A narrow escape. A chance meeting. Water rises around the chopper as Cam and Geoff take flight.

⚠️ Some content may be distressing. Listener discretion is advised.

The Taylor family home is perched 12 meters above the Tutaekuri River. But by 5.30am on February 14th 2023, the river is on their doorstep and rising. There's no time for anything but escape. They're lucky to get out with their lives and their dogs. Once they're safe, Cam's thoughts turn to his RSE workers. They also live on the river. He has a chopper, but can't reach his usual pilot. In a stroke of incredible luck, another is on the scene.

For Cam and Tara Taylor, Valentine's Day 2023 started with a rude awakening and a narrow escape. Staying home isn't an option, but leaving is also a huge risk. They plough through deep water, which is coursing over the local roads like rapids. They can only watch as other vehicles are swept away. When they reach the safety of their family business, Cam has one thought. Rescuing his orchard workers from the riverbanks.

By air is the only way, and the skids of the chopper are almost submerged as they take flight. Tara remains on the ground and has to outrun the water for a second time that day. This is just the beginning of their day, and of an incredible story about to unfold.

Cam and pilot Geoff Keighley are airborne. The extent of flooding across the region is severe and widespread. Like nothing they could have ever imagined. They rescue Cam's RSE workers, along with others, from nearby orchards. Maybe a hundred in total. They quickly lose count. The pace is relentless, and they take the door off the chopper to allow rapid loading and unloading. They later describe these rescues as the 'easy' ones.

Once the RSE teams are safe, they begin to find people on their roofs. And later, in their roofs. Throughout the day, they continue to discover precarious situations where lives hang in the balance. Cam himself is in a difficult spot as part one of Taking Flight concludes. This incredible story of escape, survival and daring rescues is TBC in Taking Flight Part Two.

If you enjoyed listening to TAKING FLIGHT PART ONE, please take a moment to rate and review the episode. This ensures more people will discover these stories from Cyclone Gabrielle.

UNDER THE WEATHER has been featured on RNZ and Stuff. Links below to find out more:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360795376/devastation-healing-cyclone-gabrielles-untold-stories

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019002009/tales-of-horror-and-heroism-in-cyclone-gabrielle-podcast

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:10 Geoff

05:30 Cam & Tara

06:50 Taylor Corp

07:45 Before the cyclone

09:30 Escape

15:00 SOS Geoff

18:00 Right place, right time

19:20 Pre-flight

24:20 Airborne

25:00 Another narrow escape

30:20 The 'easy' rescues

33:40 Shit gets real

40:15 Traps for young players

43:40 Cam hits the roof

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All transcripts for Under the Weather are AI-generated.

After a deluge of impossible choices, Al is all out of options.

⚠️ This episode covers some distressing themes, including suicide and the loss of Al's dogs. Listener discretion is advised.

After a stormy night, all seems well as day dawns on February 14th 2023. They've dodged a bullet, but the gun is loaded. Before long, Pakowhai is under siege as the rivers close in on the small, rural community. There's no high ground and nowhere to go. Surrounded by rising water, Al's focus is on who needs help - people and animals alike. Not all can be saved. When he takes refuge on a shipping container, Al doesn't think he will be either. Rescue comes, but the reprieve of survival is short. The long battle that follows is raw and unforgiving as he stares down the barrel of grief and loss. Join Al on this journey from heartache to healing.

Originally from Shropshire in the UK, Al had immigrated nearly 30 years previously with his Kiwi partner, Ali. A dairy farmer already, he was a perfect fit for his new life in rural New Zealand. As their boys grew, so did the farms, and Al decided it was time for a change.

A love of dogs and a natural affinity with our canine companions steered Al in new directions. Nearly 20 years and thousands of wagging tails later, he is widely known as 'The Dogman'.

But in early 2023, a catastrophic event tore through their lives. A home, a business, a way of life, were suddenly gone. In their place, trauma, grief and uncertainty. There were no new directions. No blueprint or map. Just a silt-covered road to nowhere.

Al’s first steps along this road were heavy. Despair set like concrete, and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Overwhelmed and unmoored, he needed an anchor to hold him steady—an anchor to halt the drift into desperation and darkness.

