Winston Cowie – Adventure-Eater, Global Marine Conservation Leader, Author, Film-Maker, Explorer

In this pod I catch up with Winston Cowie, who joins me from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Winston grew up at Campbells Beach on the Tāwharanui Peninsula, about 20km down a gravel road, with teacher parents, not much money, not many people around, but the ocean front and centre.

Since then, he’s built an extraordinary life and career across Arabia. An award-winning marine conservation leader, Winston has worked on major projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, building a career around the seas, coasts, creatures, and cultures of the region he calls Blue Arabia.

We talk about the early decision to step away from law, studying at Oxford & in Trinidad & Tobago, five car crashes, an electrocution, and his early steps into the Middle East – first to Qatar and subsequently the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Our conversation tracks across whale shark rescues, diving, filmmaking, and why seeing a place from underwater can completely change the way you think about it. We also touch on Winston’s search for the Arabian leopard, and running the Marathon des Sables – a 250km staged ultramarathon across the Sahara.

Winston’s an award-winning filmmaker, a former UAE rugby and triathlon rep, a commercial diver, a modern-day explorer of the Arabian Peninsula, and someone who has travelled to more than 50 countries and all seven continents, including Antarctica.

His latest book, Kiwi to the Kingdoms: New Zealand to Blue Arabia, has just been released into the wild, debuting at No. 1 in the New Zealand category on Amazon.

A huge thanks to Winston for joining me on Kiwi Flees. This is a conversation about life-maxxing, adventure, reinvention, conservation, endurance, and one Kiwi’s deep connection to the seas, stories, and people of Arabia.

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you for listening to and sharing the pod.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, to my sound engineer Robbie Mulligan and the team at Matrix Digital (Wgtn), and Kea for promoting the pod.

If you’re a Kiwi Flee or know someone who should be, please get in touch at: kiwiflees@onlyfromnz.co.nz