November 15, 2025 • 14 mins
The Coromandel is well-regarded as one of New Zealand's top holiday hotspots, but it's got more to offer adrenaline junkies than it lets on.
Adventure Racing Coromandel co-founder Andy Reid's been leading the charge in this development, having helped create the K2 bike race and the Kauri Run - among others.
Reid's taken his findings and experiences and put them in a new book - Are You Trying to Kill Us?
"We started with the adventure race and straightaway, we knew that we could only put these races on with the help of all our local volunteers - and so we thought that it was really important to put something back into the community."
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb, Well, I'm going to talk about a book that
has the title are You Trying to Kill Us? How
good is that title? Eh? This is a book all
about adventure racing and it sums up the kind of
races that are organized by a fellow called Andy Reid
who's got a mate called Keith Stevenson, and together they
(00:33):
founded Adventure Racing Corimandal and for twenty years they have been
putting on mad, mad mad races through the ranges and
in the end there were so many stories that and
he wrote a book and yes, it's called are you Going?
Are You Trying to Kill Us? And he read joins me, now,
good morning to you Andy.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, morning Andrew. Nice to nice to hear you.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Are you joining me from the Commandel?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
I am?
Speaker 4 (00:54):
You know, I'm just in the sunny Corimandal at the moment,
which part near the Corimandel town.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Oh lovely, okay, west side. So there we go. Wonderful
title for a book. How many times has a competitor
in one of your mad races said are you trying
to kill us?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
But the one that did did say that and gave
us the title for the book was a woman called
Kate Callahan. She was a coast to coast swinner and
we made our second adventure race a little bit on
the longside, and at the end of the race, Keith
went to give her a big hug and she said,
are you going to kill us? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well you mentioned Keith. You and him founded all these races,
but he actually passed away back in twenty twenty one.
So this book is kind of a tribute to your mate.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It is.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
It's a tribute to to Keith, and it's also one
of the one of the legacies that Keith left the
Coromanders that we together we built a bike park in
the town and you know, we need to raise funds
each year to maintain it. It's a lovely bike park,
and so the proceeds of this book are all going
to go to help maintain that bike park.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh, you're a good man, you're you're a pillar of
the community. And there we go. So what are you
will tell us about the sorts of races you guys organize?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Okay, we don't, we don't now, but over the twenty
years we organized every year an adventure race, the K
two cycle race which you may have heard of, which
goes right around the peninsula, the Cowry Run, which is
an event that we we used to plant a cowery
for every competitor that took part. And and so now
we've got we've got about twenty.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Thousand cowrie in the area that we've planted.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And then we had a couple of other races, a
mountain bike and a MOLDI sport race.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
So what came first, the outdoor racing or the concern
for the environment?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Oh, I think, yeah, they're all sort of into into
twined really, And we started with the Eventure Race and
straight away we knew that we could only put these
races on with the help of all our local volunteers,
and so we thought that it was really important, you know,
to put something back into the community. So we set
up a trust called the Spread of Coromandel, and we
(03:03):
used to we sent kids on our outdoor adventure courses,
you know like OPC and Outward Bound. And also we
wanted to put something back into the environment because we
were using the environment. And that's that's where the tree
idea came from.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Why do people do this. I mean most of us
look at and go, this is mad. This they're trying
to kill us. Why do people like to put themselves
through the ringer?
