Family fortunes

Long before long-haul flights, luxury lodges and influencers were a thing, a young local couple, Les and Olive Hutchins, put their savings into the Manapouri-Doubtful Sound Tourist Company, taking visitors on the multi-day boat and tramping trips into the fiord.

That was 1954; underpinned by their family company, RealNZ now operates Doubtful and Milford Sound cruises, Te Anau glowworm caves, Queenstown rafting, jetboating, Earnslaw and Walter Peak Experiences, Cardrona and Treble Cone ski resorts and the Christchurch International Antarctic Centre.

Dunedin's Skeggs family are the mainstay of Southern Discoveries, also in the game for more than 60 years, offering Milford Sound cruises, kayak and underwater observatory excursions, a Lake Wakatipu cruise and private charters, coach, flight and helicopter connections to Milford Sound.

Grandparent of them all is Ngāi Tahu Tourism, hosts of Shotover Jet, All Blacks Experience, Hollyford Track, Dart River Adventures, Franz Josef Glacier Guides and Hot Pools, Hukafalls Jet and 50 per cent owner of the Dark Sky Project. Benefitting 70,000 iwi members, that's one of our biggest whanau businesses.

Long sited

Some historic sites have been in family hands for a century or more. The Buried Village of Te Wairoa's origins can be traced back to the 1930s Depression when Reg and Vi Smith borrowed a car and drove their young sons to a derelict cottage on overgrown land near Rotorua to salvage the Tarawera eruption ruins. Pam McGrath (nee Smith) is the third generation continuing guardianship of this place.

Waitomo's Glowworm Caves have been an attraction for more than 130 years, first explored by chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace in 1887. Tane Tinorau and his wife Huti soon escorted groups through the cave; the Government took over in 1906 but returned the land and cave to the original owners' whanau in 1989. Many of today's staff are direct descendants of Tane Tinorau and Huti.

Another historic site, Larnach Castle, owes its present glory to Barry and Margaret Barker, who bought the property in 1967. With Norcombe Barker as director since 1990, the castle, its gardens, furniture and events operations have undergone a renaissance.

More family affairs: Glacier Valley Eco Tours, Westland Tai Poutini National Park; West Coast Scenic Waterways; Chris Jolly Outdoors, Lake Taupō cruises, fishing, hiking and biking; Whanganui River Tours; ShebikesHebikes, Clyde; Beachcomber Cruises, Marlborough; Cruise Milford, Milford Sound; Weir Bros charter tours and Withers Coachlines, Taranaki.

Farm stayers

Thousands of hectares of our finest land, waterways and mountains have been in the care of the same families since Great-Great-Great Grandad cleared the bush. Some have taken a side-hustle as farmstays, few in such dramatic surroundings as Glentanner Park Centre.

Just 18km from Aoraki Mt Cook National Park, the 18,200ha station has been farmed since 1858. The Ivey family came to Glentanner in 1957 and diversified into tourism in 1976. It's the only fully-equipped camp and campervan park in the area, with boutique and budget accommodation, heli-hike tours of the mountains and more. The Miles family's Mount Cook Station on Lake Pukaki is another high-country station with accommodation and event options.

The Loughnan family are the fifth generation to live and farm in Blythe Valley beside the Hurunui River in North Canterbury. Mike and eldest son Tim run the 450ha sheep and beef farm along with its tourism ventures, Energy Jet, Tawanui Glamping and farm tours. Hurunui Hills is a sixth-generation hill country farm, its farm experiences including an eco-cabin.

We love this story: fourth-generation Maniototo farmers Graeme Duncan and son Stu couldn't see a cycle trail through their farm could bring anything good. Wives Alison and Lorraine thought otherwise and created Wedderburn Cottages beside the Otago Central Rail Trail. Twenty-plus years later, Wives 1, Husbands 0.

More family affairs: Every Kiwi beach has a family-friendly campground like Cosy Corner Holiday Park in Mt Maunganui. Ted and Mavis Davidson bought the site in 1967, son Greg and partner Vicki have managed it for two decades. Inland, Raetihi Holiday Park is a family-run holiday park with mountainbike hire and Whanganui River canoe tours.

Hospitality heroes

The theory of relativity is common in hospitality, too. In Otago's early days David Ritchie's great-grandfather founded what became one of New Zealand's largest stock and station companies. David and wife Andrea bought a rundown property in Clyde, turning the near-derelict buildings into the elegant Oliver's Lodge boutique hotel and historic precinct that now offers luxury accommodation, a restaurant and bar, cafe, delicatessen, brewery and bakery.

Daughter Charlotte runs the cafe and husband James is the restaurant's head chef. When the equally historic Clyde Hotel came on the market, the family bought it and refurbished that into more boutique accommodation, the Lord Clyde run by Andrea's sister Victoria.

