Like Adrian in the December issue, 45-year-old Aaron Tait is a keen hunter in his spare time, and the relationships he has working among the local station owners pays dividends on that front.

“Yeah, they’re bloody good. You just organise with them, and they’ll tell you where to go, what areas they’re working in, where to keep away from, and there’s no problem. If you always ask and show the necessary respect, leave things how you find them, there’s never a problem.”

A native of Duntroon, just down the Waitaki Valley towards Oamaru, Aaron was born into local transport.

“Yeah, my dad Ray ran Transport Duntroon. My brother Hamish has it now. The family still owns the original truck – a 1929 Chev. Now that’s a pretty simple machine.”

Schooled at Waitaki Boys, Aaron cut out at age 20 and headed for Australia, where he drove trucks on stock and bulk as well as agricultural contracting work for McLennan Contracting in Western Australia.

“You soon work out driving trucks in Australia that you’re going to be a single man for a long, long time,” he laughs. Eventually, his adventures led him to Ireland, where he met his wife to be Edwina.

Returning home 15 years ago, Aaron found work at Rural Transport. Today the couple live locally in Kurow, where Edwina works as a pre-school teacher, and together they are raising their four children in what is a wonderful place and community to grow up in.