We are one of the largest tourism operators in Aotearoa (New Zealand), hosting more than one million customers a year across our 14 iconic businesses. These include Shotover Jet, Guided Walks New Zealand, Dart River Adventures, Franz Josef Glacier Guides, Franz Josef Glacier Hot Pools, Hukafalls Jet, Agrodome, Rainbow Springs and Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters. We are also a 50 percent owner in the famous astro-tourism experience Earth & Sky.
We are owned by Ngāi Tahu, the biggest iwi by population in Te Waipounamu (the South Island). Ngāi Tahu has over 60,000 registered members, making us one of the largest whānau-owned businesses in Aotearoa.
We take great pride in warmly welcoming manuhiri (visitors) to our experiences. Manaakitanga (hospitality) is one of the core values that drives the way we do business. As hosts, we care for our customers and our team as our own whānau.
Our tourism roots extend back to when our ancestors were the guides for many of the first European explorers. Tourism allows us to host manuhiri, reconnect with ngā awa (rivers), ngā maunga (mountains) and te moana (the sea), and provide lasting memories for our customers.
Through our story-telling based experiences, Dart River Adventures, Hollyford Track and Franz Josef Glacier Guides, we are also able to share one of our tribe’s most precious treasures – the stories of our traditions.
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri, ā muri ake nei
For us and our children after us
Nāia te mihi kau, nāia te maioha e rere ana ki a koutou, kai te mihi atu rā.
Greetings and salutations to you all.
Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand (Aotearoa), first arrived in waka unua (double hulled voyaging canoes) from Hawaiki more than 600 years ago.
Māori connections with the land, mountains and water of New Zealand, are steeped in history going right back to the traditional accounts of creation.
The South Island creation account tells of the ancient atua, or demi-god, Aoraki ,who, with his brothers, came down from the heavens following a family dispute in the home of their father, Raki, the Sky Father. They voyaged in Aoraki’s canoe – ‘Te Waka o Aoraki’ to visit their home mother, Papatūānuku, the Earth Mother.
Setting out on their return to the heavens, Aoraki made a mistake in the karakia (incantation) he was reciting and the waka stranded on a reef . Aoraki and his companions became marooned on the high side of the wreck. The wreckage formed the South Island with the Marlborough Sounds being the shattered Tau Ihu (carved prow) and Motupōhue (Bluff Hill) being the sternpost. As time passed Aoraki and his brothers turned to stone, their hair turned white and they became the highest peaks of Kā Tiritiri o Te Moana – the Southern Alps. Aoraki (Mount Cook) is the highest mountain in New Zealand and a great tribal symbol of Ngāi Tahu.
Tū Te Raki Whanoa, the son of Aoraki, came searching and discovered their fate. After mourning his kin he set about reshaping the wreckage of the great waka. It was he who made the island a fit place for people to come to. Singing powerful karakia (incantations), he began attacking the towering rock walls with his adze, Te Hamo, carving out steep cliffs, deep rocky gorges and long waterways. With his assistants, he stocked the coast with fish and clothed the land with forest.
For Māori, these traditions represent the links between the world of the gods and present generations.
Ngāi Tahu are the Māori people of Te Waipounamu. We have our origins in three main streams of migration. The first people to arrive in the southern islands migrating here from Hawaiki, were a people known as Waitaha. They arrived here under the leadership of Rākaihautū and his son, Rokohuia on the waka (canoe) Uruao.
Rākaihautū is credited with creating the great lake system of our island, Te Waipounamu, by striking the ground with his great ko (digging stick) as he explored the inland regions. Rākaihautū and his people explored Te Waipounamu and in tribal traditions, imposed their whakapapa or genealogy on the land. They named the natural features and blessed the land with the spiritual essence of their ancestors.
The plentiful resources of Te Waipounamu called others to abandon their homes in the Te Ika a Māui (North Island) and move southward. This led to the second wave of migration undertaken by the descendants of Whatua Māmoe who came down from the east coast of Te Ika a Māui to claim a place for themselves in the south. These people came to be known as Kāti Māmoe and through intermarriage and conquest these migrants merged with the resident Waitaha and took over authority of Te Waipounamu.
Ngāi Tahu are the third and largest wave of Māori migration to move to the South Island, arriving over two generations from the North Island’s east coast. Ngāi Tahu integrated with the existing South Island people through intermarriage and treaties. They also learned the traditions and customs of these tribes and by the mid eighteenth century the three streams of descent were fused into one iwi or tribe.
Ngāi Tahu means "descendants of Tahu". Tahu Potiki is the tribe’s founding ancestor. It is the fourth largest iwi (tribe) in Aotearoa with more than 60,000 people registered.
Throughout Te Waipounamu there are 18 local rūnanga (tribal councils). An elected representative from each rūnanga makes up Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the governing body overseeing iwi (tribal) activities.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu was established by the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Act 1996 and ensures the benefits of Crown Settlement are enjoyed by Ngāi Tahu Whānui (tribal members) now and in the future.
The tribe's whakataukī or proverb is
Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei
For us and our children after us.
The investment in tourism has helped Ngāi Tahu
reconnect to areas of significant historical importance.
