Kaelah James of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Hineuru has seized the opportunity to share her passion for diving and hunting full-time, and she’s taking her whānau with her.
"I'm pulling my boys out of school, and they're gonna travel the country with me, doing what we love the most."
James has been sharing her recipes online for about three years now and has built a following of over 20,000 on her Instagram account Kaelahs Wild Kai Kitchen - Her most popular recipe?
“Pāua, pork, and pūha pies. That was my most loved and shared recipe that I've ever made,” she says.
"Followed very closely by Pāua Gnocchi, and mussels and beer sauce - so basically the kaimoana.”
Image source / Kaelah's Wild Kai Kitchen
After quitting her full-time mahi at Kiwi Rail earlier this month, James will be working in partnership with Bush Buck Hunting and fishing - Providing content for them, while she travels the motu with her husband and two kids - diving and hunting for all of their own kai.
“We're going to start up Golden Bay, Nelson area, and then travel down the west coast. I've got just a rough direction that we're going to travel. But if we come across a place they want to spend a bit more time, we can and we will.”
Image source / Kaelah's Wild Kai Kitchen
James said she initially started her social media journey to encourage more wāhine to dive and hunt for kai, and the feedback she has received fuels her passion to carry on the mahi.
“I've had quite a few messages of people thanking me for recipe inspiration, especially for kaimoana and food that quite often doesn't get used. And also for wāhine that have just started diving, because they see me out there doing it, especially with my tamariki and it encourages them to do the same.”
Not only will James be documenting her journey on her social media platforms and the Bushbuck Website - but there is even a TV show in the works.
“It's gonna be called Kaelah’s Wild Kai kitchen. We've got a production team that will follow us on the road to meeting up with locals on the way whether it be fishing or diving. It will be different to your normal fishing and hunting show because 30% of it will be of the catch and 70% of the cook.”