves.

- [Ernest] Joe, what are we doing?

- [Joe] So, we are taking a little walk through the center of the Kiwi sanctuary.

- [Ernest] Okay.

Oh man, this place is magical, Joe.

- This is not bad, eh?

Our forests have evolved without changing over 160 million years.

- A long time.

- This is a Jurassic forest.

It's be since well before dinosaurs existed around here.

So when we get these new mammals and these new introduced species, they can have a really dramatic effect on the rainforest here.

(gentle music) - [Ernest] Tell me more about the lake.

- So the lake here is called Lake Mapourika.

It loosely translates in Maori for flower of the dawn.

It's a beautiful, beautiful spot we have here.

It was formed about 7,000 years ago.

So during the retreat of the, well, the decline of the last ice age, the Franz Josef Glacier, which made its way 10 kilometers out into the Tasman Sea, receded and passed through this area, and a large piece of ice fell off the terminal face.

So that large piece of ice melted over hundreds and thousands of years and slowly eroded it and embedded its way into the ground, forming this lake here.

- You're from here, you're from the South Island.

What keeps you here and engaged so much with nature?

- I've spent plenty of my time in the cities, and you lose track of yourself, you lose track of time, you lose track of everything, really.

And it's only in a natural environment where you have this place that's uninfluenced by people and that's quiet where you can really sort of retain that part of you that you lose, I think, so much in the cities.

So that's why I love it here and that's why I keep coming back.

And I've just started having a young family, so I feel like this is an area where I want to bring them and provide for them too, which again, goes back to our sustainability.

It's more important than ever, of course, for our children to have these opportunities to experience this, as well.

(upbeat music) - We're leaving the peace of Lake Mapourika behind for a more rugged landscape.

So it's time to bundle up and take to the sky.

The 7,000-year-old Franz Josef Glacier's Maori name is Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere, the tears of the snow maiden, in honor of a mountaineering Maori princess who fell in love with a seafarer from the coast.

On a romantic mountain escapade turned tragic, her lover was killed in an avalanche, and the princess was inconsolable.

Out of sympathy, the gods froze her tears into this spectacular river of ice.

(upbeat music) I've got a little time to thaw out as we head up the west coast to the town of Hokitika and the Arahura Marae.

(lively music) Maraes are community gathering places that are cornerstones of Maori culture.

Te Rua Mason is my guide.

He collects and celebrates pounamu, the precious greenstone that's carved with powerful symbols as jewelry and sculpture.

- We are the (Te Rua speaking foreign language), guardians of the pounamu.

- The pounamu.

- Yes.

- What does it mean to be the guardian of the pounamu?

- It's about ensuring that it's looked after and nurtured for the future generations.

Pounamu is not only a stone, but pounamu is also the people.

- Wow, it's a beautiful, beautiful design.

- Everything that pertains to this place pertains to our story and our traditions of pulling up into an island up in the north up onto Tuhua Island and spotting the beautiful Waitaiki walking out of the bush down to the water to have her morning bathe.

And he fell in love with her and snatched her up and took her.

And dragged her all the way from up there, down here into this river with her husband Tamaahua, who's the only one carved out of pounamu at the very, very center at the top there.

That's her husband and he chased her all the way up into the headwaters where Waitaiki was stashed up there.

And when he seen her and he mourned and sung his songs of anguish and his songs of sorrow, looked up to the right hand side of him and named a mountain Tuhua after their home island, again, as something for her to reconnect back to.

Even though such a long way away from home, there was a mountain and remembrance, but also that mountain sat and stood as a sentinel to ensure that Waitaiki wouldn't be taken away again.

A lot of our elders who have come and gone.

Growing up as young children, it was always something that they, wow boy, wouldn't it be amazing if one day we had a marae here, a place where we could all gather together as a community and celebrate the highs and the lows.

And a lot of those people are no longer here with us today.

We're quite very, very fortunate that it's taken place in our generation.

We can see the great impact that it's had on not just our community here in Arahura, but the wider community of the West Coast.

And something that we've been able to share with the whole of Aotearoa.

- I felt that.

Touching noses in a hongi is a sign of respect and belonging.

It means a sharing of breath, a reminder that we're all connected.

(upbeat music) At nearby Bruce Bay, my friend Kahu Raki shares more stories of legendary Maori ancestors.

Oh man, this is so beautiful out here, dude.

But what's the significance of the location?

- Our beautiful Waka here, our canoe here depicts the story pretty much of this land, of this area.

Aoraki, and then his brothers Raki Rua, Raki Roa and Ra Raki Rua and they were looking for their mother and all of a sudden the ocean became turbulent and pretty much Aoraki, being the biggest and oldest of his brothers, decided to do a karakia, a chant, an incantation to protect them, to allow them to return home.

But he actually messed up his karakia, his chant and eventually turned to stone and were petrified.

And those are the mountains that are behind us.

And it holds the name Ka Tiritiri o te Moana, which means a mirage of the ocean, which relates back to another story of Maui first arriving here.

So it sort of links in, I guess, this land and then the people coming and arriving at this place.

- Oh wow.

(baby vocalizing) Yes.

- Our ancestors gave a lot for us to have now.

And I think it's a big journey at the moment of us re-indigenizing ourselves and claiming back lots of things that were lost for different reasons.

I believe that I live in a Maori world because my eyes are Maori.

I live in the world that I perceive, I suppose, yeah.

Something like that, anyway, something like that.

(men laughing) - I'm over here like, is it Sunday, because I'm getting the word.

- Preach!

- Exactly.

- Yeah, preach, brother, preach.

- [Ernest] I love the concept of re-indigenizing.

I think everybody could use a bit of re-indigenizing, because we're indigenous to the planet.

(train horn blaring) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Major funding for this program is provided by.

(gentle music) (lively violin music) To join the Fly Brother travel community or to order your own copy of this episode, visit flybrother.com.

(lively music)