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Well, every everyone loves a challenge, I think. But you know,
over over the twenty years, we had thirty two thousand
participants and then they weren't all mad.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Some were that.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
You know, and they kept coming back, and I think, yeah,
there's lots of reasons. It's it's healthy. You know, you're
getting out in the outdoors, You're going to places that
you wouldn't ordinarily see in everyday life. You're getting to
do it with your friends. You know, our Adventure Race
was a team sport, and you know that was a
you know, you build some really deep friendships taking part
(04:01):
in the sport because you know, it's not only the
event that.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You're preparing for.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
You're going you're going away in doing weekends together to
get ready for it. So absolutely it's a great bonding exercise.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I did the Pahi Coastal track, which is at the
very top of the Coromander Potentia, and I did it
with a whole lot of strangers, and those strangers have
become friends, which is what happens when you know, middle
day of the trek is twenty two kilometers and one
thousand meters of vertical climb and so you know that's
half a marathon going up hill. And then you end
(04:32):
out chatting and you end up becoming friends and it
is very bonding. Once you've got over the pain. When
the dopamine finally hits, you do feel quite goo.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You do you feel lovely? Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
What we went into organizing these events because as you've
already mentioned, you make courses, you unearthed some of these courses,
you actually designed the route. So what went into organizing
the Crimnal Adventure Races.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Well, we had to make The thing about eventure racing
is it's a secret course every year and the teams
have to navigate their way around the course.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
So we just give the checkpoints marked on the map.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
So we would have to go go out every year
and find a new course. And sometimes, you know, we
ran out of ideas and the commando so we went
further south. We went down to down to the Cimis
and to Tarann and and a couple of times we
went over to the west coast and in Kafia and Raglan,
and it took all our weekends for a few weeks,
(05:29):
you know, exploring different places. And but that was that
was part of the fun of it, you know, because
we we we love getting out into the bush and
looking for new things.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
To well, you say fun, but you read the book
and finding some of these courses was more perilous for
you than any competitor that then had to had to
run on them.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Oh, I know, you're you're quite right there.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, we had we had a few close close calls
during during our time.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Tell me tell me one.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Well, probably probably the closest one is we were we
were exploring the old North South track in the in
the Cimis and we'd been we'd been walking for about
three hours, and it was pretty overgrown this track, and
suddenly we came out of some bushes and there were
these two hunters just putting their rifles down, and they
came over to us and they said, god, you guys
(06:18):
were lucky because we weren't wearing any bright clothing or anything.
And and and that particular story got into plenty of
times in the next week, and I got a phone
call from a reporter asking us about the incident. So
as a result of that, we had to we had
to make sure all what our competitors wore bright orange
bean is during during the roads.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Good call, I mean it is wild country. I've also
done the Broken Hill tramp where you go upper hill.
I did it in the middle of the summer. It
was thirty degrees, it was straight up. By the time
I got to the top, I was starting to spin out.
I was you know, I drunk all the water in
two seconds flat, and you know I was getting I
was getting the prickly heat as well. So that a
lot of this stuff is very, very full on, very
(06:57):
and very very perilous. And this is the thing that
you and Keith always said, we can't ask people to
do a race that we haven't already done ourselves.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
That's exactly.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Yeah, that was a great area, by the way, the
Broken Hills, we used that quite a couple of times.
But yeah, we would always go and try everything, and
so we we used to we used to incorporate these
mystery activities into the events, you know, to try it. Yeah, basically,
it's a fine balance. You know, you want to you
want to give them something that's going to put them
outside of their comfort zone. But at the same time,
it's not going to you know, be overly dangerous. So
(07:28):
there was a really it was really.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
A nice example.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
We were driving near Tower on the one day and
we saw these young mari kids jumping off a cliff
into into the river, and so we went up and
had a look and it was over ten meters tall
and Keith, Keith was Keith was scared of heights and
suffered a bit from vertigo. So but anyway, we got
into our into our trunks and jumped in. I jumped
(07:52):
in and there's this Keith was standing there for a
minute and this little marry kid said to him, what
are you waiting for?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Mister? So we had to jump in.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
There you go, there you go. So there might be
some people out there going I need a good challenge,
So why don't you tell them what sort of challenge
you might actually have presented to your competitors, some of
the more risky ones, perhaps some of the more exciting
and challenging things that you seid to people, this is
what you've got to do if you're going to race
my race.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Well, there was one, there was one particular one that
we we found. We found these old gold mines and
up in the hills behind Coromandel, we cleared a track
called the Success and after clearing it, we found these
old gold mines and one of them you had to
abseil down the mine and you ended up in this
sort of chest deep, freezing cold water, so they had
to wear wetsuits and then it was like a maze.
(08:42):
They had to find their way out of this maze.
