Kiwi rescuers are bonding with their Aussie mates to learn more about saving lives in major floods.
Both countries have been hit hard by deadly floods in recent years, so the teams are training at specially-built training grounds in Sydney.
On a rainy day in Sydney, multiple rescues are underway at Manly Dam, but the man in danger is only acting.
"Can I just get stuff out of my house?" The man asks the rescuers-in-training.
These specially-trained rescue teams are practising to save lives in a make-believe mass-casualty scenario.
One of them is Hami Taitea, a Fire and Emergency (FENZ) station officer from Timaru.
"[In the] South Island the water temperature is a bit chillier," he told Newshub.
He’s not just helping his Aussie mates – he's learning from them.
"It's good to see how other people tackle similar problems," Taitea said, lessons that both countries have put to use in real life.
Eleven lives were lost when Cyclone Gabrielle hit the East Coast/Tairāwhiti.
"We can use our skills to upskill our colleagues from around the nation and New Zealand, but we can also learn from them to better serve our own community down the track," said Paul McQueen of the New South Wales SES (State Emergency Service).
But crikey - it is Australia after all, with its much larger predators.
"We don’t generally keep one eye open for crocs, the only crocs we have are on people’s feet. And those pose less risk than here," said Taitea.
That may be the case - but there are more similarities than differences here - the main one being that they all want to save lives.
