October 1, 2025 • 10 mins
Bruce Kell is one of the "Rescue Warriors" who three years ago rode the length of NZ in support of the Westpac Rescue Chopper. He sat down for an extended chat with Luke to reflect on that journey, and how he is saddling up to do it again for Mission 2026. Luke began by noting he has some friends who have been walking parts of the country on the Te Araroa Trail. Do they travel the same track for this?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
No, No, it's a different track, right, It is a
different track, so that that that comes more down through
the middle. But yeah, I think there's parts of it
they do you share, but not not not a lot.
When we do the tour, we have trackers on our bikes.
We have individual trackers, so people can actually go on
a website and they can they can see where we're
progressing down the country. Yeah. My wife rang up on
about the third second or third day to say I
(00:23):
was going the wrong way and I probably didn't have
many friends the end of that day. No one really
had a proper garment or something anything like that. That
that we had the GPS path on. We were just
reading books and sometimes it's hard to stop regally and
just check books when you get in a in a
bit of a pattern. And it was just it was
just a misturn. And so they probably won't let me
(00:45):
be the navigator this time.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
No, no bringing the modern technology. Do you remember the
sensation when you hit the finish line, which I'm assuming
was stealing point bluff.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Sterling point bluff. Yeah, I always had it by then.
I had a real bad day that last day. One
that last day, I really did have trouble, just I
didn't have energy at all, whether it all been burnt,
but I'd caught up with my family probably a couple
of days beforehand in Queenstown and that which probably was
(01:14):
a bit of a mistake. I probably shouldn't have done
that until i'd actually finished. But no, Look, it's great.
The support that we got from the public was just
absolutely outstanding.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
That's what people carry you. It helps with each pedal.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, we had we had our uniform had, we had
our riding tops specifically done for it, and we're in
those each day. Putting that on every morning and knowing
that people were watching you, knowing that people knew we
were out there doing it is a fuel to keep
you going. Really, one hundred and three thousands.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Oh my gosh. So that cause of the Whispeak rescue chopper.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Why that's my father used it twice and my brother
in law used it once. And I have serious concerns
about our health system the way it is at the moment,
and I think if we lost the ability for those
urgent rescues would would be really bad. We just couldn't
(02:17):
afford to lose that because it's there if we do
need it, it also encourages people to get outside, enjoy
the New Zealand as a country and know that there's
something there that can come and save them if they
get him to distrase.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, good point. So am I getting the impression here
that you're keen to do this thing again?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yes, yes, yep, certainly what I was always going to
do it again after the first time. I was going
to do it in a five years time, which would
be it would have been twenty twenty seven. But this
mission twenty six of a rising with Westpac Rescue Helicopter
and I've got a fairly good relation and ship, I
think with the with them. And it was mentioned at
(03:04):
a charity gala that they had about doing it again.
I think it was sort of jokingly whether we would
write it again, and and I said, oh, yeah, I
would bring it forward a year to for for such
a good cause. So did that, and I went back
to the original rescue Warriors and they were all keen.
(03:25):
So Willie, David and Warren, they said Warren. Of course,
Warren didn't actually finish the first event. His he had
severe knee problems and I had to have a knee
operation when he got back home. But he finished at
town Raw.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So he's got a point to prove, he's.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Got a point to breve. It was even when he
finished our last day, says now I'm going to get
this done and we're.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Gonna understand his motivation then. But for everybody else, I.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Think today a related thing, and we sort of we
I think the first one was the easy. The great
thing about it is, if you advertise you're going to
do something like.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
This, you've got to do it.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
You're committed to it. So why not do a fundraiser
with it that's of a very good cause and announce
it out to everyone that you're doing it, and you'll you'll,
you will do everything you possibly.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
See saying I'm the one who now needs to keep
you accountable. Yes, it's dangerous, mister non commitment.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So yes, so we're looking at starting where where Well,
there's actually twelve twelve us doing this ride now and
we're sorry, you're recruits. So so we've had we've had
quite a few people that sort of put the hand
up after they heard we were doing it again. Yeah,
so we've.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Got we've proved it can be done there.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah, and there's six e bikers.
So so Warren's going to cheating. Well, I don't use
an e bike myself. I will one day, but I would.
It'll take me a wee while to get there probably,
but I think if it gets people off a couch exactly,
(05:05):
it's a good thing. But we've got six e bikers.
