“Pure New Zealand”

Producer: Todd Moen

“This time I flew to the South Island’s Cedar Lodge to film its owner Chris Daughters on his favorite South Island rivers. The lodge is located on the Makarora River, just about an hour’s drive north of the adventurist town of Wanaka. New Zealand is particularly special to me, as I first traveled to the country nearly 15 years ago in search of the hidden streams and huge trout known to live there. Then, my wife and I brought only a small camera, backpacks, a tent and fly rods. This time, I returned alone with my camera gear, multi-rotor aerial equipment, an outlandish number of batteries and one rod (packed with a glimmer of hope that I’d have a minute to fish instead of film.) My purpose was to capture a day in the life of Cedar Lodge’s owner Chris Daughters, a U.S. citizen who resides in New Zealand part-time with his wife and two young children. Thanks to the phenomenal helicopter pilot, Dion Matheson, we flew over rocky peaks and into broad river valleys. We landed in remote and trout-packed pools, within reach of giant feeding rainbows and browns.”