Auckland event (and a paradise called Waiheke Island)
Our travelling circus vehicle (at least that’s what it felt like after driving all the way from Queenstown!) finally arrived in Auckland. We were greeted on our arrival by the ever smiling James Samuel, community organiser extraordinaire and one of the most generous people I have been fortunate enough to meet in a long time.
Our kick off event organised by James in Manakau City – a community garden get-together and one of 100 events throughout New Zealand to mark 10.10.10
A small gathering of a cross section of the Manakau City community gathered together at the local Papakura church to discuss some of the possible options for sustainable practice projects. The recent announcement of the election of Len Brown as major of the new Auckland Super City, a Manakau City local brought a buoyant mood to the group.
We were then hosted by James, Simon Harvey and Jerome (our host for the next days’ event at Jasmax Architects in Auckland) for a quiet get together on Waiheke Island. My first time to Auckland let alone Waiheke was eye opening and James, knowing we’d be exhausted after the long journey arranged for a luxury beach retreat. Simon arrived with local organic pizzas, all washed down with some of NZs finest ales.
For people whom I’ve met once, this was a show of generosity I’ve rarely experienced – testament to the strength and spirit of the local community on Waiheke.
After a much needed sleep, we woke to a beautiful calm morning – an early walk on the beach bringing a great photo opportunity and a timely reminder that with the rush of the roadtrip it is so important to take the time to slow down.
Some good breakthroughs and equal amount of mutual learning were achieved with James during the morning to develop a social media course for the ‘community development’ space.
My first experience of Auckland traffic was not as bad as expected although James’ calm navigation kept things sane – thanks and kudos to Jerome for arranging the Jasmax event which was well attended and received – what an amazing presentation space!
After narrowly escaping the parking inspector and driving circles trying to park and a lack of food, frustration started to creep in and by the time Steve was done with his final appointments I was not disappointed to be on the way south again by mid-afternoon to Hamilton.
Thanks to Berny for the car storage in Manakau City and get-away car speed driving to and from the ferry, James for your above and beyond hospitality and thoughtfulness, Simon for the food and beers, Jerome for arranging the event and everyone for being great company!
Hamilton TNS event with Simon Harvey
At Tuesday lunchtime event in Hamilton to the local Chamber of Commerce brought together many of the big players in the Hamilton business scene to hear Simon Harvey, CEO of The Natural Step NZ, speak persuasively about the business case for sustainability.
For those not familiar with the science-based decision making framework The Natural Step explained in two minutes is well worth watching
Simon Harvey talks about the backcasting process to Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
In many ways, the focus of Simon’s presentation was ‘business beyond compliance’ and the opportunities available to early adopter businesses who pro-actively decide to inhabit the sustainability space
In one fantastic confronting slide, Simon got to the heart of the matter by asking the following question:
Where is your business in relation to sustainable practice?
Following were a number of possible scenarios:
Leadership
Integration
Compliance +
Compliance
Denial
The resounding silence in the room spoke volumes. Then, in a highly compelling way, Simon went on to describe the opportunities for businesses in NZ to take up an active role in the sustainability space.
Tom Walter presents the Ziptrek Ecotours business case to Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
As the representative for Ziptrek Ecotours, I was provided with the opportunity to speak about the business case of opening up a new sustainability-focussed operation in the already saturated Queenstown adventure tourism market. By firmly placing ourselves in the sustainable tourism niche niche (and one of the very few left in Queenstown) Ziptrek have been able to build a significant profile in a very short time since opening in December 2009.
Kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga - a vision for NZ tourism by 2015
By strategically aligning it’s business with the 2015 Tourism Strategy vision of a sustainable NZ tourism industry which embraces the Maori concepts of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and manaakitanga (hospitality), Ziptrek have welcomed the numerous opportunities to present it’s compelling vision to businesses and organisations looking to do business in a new way.
Thanks and kudos to Simon for his excellent presentation and for providing the opportunity to present Ziptrek Ecotours in this setting.