They're going to be starting up in Cape Rianger, riding
down to Bluff on the tenth of February twenty twenty
six at six am. They'll be starting at the exact
same time. There's five what we call muscle bikes. So
we're the muscle team and we're riding from Stirling Point
Bluff up to Cape Rianger on the exact same day.
(05:27):
So when people track us, they'll see two teams, one
starting down south heading north and one starting north.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
A bit of a change of scenery for yourself.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
It was really a It was actually Christine Prince from
Kennedy Respect I Rescue and she suggested just jokingly to
you know, why don't you redo it riding from south north.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, we never really considered it until all of a
sudden we had twelve or eleven riders that we're doing it.
We thought, well, that's actually a wee bit hard logistically,
especially we've got any bikes because they have to stop
to change up your Yeah, we were so staying, well,
we could stop, we could we could sit up a tent,
we could do what we want. So at that point
we said, well, why don't we split it into two
(06:10):
teams and one the muscle the Muscle team starting from
Bluff and because three of us were from the original
Rescue Warriors, so it'll be good for us to do
it a different way anyway, big time. Yeah, and then
the eboys are starting up.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
There, where do you expect to clash to bump into.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Well, we've actually got an appointment at Parliament at the
Beehive actually on the twenty fourth or the twenty fifth
of Februar, I think it is. So we're planning to
meet there and see if we can get some gorse
out of pockets there. But that might be that might
be the toughest part of the whole ride.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
If you turn up extra sweaty and red and James
Meaga's office, I'm sure it will seem the message.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well it was James. I think that sort of that's organized.
We'll see how that all goes.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And in a few that might do very much.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Especially at a sixty year old body.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all. It strikes
me we're so fortunate here in mid Canterbury that we've
got you know, nice flattened and wide open sort of
spaces and it really seems like a recreational paradise. Where
are some of your top packs, Where are some good
spots to go for a bike ride? Do you like?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Look, while I live down at Lakehood and I regularly
do the Lakehood track, and it's a it's it's a
well kept track. We do have the eyed issue here
and there with the river cutting into it, but look,
it's it's always well repaired very quickly. Roger West looks
after it specifically, I think, and and and it's always
in tip top condition really once those repairs we made.
(07:37):
But there's there's tracks or we like to head up
in the foothills. We but we we do quite a
bit of bike and over at Geraldine where we're working
on a few hills and that over in that area.
So there's a number of tracks around further a field
in the South Island. We've we've been and done the
oust Ocean over over three days, so you know, it's
(07:59):
we've pushed us out the limits a wee but well
they actually saw that was over two days actually on
the up station was that. So there's there's plenty of
rides around without having to travel too far. The myth
And Bike Park. It's got some good rides up there
for people that are a wee bit more enthusiastic about
the ups and downs and the jumps and stuff, where us,
(08:19):
being of older bodies, we don't really tend to do
those risks anymore because our collar break too easily.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Just a little more tender, i'd find the same.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, and they're spurting bike track here what we call
a fish track. That's always quite a good one.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
We like the fish track. Yeah, what do you call
it the fish track?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
I think because they have a they have fish races
or something there where they can get.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Oh the chocolate fish. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
It's just and I don't even know where the fish
track name came from. It maybe something that we've just
done ourselves, but that's what we related to you.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
That's wonderful and that's.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
A great little track through there, because.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I'm sure many of us have regnized with the idea
of oh, you know, it's a beautiful day, let's just
go and buy ourselves a bike and a helmet. But
then where do you start for the beginners. It's just
like many things in life, right if you're not familiar
with a certain code or a certain you know, is
the somewhere we can go to find a bit of confidence,
to find some direction.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Look, we haven't organized anything yet, but it was actually
just mentioned yesterday actually one of the rescue aerriers saying, well,
can we organize a day where we invite people downtown
at Lakehood or something and just make them aware of
the bits and pieces on a bike, how to fix
a puncher and just take them for a bit of
a ride and so on. And there's places around. But look,
(09:36):
there's there's plenty of plenty of locals that would be
willing to help, Like David Keenley, will you lefferent any
of those guys, Warren Harris. We've we had a bit
of a thing in the first IF twenty twenty two
ride with Long Beach School where we went there and
we spend a day out there with the kids and
just you know, riding around showing them what because they
have bikes were kitted up with all their tent and
(09:58):
everything like that. So we have events where will show
people how what will we carry on our bikes and
we've done that with multiple groups.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Well here's the getting out. Here's to being inspired by
yourself and the lads Varus. I'm sure we will be
staying in touch as the next mission approaches. From the
rescue Warriors really appreciate you coming on by, not a problem,
Thank you very much.