This is a story of Al finding his anchors. In some cases, the anchors find him. As he turns the ship around, his journey is transformed into one of resilience and redemption.

If you enjoyed listening to FROM HEARTACHE TO HEALING, please take a moment to rate and review the episode. This ensures more people will discover these stories from Cyclone Gabrielle.

UNDER THE WEATHER has been featured on RNZ and Stuff. Links below to find out more:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360795376/devastation-healing-cyclone-gabrielles-untold-stories

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019002009/tales-of-horror-and-heroism-in-cyclone-gabrielle-podcast

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:40 Meet Al

04:50 The good life

06:00 Everything changes

08:30 Refuge

10:10 Oblivious

11:00 A few deep breaths

12:50 Shine the torch on your feet

14:15 A dark place

16:50 The community rallies

20:10 Pounamu

22:30 No respite

24:40 Gratitude

28:00 What NOT to say...

30:30 Looters

31:30 Divide & Conquer - Insurance

34:30 Divide & Conquer - Councils

37:40 A kick in the guts

40:20 Legacies

42:15 A tribute

43:30 An unexpected new chapter

44:30 Rock bottom

45:25 The light at the end of the tunnel

47:20 Arthur

49:10 A better person

51:20 Dinner club

52:30 Sound advice

55:45 Time to regroup

57:15 Conclusion

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Transcripts for Under the Weather are AI-generated.

Trapped amidst the carnage, the Cave family waits as a desperate search begins.

⚠️ Some listeners may be distressed by this content.

When all hope of rescue is gone, they are forced to spend the night in their flooded home. They lie awake as it slowly disintegrates around them. Their youngest daughter, Alex, is enduring her own ordeal. Undeterred by false reassurance, she embarks on a relentless search for her missing family. It is thanks to Alex that Suzanna, Neal and Sam are eventually found. Join them as they reflect on rescue, reunion and recovery.

Part One ended with deathly silence and an unlikely visitor. It is only one of several enigmatic signs dotted throughout their story. As the air around them comes to life with the steady chop of helicopter blades, it appears that rescue is imminent. But no one can see them. The water recedes, exposing the wreckage beneath and exposing Neal and Sam to a 15-meter descent with nothing to cushion the fall.

Once back on the ground, they find their beautiful home is unrecognisable. The remaining water, silt and overturned furniture make it almost impossible to navigate. Particularly with their Labrador Ted, who also needs to traverse the wreckage.

Rescue doesn’t come and neither does sleep during a long night of frightening noises. Creaking. Dripping water. Smashing glass. The crashing of ceilings collapsing beneath them.

The day that follows begins with false hope and a perilous trek through the hazardous debris of what was once their home. The 5 of them and Ted spend a long day outside waiting for a helicopter that never returns. Fortunately, thanks to Alex, help does eventually arrive.

Neal, Suzanna and Sam recount their dramatic rescue and the reunion that follows. Their story then becomes one of recovery and new directions. They share some interesting new perspectives, and the conversation touches on survivor's guilt, prophetic dreams, wine and much more. Don't miss the uplifting conclusion to their story as they find triumph amidst the tragedy of Cyclone Gabrielle.

If you enjoyed listening to ALCHEMY PART TWO, please take a moment to rate and review the episode. This ensures more people will discover these stories from Cyclone Gabrielle.

UNDER THE WEATHER has been featured on RNZ and Stuff. Links below to find out more:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360795376/devastation-healing-cyclone-gabrielles-untold-stories

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019002009/tales-of-horror-and-heroism-in-cyclone-gabrielle-podcast

Chapters

00:00 Recap

00:35 A long way down

06:50 No time to die

08:30 A sleepless night

10:50 Day 2

12:45 A long wait

15:40 The 11th hour.

19:10 Airborne

20:00 Alex

24:50 Ground Zero

27:10 Where do you start?

31:10 The end of a dream

33:50 Alchemy

36:40 The Puketapu Bridge

37:40 New Perspectives

39:10 Global disasters and survivors guilt

41:10 Conclusion

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All transcripts for UNDER THE WEATHER are AI generated.