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Synopsis

Aotearoa as adventure sport mecca is vividly captured in this classic Roger Donaldson-directed doco. Sir Edmund Hillary leads an A-Team of mates on an old school epic to tackle Fiordland's unclimbed Kaipo Wall. In part one, they set out to kayak and raft down the Hollyford River's white water rapids for the first time (they're soon overturned, bashed and wet). At Lake McKerrow they build a DIY sailboat with a tent fly and branches (Bear Grylls take note) before tramping along windswept sands and through thick bush to reach the imposing wall.

Credits (14)

 Roger Donaldson
 Warwick Brock
 Michael Gill

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Comments (4)

 Brett Deakin

Brett Deakin

love the old schoolfootage and thier "go for it " attitude.i would have liked to have seen the climb!

 Richard Thomson

Richard Thomson

Watched it with my 3-year-old daughter. She said: "Hillary is the one wearing pants."

 Glenn

Glenn

that is great, true kiwi go for it

 Mike Courtney

Mike Courtney

absolutely brilliant...

Produced by

  • Aardvark Films
  • Daisy Films

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Quotes

Mike Gill told me about a sheer 4000ft rock wall he discovered in the Darren Ranges. He called it the Kaipo Wall. That was quite a long time ago, but it still hasn’t been climbed. We thought it would be a good idea to go down and climb it. 
It’s no good wishing you’d packed an extra rope or a warm singlet when you’re 4000ft up a cliff face. 

Tags

mountaineering, murray jones, climbing, mckerrow, kea, kayaking, snow, graeme dingle, michael gill, canoeing, hollyford, peter hillary, bush, jim wilson, ice, technical, storm, rafting, blizzard