In 1976, he and his wife Kay went to Wānaka in Central Otago in the South Island to manage a youth hostel in the town for two weeks.
His love of the area is reflected in the large number of songs he has written about the district.
Martin runs the annual Cardrona Folk Festival that takes place every Labour Weekend.
He is also responsible for organising tours of New Zealand by top folk musicians, mainly from Britain, but including Eric Bogle from Australia and Jeremy Taylor from South Africa.
1982: Gin and Raspberry 1986: Back from the Hills 1990: The Daisy Patch 1994: Save the Wilderness 1996: Off to the Dry Cardrona 1998: Below the High Country 2000: Let's Sing a Kiwi Song (children's album) 2002: Beyond a Climber's Moon 2004: Otago, My Home (DVD) 2008: Sea to Summit Martin Curtis Home Page: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/ Cardrona Folk Festival: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/cardrona.html Folk musician's chance for glory, p. 48, Otago Daily Times, 24 Jan 2009