And we covered up the entrance with a sheet so
there's no light. And that was probably probably one of
the scariest things that we've got people to do.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Have you have you ever lost anyone? Have you ever
lost or have you ever seriously injured anyone?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Not the eventual race, we didn't. We had just three
sort of minor injuries ready, but we did.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
We certainly lost.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
People and what our what our second race, there were
three teams that just you know, the race should have
finished at about ten o'clock on Sunday morning, and these
teams still hadn't appeared at midday on Sunday, and you know,
we were getting a bit worried and we we were
starting to get our search and rescue teams ready, and
(09:24):
fortunately they popped out at about two thirty, much to
our relief.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
But you know, and every now and then.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
We'd lose a team, but we'd always we always, we always,
we always found them.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
So that's good.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That's good because there's always all fun games until you
lose on them. And nobody nobody's lost on them yet.
And of course the stories around the pub afterwards are
going to be absolutely amazing. Tell me about the Coramandal
and tell the country about the Coromandle because yeah, the
whole time it is such a good spot for this
sort of back to basics, back to nature adventurrizing in mountains.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Yeah, there's I mean, it's it's there's got so many
mountains and for it natural native bush and forest and
sort of cowry groves and lovely rivers and it's you know,
you can find we found tracks that probably haven't been
used since the old miners' days.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
You know that it's pretty rugged in there, and.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Then you've got all the incredible coastline and the islands
that you can kayake out to, and it is a
stunning area. It's denically beautiful, but it's also yeah, challenging,
and I think that's what makes a great adventure.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
And as a Corimandal town resident and a long time
Corimandal lover. You've been getting a little bit worried with
the uptick in mining activities. Some of the old old
permits that were granted back in the day are being
refired again. How much threat has the Carometle got for
this pristine environment to actually once again be mine like
(11:00):
it was one hundred and forty years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Yeah, I know, well there's always a risk, and people
are on the high land up here for that type
of thing, and you know, you don't you have to
look at places like you know, there's one down down
in the south of the cornermand the ranch called the
Golden Cross, which is just north of Wayhi, and it's
the mining company you know, as part of their of
(11:22):
their contract that had to put millions into putting it
back as they found it. But we used it one
year and you go up there and it's still got
that sort of slightly antiseptic feel about it. It's it
doesn't feel natural, you know, And so you know, I,
you know, I think we've got to we've got to
protect our forests and that and our and our native
(11:45):
fauna wildlife, and so.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I didn't mention the Broken Hill area before, which was
once upon a time being mined, but then back in
the day they didn't have the technology or the ability
to really find as much gold, and so it was
then reverted back to bush. But now some Australian companies
have those permits and they have the support of the
government and they're saying they can get into it. And
that is that istryside right behind paw Nui and taiu
(12:09):
uh and people there are worried that that what what
they love now will be gone.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Yeah, absolutely, I know, and it is a worry. And
I mean they've tried to they've tried, you know, over
the over the last twenty years, mining has been tried
in the Commander, but the locals usually, yeah, they they're
pretty they're pretty vocal, and even as far as chaining
themselves to the to the to the machinery.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
So yes, exactly right, it is. It is the last
last great best you know of the of the of
the the hippie saving the planet and prepared to chain
themselves to machinery. You're quite right. So how's your season
looking this summer?
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Well, one of one of the good things we've we've
lost our ferry for for a few years and yeah,
we're very fortunate to have had it reinstated this summer
so that that's going to help the town. And and
I think we don't do the events anymore, but when
(13:09):
we did them, you know, they they created amazing positive
energy around the place. And hopefully, you know, more and
more people will start setting up events because it does.
It does bring a lot of good to towns and
everyone gets involved, people start getting out on their bikes
and walking more. And yeah, it's just it's just a trific,
(13:30):
terrific thing for the community. We're hoping that we get
people coming to our bike park, which is it's got
six kilometers of mountain bike trails and we've just got
some new toilets put in and it's looking stunning and
really good for the kids. So and it's it's it's
like a family thing, so you know, there's something there
for everyone. So be great if we get people coming
(13:51):
up to see the bike park.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Well, you're a good man, Andy, and you've written a
good book and you've done great things. And I thank
you so much for your time today.
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Yeah, thanks Andrew, it's been lovely chatting to you.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That is Andy Reids, a Ventu racer and event organizer.
