As a kid growing up in Christchurch, Marcus Taylor wanted to be a fighter pilot.

"I was quite disappointed to find out that we had no fighter jets in New Zealand, and I was also colour blind so that one was off the table, and I had to reassess," Taylor said.

Inspired by watching Steve Irwin and with good scientific grades, Taylor thought he would give Massey University vet school a go instead.

"I luckily got in on the first round so that I could go straight into vet school, and I loved it.

"The courses were interesting, and the class becomes your family for five years, and I had a really great time there."

Taylor graduated as a veterinary surgeon in 2013 and went straight into large animal practice.

His career took him to England, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East, where he had adventures with camels, cows, sheep, and ostriches.

He began documenting his adventures, which have become Taylor's book, "The Ones That Bit Me," which chronicles his transition from student to experienced vet.

"I started by jotting down notes from my calls, thinking they were interesting, and I didn't want to forget them.

"I guess I had an inkling that all these stories would add up to a book."

Taylor started by writing one chapter and sent it to his sister for her opinion.

"She read it and said, you have to turn this into a book.

"So I wrote a few more chapters and finally thought I had enough that I should sit down and dedicate some time to properly finishing it."

The book contains plenty of stories from behind the farm gate as Taylor navigates callouts for calving, lambing, and even ostriches.

"There are a lot of stories I think farmers and their kids would enjoy."

The book is chatty and conversational, and Taylor said he wanted the book to "continuously move forward."

"I wanted it to be exciting and interesting so that people can get a flying trip through the life of a veterinarian and enjoy it along the way."

Taylor isn't your average vet, though. His zest for travel and adventure takes the book far beyond simply a veterinary memoir.

"Even through vet school, I had itchy feet, so I did a lot of placements overseas to help with that desire to travel.

"I did a placement in the Cook Islands and in Outback Australia, and I've written about that in the book because there were a lot of adventures that came out of those placements.

Taylor said the placements gave him a head start in his career.

"In more remote places, as a student, you get given more responsibility, and you get to do surgeries.

"Vets are more willing to let you give things a crack."

Vet school is well known for being a high-stress environment, but Taylor said his attitude helped him get through.

"I just felt like I was going to be alright.

"I kept a good life balance; I slept properly, went to the gym and played sports because I felt that would benefit my learning.

"Now, there is a lot more information out there about how good that stuff is for your memory and learning."

Taylor said the skills for dealing with stress at university have helped in his veterinary practice.

"You can't take anything too seriously, and you have to let things come as they do because you can't control everything; there are so many different outcomes.

A severe accident not long after Taylor, then 23, graduated nearly cost him his career and his life, which he describes as a pivotal moment.

"I had that young man attitude, where nothing can hurt you, which is a bit immature.

"So it was a real wake-up call about my own morality.

"It's definitely a heavy part of the book."

Once recovered from the accident and armed with a fresh perspective, Taylor bought a plane ticket for Indonesia and set off to see the world.

"My accident gave me a real sense that life wasn't just something to take for granted.

"I had all these things I wanted to do, and I wasn't going to put them off or wait until I had everything figured out."

Taylor said he was pleased he had travelled when he was younger.

"Often, the longer you wait, the more life things come up that inhibit that ability to go and do stuff."

Taylor is now working on a documentary about farm vets in New Zealand. Depending on funding, it will be released on YouTube or television next year.

"It shows vets tackling difficult cases during spring and explores the topic of mental health and managing stress, as this can be a challenge for rural vets and farmers."

By Claire Inkson