No, No, it's a different track, right, It is a
different track, so that that that comes more down through
the middle. But yeah, I think there's parts of it
they do you share, but not not not a lot.
When we do the tour, we have trackers on our bikes.
We have individual trackers, so people can actually go on
a website and they can they can see where we're
progressing down the country. Yeah. My wife rang up on
about the third second or third day to say I
(00:23):
was going the wrong way and I probably didn't have
many friends the end of that day. No one really
had a proper garment or something anything like that. That
that we had the GPS path on. We were just
reading books and sometimes it's hard to stop regally and
just check books when you get in a in a
bit of a pattern. And it was just it was
just a misturn. And so they probably won't let me
(00:45):
be the navigator this time.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
No, no bringing the modern technology. Do you remember the
sensation when you hit the finish line, which I'm assuming
was stealing point bluff.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Sterling point bluff. Yeah, I always had it by then.
I had a real bad day that last day. One
that last day, I really did have trouble, just I
didn't have energy at all, whether it all been burnt,
but I'd caught up with my family probably a couple
of days beforehand in Queenstown and that which probably was
(01:14):
a bit of a mistake. I probably shouldn't have done
that until i'd actually finished. But no, Look, it's great.
The support that we got from the public was just
absolutely outstanding.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
That's what people carry you. It helps with each pedal.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, we had we had our uniform had, we had
our riding tops specifically done for it, and we're in
those each day. Putting that on every morning and knowing
that people were watching you, knowing that people knew we
were out there doing it is a fuel to keep
you going. Really, one hundred and three thousands.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Oh my gosh. So that cause of the Whispeak rescue chopper.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Why that's my father used it twice and my brother
in law used it once. And I have serious concerns
about our health system the way it is at the moment,
and I think if we lost the ability for those
urgent rescues would would be really bad. We just couldn't
(02:17):
afford to lose that because it's there if we do
need it, it also encourages people to get outside, enjoy
the New Zealand as a country and know that there's
something there that can come and save them if they
get him to distrase.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, good point. So am I getting the impression here
that you're keen to do this thing again?
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yes, yes, yep, certainly what I was always going to
do it again after the first time. I was going
to do it in a five years time, which would
be it would have been twenty twenty seven. But this
mission twenty six of a rising with Westpac Rescue Helicopter
and I've got a fairly good relation and ship, I
think with the with them. And it was mentioned at
(03:04):
a charity gala that they had about doing it again.
I think it was sort of jokingly whether we would
write it again, and and I said, oh, yeah, I
would bring it forward a year to for for such
a good cause. So did that, and I went back
to the original rescue Warriors and they were all keen.
(03:25):
So Willie, David and Warren, they said Warren. Of course,
Warren didn't actually finish the first event. His he had
severe knee problems and I had to have a knee
operation when he got back home. But he finished at
town Raw.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So he's got a point to prove, he's.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Got a point to breve. It was even when he
finished our last day, says now I'm going to get
this done and we're.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Gonna understand his motivation then. But for everybody else, I.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Think today a related thing, and we sort of we
I think the first one was the easy. The great
thing about it is, if you advertise you're going to
do something like.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
This, you've got to do it.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
You're committed to it. So why not do a fundraiser
with it that's of a very good cause and announce
it out to everyone that you're doing it, and you'll you'll,
you will do everything you possibly.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
See saying I'm the one who now needs to keep
you accountable. Yes, it's dangerous, mister non commitment.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So yes, so we're looking at starting where where Well,
there's actually twelve twelve us doing this ride now and
we're sorry, you're recruits. So so we've had we've had
quite a few people that sort of put the hand
up after they heard we were doing it again. Yeah,
so we've.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Got we've proved it can be done there.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah, and there's six e bikers.
So so Warren's going to cheating. Well, I don't use
an e bike myself. I will one day, but I would.
It'll take me a wee while to get there probably,
but I think if it gets people off a couch exactly,
(05:05):
it's a good thing. But we've got six e bikers.
They're going to be starting up in Cape Rianger, riding
down to Bluff on the tenth of February twenty twenty
six at six am. They'll be starting at the exact
same time. There's five what we call muscle bikes. So
we're the muscle team and we're riding from Stirling Point
Bluff up to Cape Rianger on the exact same day.
