The Boy from Gorge River

The story of how an extraordinary childhood shaped an extraordinary life

On the West Coast of the South Island, past deep fiords and snow-capped mountains, Chris Long grew up two days' hike from the nearest road. He was born into the country's most isolated family, his parents committed to freedom from capitalist society and connection to the natural world.

In this inspiring memoir, Chris describes a childhood with nature on his doorstep - helping his father catch crayfish and his mother grow vegetables, playing with toys crafted from driftwood and jade, and learning to live in the wild - until, in his teenage years, he began to wonder: could he survive in the wider world?

By the son of the authors of A Life on Gorge River and A Wife on Gorge River, The Boy from Gorge River is an enthralling account of chasing adventure while forever staying true to where you come from.

About the Author

Chris Long was born in 1991 and grew up two days' hike from the nearest road, at Gorge River on the wild West Coast of New Zealand. After seventeen years living with his family in remote isolation, he left home to attend school in Wanaka.

On completing his education, he set off to explore as much of the world as possible, travelling to sixty countries on six continents and taking a variety of jobs, including teaching extreme survival skills in Antarctica, working as a dog musher with huskies in arctic Norway, and crewing on a small yacht sailing through the Northwest Passage. Chris's father, Robert 'Beansprout' Long, and mother, Catherine Stewart, each published best selling memoirs, A Life on Gorge River (2010) and A Wife on Gorge River (2012).

This is Chris's first book.