[8][9] In 1997, he co-wrote the libretto for an opera in two acts called Alley, with music by Jack Body, which premiered at the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts in 1998.

Chapple co-wrote the script for The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey, an acclaimed 1988 fantasy film directed by Vincent Ward.

[18] Chapple was the first resident at the Michael King Writers Centre on the slopes of Mount Victoria when it opened in 2005.

[10] While in residence, he wrote a play called Hatch, or the Plight of the Penguins, which was produced by the Auckland Theatre Company and toured New Zealand and Tasmania from 2007 to 2010.

[19][20] In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Chapple was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tramping, tourism and literature.