He Tangata: John Barrett of Kapiti Island Nature Tours

John Barrett, managing director of Kapiti Island Nature Tours.

I'm a Kapiti Coast boy and have lived around here for around 50 of my 70 years. I've also lived in Wellington, outback Australia and Europe. Our people came here with Ngati Toa when they migrated in 1820. Te Rauparaha was the chief who led our people down from Kawhia and in doing so he changed the shape of the lower North Island. And a good part of the South Island too.

In the holidays we'd go on long trips to Waitangi or the South Island. My mum was really keen to keep our whakapapa ties connected, so family holidays were very much framed around whanaungatanga, keeping in touch with whanau.

My great grandfather Wi Parata te Kakakura left the farm on Kapiti Island to my grandmother, but it was mainly a kaitiaki role as there was no money to be made from farming. I first went to Kapiti Island in 1955, exploring and helping on the farm, although I probably wasn't much help.

When I was 16, I saw a job for a cadet at Thomas Cook so I wrote the superintendent a letter. I didn't tell Mum or Dad about it, I just jumped on the train in Otaki and went to Wellington for the interview. I got the job, the absolute office junior, and I became very intimate with every embassy in Wellington. This was during the Cold War and I was probably the most regular visitor to the Russian legation in Karori, so much that the SIS would interview me every eight to 10 weeks

I did my first trip to the UK when I was 19 in 1970. We went with Air New Zealand in a DC8 to Hong Kong, then by Air India in an early 747. Seeing the Taj Mahal was pretty spectacular. I remember the density of people; from Otaki to old Delhi is quite a step up.

Like most young Kiwis I did my OE. I was headed to Asia and got as far as Australia when I visited my sister and her husband who was teaching in the outback where someone offered me a job. I stayed for a few years, working in the mines, then for a property owner flying with Bush Pilot Airways from Mt Isa, supplying various outback stations, doing the mail run and deliveries to far-flung cattle stations. It was an extraordinary place in the early 70s, a wild west. In the early morning the sun would rise over that mineral rich landscape, and it's hard to describe the colours coming out of the soil. It radiates so many different colours. You'd expect the outback to be boring and dull, but it was spectacular.

My girlfriend came to Mt Isa and convinced me to return to New Zealand and get married and in 1971 we started building our bach on Kapiti Island. Spending more time on the island, we put some focus on our kaitiaki role. My wider whanau started asking if I was looking after their island, so what we have today developed without any real conscious effort.

What we do on Kapiti Island is give people a sense of going to the family bach. It's perfect for people who enjoy nature, nice walks, fantastic birdlife. For Aucklanders, it's like Tiritiri Matangi but a bit bigger and less park-like. The experience on Kapiti is a pretty intimate one. We provide all the food as a biosecurity measure so people have dinner with the family. Our visitor capacity is limited and we're happy for it to stay that way.

The regenerating native forest is jam-packed with endangered birds. Kokako are making a fantastic comeback and we're a bit like a warehouse for little spotted kiwi. We have takahe, saddleback, stitchbirds, kokako, whitehead, all the species people love to see.

Having experienced different cultures, different people and conditions, it really helps give you a balanced perspective on things. If you can put up with travelling in India you can put up with anything.

Further information: See kapitiislandnaturetours.co.nz.