His book is called Are You Trying to Kill Us?
And if you'd like to buy it, it's available from
Ark Events, That's ARC Events, Archevents, dot co, dot inz.
It's in Unity Books. It's at Fergs Kayaks and Benny's
Bike Shop as well.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb, Well, I'm going to talk about a book that
has the title are You Trying to Kill Us? How
good is that title? Eh? This is a book all
about adventure racing and it sums up the kind of
races that are organized by a fellow called Andy Reid
who's got a mate called Keith Stevenson, and together they
(00:33):
founded Adventure Racing Corimandal and for twenty years they have been
putting on mad, mad mad races through the ranges and
in the end there were so many stories that and
he wrote a book and yes, it's called are you Going?
Are You Trying to Kill Us? And he read joins me, now,
good morning to you Andy.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, morning Andrew. Nice to nice to hear you.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Are you joining me from the Commandel?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
I am?
Speaker 4 (00:54):
You know, I'm just in the sunny Corimandal at the moment,
which part near the Corimandel town.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Oh lovely, okay, west side. So there we go. Wonderful
title for a book. How many times has a competitor
in one of your mad races said are you trying
to kill us?
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
But the one that did did say that and gave
us the title for the book was a woman called
Kate Callahan. She was a coast to coast swinner and
we made our second adventure race a little bit on
the longside, and at the end of the race, Keith
went to give her a big hug and she said,
are you going to kill us? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Well you mentioned Keith. You and him founded all these races,
but he actually passed away back in twenty twenty one.
So this book is kind of a tribute to your mate.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
It is.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
It's a tribute to to Keith, and it's also one
of the one of the legacies that Keith left the
Coromanders that we together we built a bike park in
the town and you know, we need to raise funds
each year to maintain it. It's a lovely bike park,
and so the proceeds of this book are all going
to go to help maintain that bike park.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Oh, you're a good man, you're you're a pillar of
the community. And there we go. So what are you
will tell us about the sorts of races you guys organize?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Okay, we don't, we don't now, but over the twenty
years we organized every year an adventure race, the K
two cycle race which you may have heard of, which
goes right around the peninsula, the Cowry Run, which is
an event that we we used to plant a cowery
for every competitor that took part. And and so now
we've got we've got about twenty.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Thousand cowrie in the area that we've planted.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
And then we had a couple of other races, a
mountain bike and a MOLDI sport race.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
So what came first, the outdoor racing or the concern
for the environment?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Oh, I think, yeah, they're all sort of into into
twined really, And we started with the Eventure Race and
straight away we knew that we could only put these
races on with the help of all our local volunteers,
and so we thought that it was really important, you know,
to put something back into the community. So we set
up a trust called the Spread of Coromandel, and we
(03:03):
used to we sent kids on our outdoor adventure courses,
you know like OPC and Outward Bound. And also we
wanted to put something back into the environment because we
were using the environment. And that's that's where the tree
idea came from.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Why do people do this. I mean most of us
look at and go, this is mad. This they're trying
to kill us. Why do people like to put themselves
through the ringer?