(05:27):
So when people track us, they'll see two teams, one
starting down south heading north and one starting north.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
A bit of a change of scenery for yourself.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
It was really a It was actually Christine Prince from
Kennedy Respect I Rescue and she suggested just jokingly to
you know, why don't you redo it riding from south north.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Yeah, we never really considered it until all of a
sudden we had twelve or eleven riders that we're doing it.
We thought, well, that's actually a wee bit hard logistically,
especially we've got any bikes because they have to stop
to change up your Yeah, we were so staying, well,
we could stop, we could we could sit up a tent,
we could do what we want. So at that point
we said, well, why don't we split it into two
(06:10):
teams and one the muscle the Muscle team starting from
Bluff and because three of us were from the original
Rescue Warriors, so it'll be good for us to do
it a different way anyway, big time. Yeah, and then
the eboys are starting up.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
There, where do you expect to clash to bump into.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Well, we've actually got an appointment at Parliament at the
Beehive actually on the twenty fourth or the twenty fifth
of Februar, I think it is. So we're planning to
meet there and see if we can get some gorse
out of pockets there. But that might be that might
be the toughest part of the whole ride.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
If you turn up extra sweaty and red and James
Meaga's office, I'm sure it will seem the message.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well it was James. I think that sort of that's organized.
We'll see how that all goes.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And in a few that might do very much.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Especially at a sixty year old body.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all. It strikes
me we're so fortunate here in mid Canterbury that we've
got you know, nice flattened and wide open sort of
spaces and it really seems like a recreational paradise. Where
are some of your top packs, Where are some good
spots to go for a bike ride? Do you like?
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Look, while I live down at Lakehood and I regularly
do the Lakehood track, and it's a it's it's a
well kept track. We do have the eyed issue here
and there with the river cutting into it, but look,
it's it's always well repaired very quickly. Roger West looks
after it specifically, I think, and and and it's always
in tip top condition really once those repairs we made.
(07:37):
But there's there's tracks or we like to head up
in the foothills. We but we we do quite a
bit of bike and over at Geraldine where we're working
on a few hills and that over in that area.
So there's a number of tracks around further a field
in the South Island. We've we've been and done the
oust Ocean over over three days, so you know, it's
(07:59):
we've pushed us out the limits a wee but well
they actually saw that was over two days actually on
the up station was that. So there's there's plenty of
rides around without having to travel too far. The myth
And Bike Park. It's got some good rides up there
for people that are a wee bit more enthusiastic about
the ups and downs and the jumps and stuff, where us,
(08:19):
being of older bodies, we don't really tend to do
those risks anymore because our collar break too easily.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Just a little more tender, i'd find the same.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Yeah, and they're spurting bike track here what we call
a fish track. That's always quite a good one.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
We like the fish track. Yeah, what do you call
it the fish track?
Speaker 1 (08:36):
I think because they have a they have fish races
or something there where they can get.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
Oh the chocolate fish. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
It's just and I don't even know where the fish
track name came from. It maybe something that we've just
done ourselves, but that's what we related to you.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
That's wonderful and that's.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
A great little track through there, because.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I'm sure many of us have regnized with the idea
of oh, you know, it's a beautiful day, let's just
go and buy ourselves a bike and a helmet. But
then where do you start for the beginners. It's just
like many things in life, right if you're not familiar
with a certain code or a certain you know, is
the somewhere we can go to find a bit of confidence,
to find some direction.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Look, we haven't organized anything yet, but it was actually
just mentioned yesterday actually one of the rescue aerriers saying, well,
can we organize a day where we invite people downtown
at Lakehood or something and just make them aware of
the bits and pieces on a bike, how to fix
a puncher and just take them for a bit of
a ride and so on. And there's places around. But look,
(09:36):
there's there's plenty of plenty of locals that would be
willing to help, Like David Keenley, will you lefferent any
of those guys, Warren Harris. We've we had a bit
of a thing in the first IF twenty twenty two
ride with Long Beach School where we went there and
we spend a day out there with the kids and
just you know, riding around showing them what because they
have bikes were kitted up with all their tent and
(09:58):
everything like that. So we have events where will show
people how what will we carry on our bikes and
we've done that with multiple groups.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Well here's the getting out. Here's to being inspired by
yourself and the lads Varus. I'm sure we will be
staying in touch as the next mission approaches. From the
rescue Warriors really appreciate you coming on by, not a problem,
Thank you very much.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.