Tamaki brothers take on the south

Rotorua's Tamaki brothers have bought into Queenstown-based company Dart Wilderness Adventures.

Mike and Doug Tamaki, who are behind the successful Tamaki Tours in Rotorua, snapped up the opportunity to expand into a cluster of businesses 45km from Queenstown in the Glenorchy area.

The businesses include one of two consents for jetboating excursions up the Dart River, as well as a camping site, visitor centre and backpacker transport service to the Routeburn track.

The brothers last weekend opened their Rotorua visitor experience The Realm of Tane.

Mike Tamaki said Queenstown was an obvious next step for the company, with plans already in the works to open a story-telling attraction in Christchurch. "Queenstown is a major tourism destination in New Zealand and we need to have a presence down there," he said.

"The whole idea is about telling the great New Zealand story from top to bottom."

With the Queenstown purchase, plans for the Christchurch venture would now move a little more slowly.

The $6.5 million Tamaki Historic Village will be built next to the Ferrymead Historic Village on 4.2ha of land which was a dump site about 30 years ago.

Tamaki board chairman Geoff Burns said the company had planned to open the Christchurch site by the end of this year but was now not confirming any dates.

- NZPA