Meet our Podiatrists

Rachael Harper

I graduated in 2008 as a podiatrist from AUT, having done a previous degree in microbiology and genetics. I first worked in Auckland and had amazing support and mentoring in my early career. This has lead to my desire to be part of the mentoring programme and work with Podiatry NZ giving back to the podiatry profession. I have been back in the Waikato for the last 11 years and love being back close to family and out of the hustle of Auckland. I work in general private practice, seeing a bit of everything. I enjoy all aspects of podiatry and like the variety of patients that working in all aspects brings. I’m enjoying my work with Podiatry NZ and am passionate about giving back to podiatry. Outside of podiatry I love a good craft project and am an avid reader. I enjoy the outdoors and have a love hate relationship with our garden.

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Gareth Milne

I started work as a green new graduate under Greg Woolman and Bruce Baxter at Sportsmed in 2004 and after 2 years there I got as far as Melbourne where I worked in a couple of different Sports Medicine centres. .I was then looking to go further overseas to get some more experience but had also been getting regular calls from the Shoe Clinic owners in Queenstown - they were looking for a Podiatrist to move there full time and start a clinic up. I wasn’t that interested in heading home so soon and decided to look further to the UK, partly through setting up an ancestry visa but the financial crisis hit in 2008/09 and things weren’t looking so rosy over there. We had pushed the Queenstown idea to the side until we noticed friends moving back so thought we’d look into the Queenstown idea. We flew over for a long weekend, looked at some options for clinic spaces and within a month we’d moved back home and opened the doors and seen our first patient, 14 years later we are thriving in our little resort town and also have a weekly satellite clinic in Invercargill. I have an interest in all musculoskeletal presentations, seeing a wide range of injuries in the summer and helping skier/snowboarders get comfortable in their boots in the winter. We have professionally contributed to and worked alongside the Southland Stags, Southland Sharks, Southern Steel and Academy Southland. I have keen interest in innovative technology and am proud of the number of high level technologies and treatment methods we have invested in within our clinic to get the best outcomes for our patients. Outside of work I spend time running/biking and spending time with our family on the lake in summer and skiing in winter.

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James Barnes

I graduated from AUT in 2005 and headed straight to Melbourne to start my podiatry career. I worked at the Brunswick Foot Clinic and learnt a huge amount during my time there – most importantly, I continued to grow my interest and enjoyment in the profession. I loved the four years that I lived in Melbourne and met my, now, wife, and fellow Kiwi, Abbie, while living there. We still travel back to visit the city, whenever we can.

We always knew we wanted to come back to live in New Zealand, at some stage. It was during my first ever trip to Central Otago, holidaying at Abbie’s family ‘crib’ that I discovered there weren’t really any podiatry clinics around this region. I had quickly fallen in love with the area, and it didn’t take long before deciding to take the plunge and start our own practice. I had never intended to start my own business with only four years of experience. I was young and optimistic - very naïve - but it just felt like the right place for us to give it a go.

We’ve now been operating Lakes Podiatry, with clinics in Wanaka and Cromwell, for 14 years. After a few years, Abbie took over the role of Practice Manager and my colleague and fellow podiatrist, Kim Bradley, joined the team in 2019. I think we make a pretty great team. We cover all areas of podiatry but I have a particular interest in running related injuries and running footwear. I have developed somewhat of a specialty in assisting the rehabilitation of major lower limb trauma - skiing, mountaineering, climbing, mountain biking and paragliding accidents are all too common in this area.

We now live in Wanaka with our 3 children, Charlie, Noah and Eve, and our newest addition to the family - Frankie the pug. We love living in this area and make the most of all the outdoor adventures we have on our doorstep – it’s so important to keep a healthy work-life balance. Outside of work I enjoy running and biking and spending time on the lake with the family. Being an Aucklander I really miss the ocean and take any opportunity to get to the West Coast to go fishing and diving. This region is particularly active, and our patients inspire us daily with their stories of amazing adventures both locally, and all over the world.

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Katie Vodanovich

I am a passionate and experienced sports and musculoskeletal rehabilitation specialist who strives to improve the health outcomes of my patients and deliver a unique and professional approach to patient-centred, personalised care; underpinned by an ethic of excellence and collaboration. My business’ purpose is to inspire and connect, to engender trust and feel comfortable; my staff and I believe these values can enable positive change for all we meet. When I’m not in the clinic, I inspire my daughters’ to smash those glass ceilings! And when I get a moment to myself, I enjoy working out, getting stuck into a good book, and love a bit of retail therapy.

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Lisa Hinchcliff

As owner and Senior Podiatrist of Greenlane Podiatry, Lisa really likes helping people by treating their feet. She has seen the abuse they take – and how having healthy feet can add to your well-being. After 30 years as a qualified podiatrist, she feels lucky to have a career built on her passion. She loves seeing patients improve their lives through treatment and education – even addressing a small problem can have a huge impact. Her goal is to have her patients NOT have to come back! She addresses underlying problems to get her patients to the point where they can stretch monthly appointments out to three or six monthly.

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Justin Chong

I graduated from CIT, Wellington, with the first group in NZ, with a Bachelor of Health Science (podiatry). I had more fun in the hostel than actual learning and studied with some great podiatrists who have done fantastic work in the profession. I returned to Auckland, as this was the only place that would employ me, working under Bob Eckles (now isn’t that a story in itself, that he is back in NZ as FSI’s medical director). I worked part-time with Bob, made orthotics from the garage, and sold shoes for Smiths Sports Shoes. I did various contract work for pods in Auckland to fill my week, which allowed me to meet colleagues and was a good introduction to podiatry. When Bob decided to head offshore, I took over his clinic, as I couldn’t get employment, or I would be out of a job! I always said if I failed at a clinic, I would head overseas for an OE – being young and naive was probably a blessing, now that I look back on it. I guess you can say the OE never eventuated, and it’s been head-down-ass-up ever since!
Outside of work, my time is spent with my wife and daughter, who is a constant reminder that work is not everything. I certainly subscribe to the – “work hard during the week and play harder afterwards” doctrine. To release the pressure, getting into the forest for a mountain bike/run has always been a circuit breaker and leveller to keep me in the present.

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