Rod Campbell

After working for a year without pay, they would toss all their gear into a ravine once they were paid, thinking they would never need it again. A week or two of paying their bills at the store and drinking in the hotel usually meant they were broke again and had to return to the bush to work another year. On the way they would search the ravine for the boots and working gear they had so cheerfully discarded a short time before. So few people actually escaped Whatatutu that the place became known as the Rat Trap all over New Zealand and Australia.

These are Rod's own words from the introduction of his book "At One With Nature - Memories of an Old New Zealand Horseman"

"Where I grew up the only means of transportation was by horses. There were gigs pulled by one horse, buggies pulled by two horses, stage coaches pulled by five horses, and heavy wagons drawn by heavy draft horses with either five or eight horses in a team. The river beds were our roads. What few roads there were in the area went over the hills and were all dirt or clay, and in the winter just tracks of mud. Most transportation had to be done by horseback or in horse drawn vehicles."

"My book is about the people and events that shaped my life, influenced my thinking and attitudes, and taught me to work in harmony with nature and animals. These people didn't teach by using words, but I learnt so much by just being with them. The main thing they taught me was the value of love, kindness and respect for all living things - especially for horses."