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Well, every everyone loves a challenge, I think. But you know,
over over the twenty years, we had thirty two thousand
participants and then they weren't all mad.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Some were that.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
You know, and they kept coming back, and I think, yeah,
there's lots of reasons. It's it's healthy. You know, you're
getting out in the outdoors, You're going to places that
you wouldn't ordinarily see in everyday life. You're getting to
do it with your friends. You know, our Adventure Race
was a team sport, and you know that was a
you know, you build some really deep friendships taking part
(04:01):
in the sport because you know, it's not only the
event that.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
You're preparing for.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
You're going you're going away in doing weekends together to
get ready for it. So absolutely it's a great bonding exercise.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I did the Pahi Coastal track, which is at the
very top of the Coromander Potentia, and I did it
with a whole lot of strangers, and those strangers have
become friends, which is what happens when you know, middle
day of the trek is twenty two kilometers and one
thousand meters of vertical climb and so you know that's
half a marathon going up hill. And then you end
(04:32):
out chatting and you end up becoming friends and it
is very bonding. Once you've got over the pain. When
the dopamine finally hits, you do feel quite goo.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You do you feel lovely? Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
What we went into organizing these events because as you've
already mentioned, you make courses, you unearthed some of these courses,
you actually designed the route. So what went into organizing
the Crimnal Adventure Races.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Well, we had to make The thing about eventure racing
is it's a secret course every year and the teams
have to navigate their way around the course.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
So we just give the checkpoints marked on the map.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
So we would have to go go out every year
and find a new course. And sometimes, you know, we
ran out of ideas and the commando so we went
further south. We went down to down to the Cimis
and to Tarann and and a couple of times we
went over to the west coast and in Kafia and Raglan,
and it took all our weekends for a few weeks,
(05:29):
you know, exploring different places. And but that was that
was part of the fun of it, you know, because
we we we love getting out into the bush and
looking for new things.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
To well, you say fun, but you read the book
and finding some of these courses was more perilous for
you than any competitor that then had to had to
run on them.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Oh, I know, you're you're quite right there.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, we had we had a few close close calls
during during our time.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Tell me tell me one.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Well, probably probably the closest one is we were we
were exploring the old North South track in the in
the Cimis and we'd been we'd been walking for about
three hours, and it was pretty overgrown this track, and
suddenly we came out of some bushes and there were
these two hunters just putting their rifles down, and they
came over to us and they said, god, you guys
(06:18):
were lucky because we weren't wearing any bright clothing or anything.
And and and that particular story got into plenty of
times in the next week, and I got a phone
call from a reporter asking us about the incident. So
as a result of that, we had to we had
to make sure all what our competitors wore bright orange
bean is during during the roads.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Good call, I mean it is wild country. I've also
done the Broken Hill tramp where you go upper hill.
I did it in the middle of the summer. It
was thirty degrees, it was straight up. By the time
I got to the top, I was starting to spin out.
I was you know, I drunk all the water in
two seconds flat, and you know I was getting I
was getting the prickly heat as well. So that a
lot of this stuff is very, very full on, very
(06:57):
and very very perilous. And this is the thing that
you and Keith always said, we can't ask people to
do a race that we haven't already done ourselves.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
That's exactly.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Yeah, that was a great area, by the way, the
Broken Hills, we used that quite a couple of times.
But yeah, we would always go and try everything, and
so we we used to we used to incorporate these
mystery activities into the events, you know, to try it. Yeah, basically,
it's a fine balance. You know, you want to you
want to give them something that's going to put them
outside of their comfort zone. But at the same time,
it's not going to you know, be overly dangerous. So
(07:28):
there was a really it was really.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
A nice example.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
We were driving near Tower on the one day and
we saw these young mari kids jumping off a cliff
into into the river, and so we went up and
had a look and it was over ten meters tall
and Keith, Keith was Keith was scared of heights and
suffered a bit from vertigo. So but anyway, we got
into our into our trunks and jumped in. I jumped
(07:52):
in and there's this Keith was standing there for a
minute and this little marry kid said to him, what
are you waiting for?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Mister? So we had to jump in.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
There you go, there you go. So there might be
some people out there going I need a good challenge,
So why don't you tell them what sort of challenge
you might actually have presented to your competitors, some of
the more risky ones, perhaps some of the more exciting
and challenging things that you seid to people, this is
what you've got to do if you're going to race
my race.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Well, there was one, there was one particular one that
we we found. We found these old gold mines and
up in the hills behind Coromandel, we cleared a track
called the Success and after clearing it, we found these
old gold mines and one of them you had to
abseil down the mine and you ended up in this
sort of chest deep, freezing cold water, so they had
to wear wetsuits and then it was like a maze.
(08:42):
They had to find their way out of this maze.
And we covered up the entrance with a sheet so
there's no light. And that was probably probably one of
the scariest things that we've got people to do.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Have you have you ever lost anyone? Have you ever
lost or have you ever seriously injured anyone?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Not the eventual race, we didn't. We had just three
sort of minor injuries ready, but we did.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
We certainly lost.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
People and what our what our second race, there were
three teams that just you know, the race should have
finished at about ten o'clock on Sunday morning, and these
teams still hadn't appeared at midday on Sunday, and you know,
we were getting a bit worried and we we were
starting to get our search and rescue teams ready, and
(09:24):
fortunately they popped out at about two thirty, much to
our relief.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
But you know, and every now and then.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
We'd lose a team, but we'd always we always, we always,
we always found them.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
So that's good.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
That's good because there's always all fun games until you
lose on them. And nobody nobody's lost on them yet.