Queenstown and the surrounding area was traditionally an important mahinga kai (resource area) for Ngāi Tahu. It was rich with birds, fish and pounamu (greenstone), an important and valuable stone used to make tools, weapons and to trade with northern tribes. For centuries, southern based Ngāi Tahu people would seasonally visit the area to gather these resources and return home to their more permanent coastal settlements. There are many Ngāi Tahu stories and traditions in the area.
However, because there were no permanent Ngāi Tahu settlements, settlers moved in with ease and set up, ignorant to the existing Ngāi Tahu traditions. The Crown also failed to ensure Ngāi Tahu access to the promised mahinga kai sites, which meant Ngāi Tahu lost its connection to the area.
Today, Ngāi Tahu Tourism owns five businesses in the area. This has helped Ngāi Tahu reconnect to the Queenstown area and be a significant contributor to the local community.
The profits from Ngāi Tahu Tourism are used for further investment opportunities and distributed back to the Ngāi Tahu people to support cultural, educational, social and wellbeing initiatives.
Ngāi Tahu Tourism, along with Ngāi Tahu Property, Ngāi Tahu Seafood, Ngāi Tahu Farming and Ngāi Tahu Capital, have contributed to the millions that have been put into tribal development since settlement in 1998.
Much of the investment has been direct to tribal members through Papatipu Rūnanga (local tribal councils), a matched savings programme, education scholarships and grants.
These direct distributions deliver immediate benefit to the people of the tribe. The flagship project Whai Rawa allows tribal members access to a financial saving scheme where tribal members can save for their education, home ownership and retirement through matched savings.
Tribal members also benefit through a series of grants and programmes to support cultural revitalisation and education achievement.
Where we can, we strive to think of the iwi first, for example, when it comes to employment and scholarship opportunities.
Ngāi Tahu Tourism offers Te Pia Tāpoi Scholarship for students of Ngāi Tahu descent studying tourism. The scholarship is designed to encourage more people to consider the tourism industry as an exciting and worthwhile career option. Scholarships are offered each year and include fees, valuable work experience within our businesses, mentoring from staff and opportunities to learn about Ngāi Tahu history.
James Tawa was a recipient of the scholarship and now works for Ngāi Tahu Tourism.
“The scholarship programme allowed me to afford to go to university and learn about Ngāi Tahu at the same time. It opened up opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
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Ngāi Tahu Tourism offers Te Pia Tāpoi Scholarship for students
of Ngāi Tahu descent studying tourism.
Tēnā koe! Are you interested in tourism and keen to make your mark on the industry? Want to work for one of the largest tourism operators in Aotearoa? Applications for Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s Te Pia Tāpoi scholarship are now open and we’re looking for a Ngāi Tahu student who is starting or already studying a tourism qualification.
This scholarship is an opportunity for someone enthusiastic and hard-working to get support with study fees, paid holiday work and opportunities to grow their cultural skills. Ngāi Tahu Tourism owns and operates some of the most iconic experiences in Aotearoa, from the thrills of Shotover Jet to the tranquillity of the Hollyford Valley. We have 13 businesses in spectacular locations and we host one million manuhiri each year. It is our goal to make the connection with our visitors through our team, to Aotearoa and to Ngāi Tahu, ensuring they have an experience they will remember forever. Manaakitanga (hospitality) is the core value that drives the way we do business; connecting with and taking care of manuhiri (visitors) goes to the heart of Māori culture and is the essence of what we do. Tourism allows Ngāi Tahu to host visitors, reconnect with the environment and to share our most precious treasures and stories.
If you are Ngāi Tahu, we want you!
Haere mai, and apply now.
Students must:
Scholarship details:
Nō reira nau mai, and apply today! Applications close 30 September.
Ngāi Tahu Tourism offers a marine mechanic training programme
for people of Ngāi Tahu descent who have a passion for mechanics.
He karanga tēnei mō tētahi uri o Tahu Pōtiki! Nau mai haramai!
Tēnā koe! Know the difference between a throttle and thermostat? We are looking for people of all ages, from all walks of life who descend from Ngāi Tahu and have a passion for mechanics. If you are interested in a career in jet boat mechanics and engineering then our apprenticeship could be for you....so if you’re mechanically minded read on!
The apprenticeship is an opportunity for someone enthusiastic and hardworking to achieve their marine mechanic qualification while working in our exciting businesses, starting at Queenstown’s Shotover Jet.
You might be someone who is already trade qualified and wanting to specialize in marine engineering or you could be someone who loves all things mechanical and wants to gain a full qualification.
The successful applicant will not only be paid while gaining their marine mechanic's qualification, they will also get the opportunity to improve their cultural skills and further connect with their Iwi.
Applications for the 2018 scholarship have now closed.
Haere mai, if you're Ngāi Tahu we want you!
Ngāi Tahu Matakahi Scholarships aim to encourage and support Ngāi Tahu whānau into commercial and business careers. The scholarships support you for up to three years and offer:
We are looking for students who are in their second year or above, studying a qualification that may lead to a role within our commercial businesses or commercial partners. This may include Commerce, Environmental Sciences, Property/Land Management, Tourism, Agriculture, Information Technology, Law or Sciences.
Applications are taken in March each year.
Take a look at the trade collateral we have available to download.
If you would like to partner with us, please contact tourism@nttourism.co.nz
Ngāi Tahu Tourism
Level 1
72 Moorhouse Avenue
Addington
Christchurch 8011
PO Box 3075
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
