Natural Instincts is supported by a dedicated management team and a network of highly skilled, professionally trained staff.
Our team shares a passion for delivering safe, effective, and engaging off-road training experiences.
Expert on and off-road transport training and fleet support since 2000
Natural Instincts has been a trusted provider of 4-wheel drive training, on and off-road training services in New Zealand since 2000. We also specialise in customised training solutions for individuals, businesses, and organisations.
Founded by Pete Ritchie, Natural Instincts delivers high-quality courses for 4WD vehicles, quad bikes, Light Utility Vehicles (LUVs), and chainsaws. Our company has forged strong relationships with leading 4WD vehicle manufacturers, including Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, Suzuki, Ford, and Toyota, providing vehicle demonstrations, dealership staff training, and product knowledge events.
We cater to all brands of 4WD vehicles, quads, and LUVs, and we develop customised training manuals to meet specific requirements. Organisations that have benefited from our expertise include most other successful rural on and off road training PTE’s and training providers throughout NZ.
NI
was with Toyota NZ for 10 years providing (as was done with all the
manufacturers NI has been retained by)
technical support to manufacturer staff and dealerships, customers,
advanced film and photography driving on and off road, and next
generation design advising, just to give some idea.
With over two decades of experience, Natural Instincts is a leading provider of off-road driver training and consulting services across New Zealand.
GENERAL MANAGER
Amie Ritchie
Conceived likely on the back of a 4WD, Amie was born and raised predominantly in rural North Island (beginning at Lochinvar Station), which entrenched a strong passion for rural NZ and its animal, country and mechanical counterparts. After owning a 112ha farm block in the King Country up until early 2024, she now resides with her partner Andrew on their Hawkes Bay farmlet, where their recreational interests for all things fishing, hunting and exploring the backcountry by boot, hoof and tyre are at their doorstep.
They spend most other minutes behind their chainsaws felling, cutting and splitting the likes of old man pine, gum and macrocarpa for firewood. If Amie can escape the coal face and scrub to unwind, she’s most likely found around the section attending to the gardens and surrounds or enjoying some equine time with her horses.
She has always had a hankering for understanding and maintaining her own tools and transport, so under the guidance of her father’s diverse A grade diesel experience and knowledge in all things mechanical, Amie is lucky enough to “know enough to be dangerous,” so to speak!
From high school, Amie began forging her position into NI. In early 2019, she transitioned from her tourism, farming, artificial breeding and forestry backgrounds to begin full time with the NI team, working alongside Pete nationwide in all parts of the business. A steep learning curve toward business ownership, management of retained relationships, professional development including some of NZ's respected on/off-road instructors, filming and support for vehicle manufacturers to name a few occurred - and is continuing to evolve as Pete now takes a back seat on the day-to-day running and management of the business.
Amie has built a solid reputation and is humbly excited as she navigates NI into its future with Pete and the team’s full support as a NZ-wide grounded experienced business in the field.
A full CV of experience is available on request.
FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Pete Ritchie
Pete was born and initially raised on a large sheep and beef war settlement block in the Wairarapa. He left school early and completed a diesel mechanics apprenticeship in the trucking industry, obtaining his A grade qualification by age 18yrs. Pete’s first significant mechanical achievement was completing a valve grind on a school teachers car unsupervised when he was 14 years old!
From an early age Pete developed and nurtured a passion for off-road mechanised transport, including quad bikes (starting with the first with mechanised gnats, trikes, then on to farm bikes, quads, tractors, bulldozers etc. Utilising chainsaws began while at boarding school collecting firewood for the boilers/heating system and honed later over a two year stint as a firewood merchant. In his career he has held positions as a farm bike franchise holder, heavy fleet workshop mechanic then foreman onto Service manager, machine operator of trucks, bulldozers, agricultural machinery and motor scrapers, professional possum trapper and shooter operating off quad bikes, fleet manager, 4WD training manager and tour guide.
Pete has worked with a wide range of light 4WD manufacturers throughout his working career and has been retained for many years now by Toyota NZ as their SME for fleet and new product development and testing support. He is in high demand across commercial fleets as a technical expert in his field. Pete was involved in the development of 4WD unit standards in NZ and has mentored trainers and produced training materials for a large range of NZ commercial training providers. He holds qualifications for all elements and holds Advanced 4WD, instructors and specialist driving qualifications from Land Rover HQ England as their guest, and is a qualified trainer with the International Technical Rescue Association (ITRA) in off-road vehicle driving/recovery.
Let’s Put Purpose into Practice
We’re here to bring practical, tailored training and support to teams who value safety, skill, and real-world experience.
If our story sounds like the kind of approach you’re looking for, we’d love to work with you.
