Intrepid Journeys - Nepal (Craig Parker)
In the show's first visit to Nepal, Shortland Street actor Craig Parker sets off backpacking for the very first time, armed with good advice - to switch off the judgmental Western part of his mind. His destination is a country on the slopes of the Himalayas: half the size of New Zealand, home to 20 languages and 24 million people. Along the way Parker experiences a limb-stretching Nepalese barber, witnesses the funeral pyres at a Hindu temple, and tramps along the Helambu trek, which takes him to the same altitude as Aoraki-Mount Cook.
Intrepid Journeys - Nepal (Anton Oliver)
Anton Oliver, the thinking person's All Black, travels to Nepal to experience the Annapurna Sanctury and walk the famous Annapurna Circuit. Oliver is the ideal candidate for a journey that requires fitness of body and soul. In this particularly intrepid journey, Oliver's experiences range from poverty and pollution to the heights of ancient Himalayan trekking routes. Oliver hooks [sic] the viewer into the places he visits with insightful and entertaining meditations on the unique culture and environment.
Bill Saunders
The career of pioneering documentarian Bill Saunders began in the early days of New Zealand television. He went on to champion a fly on the wall documentary style and win Feltex Awards for acclaimed films on Moriori, and the elderly. Saunders was the final remaining member of TVNZ’s documentary unit when it was disbanded in 1988, and an outspoken advocate of public service broadcasting until his death in 1995.