Up and down the motu you'll find businesses that rely on the family pulling together, like Twizel's Top Hut Bar & Bistro. Darrin and Tracey Burgess took over the pub in 2013; transformed into a gastropub with garden bars and theme restaurant, managed by their son, it's been named the country's best-redeveloped hospitality site. Atop Mt Michael, near Fairlie, mother Jan and daughter Ellie Morgan's Farm Barn Cafe is more than that: yes, homemade food and preserves but also a curated gift-shop and animal petting area.

Landon Elder returned to New Plymouth to distil his family tradition into his cafe, George's of Moturoa. Named for his koro, who inspired him to become a chef, Elder serves Māori-fusion food: fried kawakawa bread and boil-up croquettes, with his son Xavier or parents on the till, washing dishes or clearing tables.

More family affairs: Rick Lowe and Anne Butcher's long-established Somerset Cottage restaurant and cooking school at Bethlehem, Tauranga; Margaret and Richard Logan and family's High Country Salmon, floating cafe and salmon farm at Lake Ruataniwha. See food and eat it, literally.

Vine cultures

Our youthful wine scene can't compete for bragging rights with Europe – "Julius Caesar gave our Rhone red 5 stars" – and some early Henderson dynasties are now only names on overseas-owned labels. But…

Phil and Chris Rose founded Wairau River Wines in 1991, one of Marlborough's first wine tourism destinations. Today it's run by eldest daughter Pip with sister Caroline and partner Tane Malcolm as head chefs. Te Whare Ra is a small organic winery in Renwick, winemakers Anna and Jason Flowerday from multi-generational viticulture backgrounds.

Saint Clair Family Estate is one of the world's leading wine producers, famed for its sauvignon blanc and their 2004 chardonnay listed in the global top 10. Neal and Judy Ibbotson pioneered the concern in 1978, a family-focused business that now includes son Tony and daughters Sarina and Julie.

Ernie and Jane Hunter established their fiercely independent family-owned winery in Marlborough over 30 years ago. Known for its award-winning chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, the next generation is now nurturing the business.

You could claim Hawke's Bay's Mission Estate passed from brother to brother over several generations. One of the province's most famous wine estates was specifically created as a family legacy: Terry and Mary Peabody's 1993 Craggy Range was crafted from bare land to focus on quality. In 2022 three generations work this premier Downunder winery, restaurant and cottages.

Former All Black John Ashworth and wife Jo planted grapes at Junction Wines in 1994; son Leith is now head winemaker, producing intense, aromatic, award-winners.

Eco enterprises

Here's one multi-generation set-up that's almost impossible to top. The Barrett whanau's ancestor journeyed from Waikato to Kapiti Island and their descendants have lived there for 200 years. The current generation owns 20ha of the island and nature reserve and have spent two decades building up Kapiti Island Nature Tours, hosting visitors for day and overnight stays.

Maataamua (Joe) and Joanna Doherty set up Te Urewera Treks in 2006 to create employment in an area that's been economically depressed since the early 1980s.  It meant Maataamua could return home with his family, train locals and inspire the next generation by showing how an indigenous eco-tourism business could flourish. It's now managed by Hinewai McManus, Maataamua's niece. 

Farewell Spit Tours is a Nelson Tasman enterprise business that has passed between generations for 70 years, guiding visitors through the nature reserve, bird sanctuary and internationally important wetland.

Christchurch's Akaroa Dolphins and Pohatu Penguins also keep things in the family.

Ski sets

Renowned for treks, mountaineering, ski touring and snowshoeing ventures in the Southern Alps, eminent guide Gottlieb Braun-Elwert and his wife Anne founded Alpine Recreation Canterbury in 1981; daughter Elke now helps run the company and is a mountain guide.

Several smaller skifields also remain in family hands, such as Roundhill, owned by the Rieder family since 2012, a family-friendly piste with jaw-dropping views of Lake Tekapo and the alps – and Australiasia's biggest vertical drop (783m).

High fliers

Aviation is another industry where families thrive. One of the longest-running is Air Safaris, set up by Richard Rayward 50 years ago; three generations work there. Its spectacular Grand Traverse crosses two World Heritage Parks and over 200km of Te Waipounamu scenery.

More family affairs: Air Milford, sightseeing around Queenstown and Milford Sound; Ballooning Canterbury.

Hard wearing

We can't leave without mentioning Jakes Hardware in Twizel, which isn't quite what it says on the tin. It stocks European board games, fishing gear, camping supplies, cycling parts and accessories, toys and gifts, and even some hardware. The shop has been run by Jake, Ali, Luke, Nick, Tim, Phoebe and Anna of the Preston Marshall clan since 2012. Family tourism enterprises can't come anymore Kiwi as… than that!

Words: Ewan McDonald
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