Josh James' Go-Pro footage of his back-country exploits have become an internet sensation.
Josh James' Go-Pro footage of his back-country exploits have become an internet sensation.
A Kiwi hunter and fisherman lands his own show on worldwide television
Move over Bear Grylls. A Kiwi bushman who hunts in some of our most remote areas is set for reality TV stardom.
Josh James stars in a new series to be broadcast this year on Discovery Channel, which is screened into 409 million homes around the world.
The show will feature the 38-year-old armed with "a knife, a longbow and some rope" in Mexico, Borneo, Bulgaria and Finland; a world away from the rugged bush on New Zealand's West Coast where he hunts, fishes and tracks wildlife.
The 38-year-old's signing comes after his videos, shot with a GoPro camera, became an internet sensation, recording up to 40,000 hits a week on his YouTube channel.
When asked for the secret behind his pending rise to reality TV stardom, James told the Herald on Sunday: "I'd like to think that it was my good looks and charm but I think it's more likely my no-bullshit approach.
"I don't polish it up too much and just do what I do and I think people live vicariously through my videos."
James' first foray into film was somewhat more humble.
He took a camera along when he was working as a possum trapper so he could show his friends and family what he got up to all day.
In his amusing but informative West-Coast style, the "Possum Whisperer" demonstrated how to trap the pests before giving them "a little pat on the head with my Whispering Stick" - a hammer.
He went on to make dozens of videos of his missions in the bush. Alone or with his mates, he demonstrates everything from tracking, hunting and fishing to identifying edible native plants.
James was brought up in the Napier suburb of Maraenui, which he describes as a "concrete jungle". There, he found his calling through animal adventure books.
He left home at 14, finding work in forestry and later in a shearing gang, pressing wool. "I never actually got into shearing because my first couple of attempts they had to put the sheep down - there was so much blood everywhere - so I was banished to the wool press."
He learned the basics of bushcraft from his uncle in the Urewera Ranges.
James met his Canadian wife, Kristen, on a rafting trip in Canada and he says he has calmed down since the couple settled in Ross on the South Island's West Coast.
But running Eco Rafting Adventures still allows him to spend weeks at a time in the bush.
"I'm pretty lucky to live in a part of the country where all this hunting and fishing stuff is right on my doorstep."
The couple's children, Jack, 7, and Charlie, 5, regularly feature in James' YouTube videos, as do their dogs Dog and Oi.
Heart-warming scenes show the boys catching their first fish and learning how to set traps for freshwater crayfish in bush creeks.
"They love it. They always want to go out hunting and fishing," James says.
"I think it's hard for a lot of dads to find the time to take their kids out and do this kind of thing.
"I'd like to think I'm inspiring them to get out with their kids because it is really important for children to have that dad time."
He joked of his upcoming Discovery Channel reality show: "It's going to pay the bills and enable me to fund my lavish lifestyle here in New Zealand."
Josh James' top five tips for going bush
Wool is warm even when wet.
• Wear wool underclothing, such as a wool shirt, wool singlet and merino thermal. Wool will keep you warm even when it's wet, it doesn't melt easily and doesn't get stinky.
• Take a back-up fire-lighting tool, be it matches dipped in wax kept in a film canister, a spare lighter in a waterproof dry bag or flint and striker. Fire is essential for survival if you get lost in the bush.
• Take a compass and map and know how to use them. With all the GPS stuff available, it's still easy to get lost and batteries go flat.
• Always take a waterproof and warm layer, even on a day trip. If you break a leg and get stuck it will make the wait for the rescue team a lot more pleasant.
