New Zealand Writers

DOAK, Wade

Treasure salvage allowed him to devote his life to studying and photographing "the blue planet".

Kapai: Kids read about Wade here

DOAK, Wade (1940 - ) has published numerous books of photographs and text on his great passion, the underwater world. Wade Doak was a language teacher with a passion for diving when in 1969 he discovered a stash of coins when diving on a shipwreck. Salvaging the treasure allowed him to devote his life to studying and photographing "the blue planet", and he has published 17 books about the ocean and its inhabitants.

Doak's titles include Beneath New Zealand Seas (1971); Fishes of the New Zealand Region (1972); Sharks and Other Ancestors (1975); Islands of Survival (1976); Dolphin Dolphin (1981); Encounters with Whales and Dolphins (1988); and his diving autobiography, Ocean Planet (1989). His most recent book, I am a Fish (1999), introduces young readers to the various lifestyles of reef fish. Most of these are lavishly illustrated with Doak's own photographs.

With his wife Jan and son Brady - an underwater camera operator - Wade Doak has worked on the television natural history series "Wild South" and "Deep Blue". The dramatic visual impact of his films, slides and photographs, coupled with his passionate enthusiasm for his subject, make him a popular speaker and visitor to schools.

Another facet of Doak's enthusiasm for the underwater world is his activism in support of marine conservation initiatives. He is closely involved with the Poor Knight's Islands marine reserve, and is often called on for expert comment on marine conservation issues.

(KC.)

KAPAI: Kids' Authors' Pictures and Information

Some Questions for Wade Doak

Where do you live?
Beside a mangrove river surrounded by forest near the Northland East Coast and my beloved Poor Knight's Island.

What sort of books do you like to read?
Novels, books about science and poetry.

Do you have a favourite author?
Shakespeare, Barry Crump, Ursula Le Guin.

How do you think up ideas?
While walking in the bush, diving under the sea, and sometimes just when I awaken.

Do you have a favourite food?
Avocadoes

Do you have a favourite movie?
La Strada

What is the most fun thing about being an author?
When a new book arrives off the press.

How do you make books?
Keeping lots of notes and gradually organising them.

Where do you like to go for your holidays?
Exploring wild places.

What was the naughtiest thing you ever did at school?
Pretended to be an official basketball team and challenged a girl's school. They believed us!

Some Questions from Secondary School Students

How did you get started?
A publisher invited me to write about how I discovered a treasure wreck.

Who inspired you when you were getting started?
Kelly Tarlton.

What advice would you give an aspiring writer?
Do lots of reading.

Is it difficult to make a living as a writer in New Zealand?
Unbelievably.

What were you like as a teenager?
Rebellious but hardworking on things I was passionate about.

Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself?
Reading books inspired me to adventures and later writing about them.
When I was fouteen I made a diving helmet. I needed two girlfriends to pump air down to me at 20 feet in relays. I found an old chalice on the seabed. Later I found gold coins in a wreck that I show - but I don't pass them around.