Our small, dedicated team of guides are all passionate outdoor lovers with years of experience in the New Zealand bush.
Owners Steve and Kylie Rae
We are a small, family run business. Except we don’t run, we walk. We love walking. And we love experiencing locally produced flavours
It’s safe to say that hiking and eating fast became a favourite hobby of ours. As a small girl, my parents hiking adventures and quiz me on native trees and birds as we walked. For Steve and I, our love of the outdoors was cemented together when we had the opportunity to walk in the Himalayas several years ago, one of those once in a lifetime experiences.
Shortly after, we moved to London for work and travel. On our way home, we took the long way. Hiking trails and climbing mountains in many different countries. We chose to spend all our time exploring local trails, sampling local cuisine and wine and meeting the locals. We also joined a few guided hiking tours with small groups which we absolutely loved. We still stay in touch with many of the awesome people we met on these tours.
A light bulb moment
On the small island of Chiloe in Chile, we planned a day hike. After nearly getting lost and hitchhiking our way out to a trail we had heard whispers about, we were discussing the pros and cons of self-guided versus locally guided hiking tours when in a foreign country. We were also drooling at the thought of the chorillana, (a delicious Chilean dish recommended to us by a local), that we were going to enjoy after our 20km adventure.
And just like that, the idea for Nature & Nosh Tours was born. Hiking and eating. Tramping and tasting. Walking and savouring.
When we got home, we decided to take two of our favourite things in life and marry them together into our unique, fully inclusive, guided tours – a way for us to show off our slice of paradise to many new groups of friends.
Meet our guides...
Irene Frederikson
Irene loves sharing our great outdoors with like-minded souls. “I really enjoy meeting new people, learning from them, seeing the wonder on their faces when we show them our special places. It’s great having a global network of people who just love being ‘out there’”. A local Waikato girl through and through, having retired from a business management background a few years ago, she now runs a farm at Waitomo but regularly gets out for hiking adventures on her own or with friends when the mountains call. Favourite kiwi foods include watercress (how very healthy!), mutton or wild pork in the slow cooker, mussels, crayfish, snapper, flounder - in fact any self-harvested fish or game, topped off with a Nelson sav.
Irene has been a volunteer bush craft instructor with the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council for 15 years, so has oodles of experience. She loves learning about the bush, is positive about sustainability and minimalised living.
Of her overseas travel, she fell in love with the mountains in Switzerland, “the summer alpine life, spending time in the smaller villages, their customs and traditions.” The Scottish Highlands hold an appeal for future travel.
James Corban
Never found too far from his walking boots, James has been an outdoorsman all his life. "There’s nothing like a good fire with good company, a few quiet ales, some good stories and a guitar tune or two. Beats staring at a TV!"
James grew up in the Bay of Plenty, but now lives in Paeroa with his family. He’s most at home in the hills with good company, although he misses being able to bring his dog along on adventures! He has a wealth of experience in the wilderness, working in pest control, for the Department of Conservation and owning a business. Being a local lad, he makes the most of the regions proximity of sea to land, often going hunting, fishing, horse riding and snorkling.
James reckons when it comes to the nosh, it’s pretty hard to beat a nice roast leg of hogget with vegetables. "Or, fresh fish marinated in lemon, add coconut cream, onion, chopped tomato and cucumber. Am I allowed two favourites? I could easily add a third," he says.
Peter Nichol
From a young age, Peter could be found sneaking out of school to climb the mountains and hills of the Coromandel Penninsula. Born and raised in the beautiful Kauaeranga Valley, the outdoors was his playground. Dedicating a good chunk of his life to controlling New Zealand’s pest populations, often in remote areas, Peter knows his way around the bush here like the back of his hand and has a deep interest in conservation.
A self-taught farmer, he currently runs a beef farm in the Waikato with close to 300 cattle. Peter still heads for the hills whenever he can, looking for new tracks to explore or walking his favourite one – the Homunga Bay track, which he says is “a great example of New Zealand coastal bush, you really can’t beat its beauty when the pohutakawas are blooming”. He loves seeing the enjoyment that visitors get out of our native bush walks, views and special places. When not farming or on tour, you’ll find him fishing rod in hand, trying to spot that elusive brown trout in the solitude of our backcountry rivers, or perhaps enjoying his favourite tipple, a Glenmorangie whiskey or exploring other parts of New Zealand. Peter is also Kylie's dad - keeping it in the family!
Kylie Rae
Loves any chance to get out of the office and into her walking boots. Not adverse to good food and wine. The two very reasons she set up Nature & Nosh in the beginning! Kylie has a background in marketing and events management, working both in the public and private sector, in New Zealand and overseas.
She spent her entire early career trying to devise a plan to find or create a job where she could work outside, but still use her marketing knowledge. Growing up rurally, on a beef farm in North Waikato, Kylie's love of the land and being active seeded from a young age. Her mother, being a fantastic and industrious cook, cemented a love of food and making your own food from an early age. Kylie and Steve have two young girls under four and enjoy taking them into nature when they can.
Robyn Richardson
Robyn's love of walking started when her father would take her for walks and tramps through the Kaimai's and around the Coromandel. “Put me in a place with my walking shoes or boots and some native bush and I’m a happy camper”. Fishing, yoga and cooking round off her other happy places.
Born and raised on a farm in Tauranga, Robyn's family was blessed with an abundance of fresh food. As one of five siblings her family was tight, making the dining table a special place. “We always marvelled at the incredible selection of food that was presented when we got together. Studying parks and recreation management at Lincoln University, Robyn has a rich and varied background, working in events and recreation planning, environmental education and later finding a passion for the food and service industry.
Kim Edwards
The flame for the outdoors and nature burns strong with Kim. Give her an outdoor fire and a tramp with her family and she is in her happy place. After travelling extensively, gaining amazing experiences and meeting incredible people, Kim came to the conclusion that Aotearoa, New Zealand was the best place on Earth to be. With two sons that have grown and flown, Kim and her husband both work on their small avocado orchard in Te Puna.
With a background is in sports, environmental education and waste minimisation, Kim is passionate about sustainability, inspiring behaviour change and loves reusing or repurposing things. She also volunteers for Forest & Bird in the restoration of our native bush/forests, in planting and pest control and for Predator Free Bay of Plenty. Growing up, her family would camp at the very top of the Coromandel, turning it into their big backyard. A good bacon & egg pie or some smoky vegetables from a haangi go down a treat.