Kiwi twins set to Shine ‘OUR WILD WEDDING PLANS’
Reality TV sensations the Wild Twins reveal their latest adventures
There are few life stages more stressful than planning a wedding or building a new home, but Amber Shine is calmly managing both amid a global pandemic. However, that’s not surprising given the stressful situations she and her twin sister Serena have voluntarily put themselves in.
On the US reality series
Naked And Afraid, the Kiwi stars
– known as the Wild Twins on social media – were stranded nude on a deserted island in shark-infested waters, before being stalked by leopards and fighting off hyenas in the African wilderness. They’ve also battled -40 degree temperatures and 145km/h winds while climbing Alaska’s Mt McKinley.
But now the 30-year-old twins face a different challenge. Unable to indulge in their beloved outdoor activities and trapped in Level Three in rural South Auckland, there are just weeks to go until Amber’s scheduled wedding, due to be held in the
garden of their family farm, with Serena as bridesmaid.
But rather than become a bridezilla, civil engineer Amber is filling her time with the early stages of building the house she has designed with her husbandto-be Daely Overdevest.
“There are so many things that have been held up, we’re just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best,” says Amber. “A huge side to our lives is being creative, so there’s a lot of personal flair in my drawings and we’re doing a lot of work ourselves, with hand-made concrete benchtops and bathtubs.”
Nature and the outdoors run in the twins’ blood. Even as toddlers, their mother Raewyn would take them snail hunting, while their father would take them rabbit or possum shooting, which led to an interest in overnight survival challenges.
“Growing up, our parents always encouraged us to give things a whirl,” Amber says. “There were lots of things to explore and adventures to be had. As twins, we always had a best friend the same age to do everything with, although often that also meant having the worst enemy to compete against – or blame!”
Nodding, Serena adds, “We definitely disagree on a few things – and we let each other know about it. But we’re close enough that if we have a squabble, an hour later, we’re over it and back to normal.”
Becoming keen hunters, fisherwomen and explorers, the twins joined the army after leaving school and later both went to Australia to work in underground goldmines, although their schedules meant they rarely saw each other and they hankered to embark on wild adventures together.
Though they love to get their hands dirty, the sisters also love to dress up and enjoy socialising with friends in town, but when it comes to relaxing, they’re “active resters”, hiking, kayaking or working out at their home gym.
When Serena broke her back in a snowboarding accident, Amber flew to her hospital bedside and the pair were told Serena may never walk again. But only nine months later, they flew to Alaska to climb the tallest mountain in North America!
They are equally ambitious in their careers. Serena runs the glamping side of Castaways Resort, near Karioitahi Beach, while Amber works with their father, building and selling villas in nearby Waiuku.
Despite getting engaged to her partner Atoni Toleafoa a few years ago, Serena admits work demands mean they haven’t set a wedding date, although they have built a large workshop on their rural property in the downtime brought on by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the lack of international travel has also meant the twins have had time to write their first book, The Wild Twins (Harper Collins, $39.99), a riveting account of their adventures that they hope will inspire Kiwis from all walks of life to tackle the things that daunt them.
They’re both passionate about encouraging women to break stereotypes. Amber says, “Women can do anything they put their minds to. They should give things a go. It helps your confidence to try everything and not be worried about the results – so what if it doesn’t work out?”
Serena agrees, “It doesn’t matter what that thing is it’s the act of going and doing it. Modern life pulls people inside with technology, office chairs and TV. Even if people are outside, they’re often just looking at their phones.
“Put the phone down and go on that hike for the weekend, take the kids to the beach or go for a camping trip – that’s the stuff you remember when you
‘Women can do anything they put their minds to!’
look back on life, not the morning you scrolled on your phone for three hours!”
In Wild Twins, they say a positive mindset can get you through most things in life.
“We’ve learnt that your mind can be your strongest ally or your worst enemy,” Serena says. “Believing in yourself is something that can be trained like a muscle.
“Sometimes strength of mind is more important than physical strength.”
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