The Weekend for Saturday 18 January 2020

8:09 Cyclone Tino hits Fiji, heads toward Tonga 

We speak to RNZ Pacific reporter Jamie Tahana about the impact of the storm, and where it's headed next. 

8:15 NZ Herald reporter Kirsty Johnston 

Tenacious is how the judges of the 2019 Voyager New Zealand media awards described Herald/NZME Investigative reporter Kirsty Johnston, when she took out the best crime and/or social issues reporting category.

They went on to say that her reporting  shaped three exemplary investigations that resulted in real change.

And when you scroll through her recent stories, you see her unflinching approach to tackling complicated and important stories, from the state housing crisis and this country's student drinking culture, to sexual violence against women including last year's high profile Grace Millane court case.

08:30 Rural firefighter Myles Taylor 

Today for our series on lifesavers we're talking to Myles Taylor from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. 

Myles is the principal rural fire officer in Northland - where a total fire ban was put in place just this week due to tinder-dry conditions. 

Mr Taylor also helped fight fires in New South Wales in November, just as the fire season took off far earlier, and more seriously, than usual. 

08:45 Saving wild birds at The South Island Wildlife Hospital 

A kea with lead poisoning, seven owls and just as many kereru, a baby kingfisher and an underweight spoonbill are among the summer patients at Christchurch's Wildlife Hospital, during its busiest time of the year with it being breeding season.

The Wildlife Veterinary Trust  opened the hospital in December 2014 and since then has taken in hundreds of sick and injured animals - primarily but not exclusively native species.

It's staffed by volunteers many of them taking patients home to treat them there especially when they need frequent feeds and medical care.

Pauline Howard from the South Island Wildlife Hospital says quick action is often vital if people come across an ill or injured bird. 

9:06 Frank Jansen - Gardening for mental health 

Gardening has been Frank Jansen's way back to mental health and he now creates gardens for people with mobility or sensory issues.

Frank also has a particular interest in heritage plants, often re-discovering long-lost treasures overtaken by weeds.

9:20 Dave Bryden - moving kokāko to a safer home 

It is without doubt one of the most haunting of our bird calls - that of the North Island kōkako, less poetically also known as the blue-wattled crow. 

Ecologist and kokāko specialist Dave Bryden is heavily involved in recent translocations in Taranaki and after several years he's able to assess if it's succeeding in establishing viable populations.

9:45 Dog agility training with Dog Agility Wellington Group (DAWG) 

Dog agility - it's a sport that sees dogs of all shapes and sizes zooming around a course - that's described by those in the know as being like a 'doggy amusement park'. 

If you remember the television show Tux Wonder Dogs, that's what we're talking here - dogs running up ramps, over jumps, and through tunnels. 

The Weekend producer Laura Dooney met with members of the Dog Agility Wellington Group, or DAWG at Titahi Bay Intermediate in Porirua. 

10:05 Olympic hopeful, boxer Troy Garton 

She beat the odds of not only making the New Zealand team but defying a badly injured knee to take home  a bronze medal at the 2018 Gold coast Commonwealth Games.

Now women's boxer Troy Garton has her heart set on representing this country at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.

10:25 Music feature, protest songs with Matariki Williams from Te Papa

Our music feature today is about the songs that have been the voice of protest all over the world. 

Our guest is Matariki Williams - curator of Mātauranga Māori at Te Papa Museum in Wellington. 

She's co-authored a book - Protest Tautohetohe: Objects of Resistance, Persistance, and Defiance - it's a book about protest in New Zealand, from wars, to trade union action, and protests against apartheid. 

11.05 Joshua Henry - marking a mark on Broadway 

Broadway start Joshua Henry has been in New Zealand inspiring young people hoping to make it in the world of musical theatre at the Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School. 

11:20 Elizabeth Werner talks Pest Free Tawa 

Elizabeth Werner has just finished her first year studying for a double Science Major in Ecology and Biodiversity and Environmental Studies. 
 
She's bringing practical skills to course having set up a trapping group at her old school, Tawa College, that managed to involve students who couldn't handle setting and clearing traps themselves.

Elizabeth is also a committee member of Pest Free Tawa, and the 18 year old wants to encourage other communities and schools around the country to follow suit.

11.35 Meet the bookseller - Renee Rowland, Twizel Bookshop 

For today's independent bookseller we're heading to a tiny shop in a tiny town in the Mackenzie District of Canterbury. 

11.48: Travelling in Nepal - where to stay

We return to Nepal now - last week Lynn Freeman was on safari, this time she's exploring some of the increasing number of accommodation options available to visitors. 

Not the increasing number of high end 5-star international hotel chains that are building in Kathmandu, but the more interesting ones like community homestays in rural villages or eco-lodges that reject plastic, TVs and even air conditioning.

This year, the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign aims to double the number of tourists to around 2 million.  When I was there in the off season,  mid-August, Monsoon time, so I had no problem finding places to stay. Some were a heck of a lot easier to get to than others.