Fronting television or being in a boxing ring is a far cry from the hills on the Whanganui River, where Neil Waka, Brendon Pongia and Shane Cameron spent last night hunting and will be out again tonight.
Along to film the hunt is Hunting Aotearoa, with Matua Parkinson and producerPiripi Curtis.
Pongia looked to the high ridges, brown from the searing sun, and said he was looking forward to getting out on to the land.
"Just the drive up here ... I love it. It's spectacular here, I'm excited."
Since he left morning television, Pongia has been working for Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia championing Whanau Ora.
"I'm on a pilot, taking it around the country meeting the locals."
He has found Whanau Ora resonates with a lot of the people: "It's reconnecting people with each other".
He says this hunt will be good for the rangatahi to reconnect with their whenua and spoke of his childhood in Greymouth, and then he discovered his whakapapa.
"I went back to my whenua in Ngapuhi for the first time ... I knew I was home."
Waka, Holden's corporate affairs manager, arrived in his shiny blue Holden, and the banter was it was going to be first prize.
He joked he was a Point Chevalier pig hunter, and was the hut air-conditioned? Yes, was the response - no doors and no windows. He'll be out on Atihau-Whanganui's Papahaua Station off the Matahiwi Track for the two nights.
The hunt will finish with a 3pm weigh-in on Saturday on Matahiwi Marae during the Hunt and Food Festival which starts Saturday at 10am.
A $10 adult entry covers the day's activities and the wild food fare. Children are free.
