Te Pae 88.2FM: Matty Johnson – Fly by Wire and Coffee@Ians

Here for your on demand listening pleasure from Paekākāriki’s community radio show Te Pae with Mark Amery and Sam McLaughlan June 2020: Matty Johnson’s family have run the service station at the bottom of Paekakariki Hill Road for 28 years (his father is the late Ian Johnston). Matty worked the pumps from a young age and has now taken over the coffee business that started before his dad passed.

He’s also worked at Fly by Wire a long time – he was there when the 2003 flood ripped though the valley and destroyed the business, and created a fair few new waterfalls. Last year he got Fly by Wire back up and running, up the remarkable valley Waikakariki, which is a beautiful walk all in its self. Covid hit just as Matty says Fly By Wire was chocka, and they’ve now lost their international trade – but there’s half price rides for locals with this extraordinary flying machine.