And of course the stories around the pub afterwards are
going to be absolutely amazing. Tell me about the Coramandal
and tell the country about the Coromandle because yeah, the
whole time it is such a good spot for this
sort of back to basics, back to nature adventurrizing in mountains.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Yeah, there's I mean, it's it's there's got so many
mountains and for it natural native bush and forest and
sort of cowry groves and lovely rivers and it's you know,
you can find we found tracks that probably haven't been
used since the old miners' days.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
You know that it's pretty rugged in there, and.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Then you've got all the incredible coastline and the islands
that you can kayake out to, and it is a
stunning area. It's denically beautiful, but it's also yeah, challenging,
and I think that's what makes a great adventure.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
And as a Corimandal town resident and a long time
Corimandal lover. You've been getting a little bit worried with
the uptick in mining activities. Some of the old old
permits that were granted back in the day are being
refired again. How much threat has the Carometle got for
this pristine environment to actually once again be mine like
(11:00):
it was one hundred and forty years ago.
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Yeah, I know, well there's always a risk, and people
are on the high land up here for that type
of thing, and you know, you don't you have to
look at places like you know, there's one down down
in the south of the cornermand the ranch called the
Golden Cross, which is just north of Wayhi, and it's
the mining company you know, as part of their of
(11:22):
their contract that had to put millions into putting it
back as they found it. But we used it one
year and you go up there and it's still got
that sort of slightly antiseptic feel about it. It's it
doesn't feel natural, you know, And so you know, I,
you know, I think we've got to we've got to
protect our forests and that and our and our native
(11:45):
fauna wildlife, and so.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I didn't mention the Broken Hill area before, which was
once upon a time being mined, but then back in
the day they didn't have the technology or the ability
to really find as much gold, and so it was
then reverted back to bush. But now some Australian companies
have those permits and they have the support of the
government and they're saying they can get into it. And
that is that istryside right behind paw Nui and taiu
(12:09):
uh and people there are worried that that what what
they love now will be gone.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Yeah, absolutely, I know, and it is a worry. And
I mean they've tried to they've tried, you know, over
the over the last twenty years, mining has been tried
in the Commander, but the locals usually, yeah, they they're
pretty they're pretty vocal, and even as far as chaining
themselves to the to the to the machinery.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
So yes, exactly right, it is. It is the last
last great best you know of the of the of
the the hippie saving the planet and prepared to chain
themselves to machinery. You're quite right. So how's your season
looking this summer?
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Well, one of one of the good things we've we've
lost our ferry for for a few years and yeah,
we're very fortunate to have had it reinstated this summer
so that that's going to help the town. And and
I think we don't do the events anymore, but when
(13:09):
we did them, you know, they they created amazing positive
energy around the place. And hopefully, you know, more and
more people will start setting up events because it does.
It does bring a lot of good to towns and
everyone gets involved, people start getting out on their bikes
and walking more. And yeah, it's just it's just a trific,
(13:30):
terrific thing for the community. We're hoping that we get
people coming to our bike park, which is it's got
six kilometers of mountain bike trails and we've just got
some new toilets put in and it's looking stunning and
really good for the kids. So and it's it's it's
like a family thing, so you know, there's something there
for everyone. So be great if we get people coming
(13:51):
up to see the bike park.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
Well, you're a good man, Andy, and you've written a
good book and you've done great things. And I thank
you so much for your time today.
Speaker 4 (13:59):
Yeah, thanks Andrew, it's been lovely chatting to you.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
That is Andy Reids, a Ventu racer and event organizer.
His book is called Are You Trying to Kill Us?
And if you'd like to buy it, it's available from
Ark Events, That's ARC Events, Archevents, dot co, dot inz.
It's in Unity Books. It's at Fergs Kayaks and Benny's
Bike Shop as well.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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