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Formats
Kindle Edition eBooks Details
  • 02/2018
  • B079NMTWFL
  • 296 pages
  • $$7.00 USD
Paperback Book Details
  • 03/2018
  • 9781980245544 1980245541
  • 184 pages
  • $$14.99 USD
charlie paterson
Author
Out of the Wild: 7 years in the New Zealand Wilderness

Adult; Memoir; (Market)

Not the standard romantic wilderness survival tale, but a very honest, warts and all account of one young man's unique journey, striving to survive for seven years in a very remote rainforest location inside New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, three days walk away from the nearest road end. A true story of isolation and loneliness, away from all the modern conveniences and comforts most take for granted, his tale is one of adversity, building a dream with dogged determination. Battling against considerable and powerful opposition, bureaucracy, severe lack of money, unforgiving nature, himself and ultimately his own ill health; only to find the dream fulfilled will almost destroy him. A sometimes spiritual and critical tale of self-discovery where ultimately his growing faith in God literally saves him from a very sorry end in the mountainous wilderness of Fiordland. A story that exposes wilderness living as it truly is, not for the faint hearted. However, Out of the Wild is more than just a candid wilderness survival tale, but includes some very interesting snippets of New Zealand's early pioneer history associated to the Fiordland National Park, the Hollyford Valley, Martins Bay, the beautiful deserted ghost town of Jamestown Bay and even the fabled "lost ruby mine" in the inaccessible Red Hills of the Southern Alps. For the outdoor and "back to basics" enthusiasts Charlie details his accounts of hunting red deer in the thick Fiordland rainforest around his wilderness home to using the old traditional methods to store his kills, through to trapping introduced predators destroying the special rainforest ecosystems, to living off the smell of an oily rag. "Out of the Wild" is a very unique New Zealand wilderness tale with a touch of controversy in its pages.
Reviews
www.flaxroot.com

Out of the Wild
by Charlie Paterson

This book tells the experiences of Charlie Paterson who discovered that there were surveyed, legal titles that could be bought in Fiordland National Park, in the abandoned settlement of Jamestown Bay which was originally designed to connect the goldfields of Central Otago to Sydney. If the local body rates were not paid, the sections reverted to the Southland District Council. 
    Charlie managed to locate the owners of two sections that were still in private hands and was able to buy the land. His intention was to build and operate an upmarket lodge to cater for trampers, hunters and nature lovers. The struggle he had overcoming bureaucracy, vested interests, and the severe climate is the theme of this book. 
    I found his account of getting the building materials to Jamestown Bay by floating them down the Hollyford river on a totally inadequate boat, and then across Lake McKerrow to the building site quite heroic. When the boat sank and deposited all his supplies into the lake, Charlie was plunged into the depths of despair, rescued only by the efforts of locals who aided him without thought for themselves or money.
    He took two years to build the lodge, aided by friends and some tradesmen helicoptered in for brief periods. He succeeded finally, but the lodge did not prosper. The delay in building saw his idea overtaken by people with much more money to spend on advertising and transport, and they creamed the tourists. 
    Because Charlie had no money to buy a fridge or freezer, his diet consisted of venison he hunted, and rolled oats and other food that would not perish. This lack of fresh vegetables or fruit, and the continual stress of fighting bureaucracy affected his health, and Charlie became malnourished and ill. Finally, he was forced to sell the property, albeit at a significant profit.
    However, the story is not a negative one. It is written in flashbacks, giving the story of the build. The scenes written in the present beautifully describe the peace of the forest and its inhabitants. Although Charlie is appalled by the harm done to the environment by introduced predators such as stoats, rats, and the destruction of the forest by deer and possums, he finds in the majesty of the wild mountains and the forest, the presence of a Creator and becomes firmly convinced of the existence of a caring God. 
    I found the latter part of the book a little disappointing because in several places Charlie expresses his desire for a meaningful relationship with a caring woman. Further on he includes a beautiful colour photo of his wife Bronwyn, and their two children, followed by a photo of him on a volunteer house build in North Malawi. However, there is no explanation of these events, and I felt that the book was not complete without telling these parts of his story.
    The book is printed on good quality paper, which allows the inclusion of many colour photos which I really appreciated. There are several spelling mistakes which grate a little, but which do not detract from a really good story, and I can recommend this book as a good read.

Review by Harold Bernard

Title: Out of the Wild
Author: Charlie Paterson
Publisher: Charlie Paterson
ISBN: 978-0-473-41454-2
RRP: $39.90
Available: bookshops; email charliewilderness@hotmail.com, 
website https://purewilderness.co.nz/  
Also on Amazon as ebook (ASIN:B079NMTWFL) or paperback (ISBN 9781980245544)

   

Formats
Kindle Edition eBooks Details
  • 02/2018
  • B079NMTWFL
  • 296 pages
  • $$7.00 USD
Paperback Book Details
  • 03/2018
  • 9781980245544 1980245541
  • 184 pages
  • $$14.99 USD
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