David Hartnell talks to Ceillhe Sperath
Tell us about your tour company?
Our passion for Showcasing NZ started shortly after we met and fell in love in 2005. Within a year we had married and sealed our life and business partnership. Looking back we should never have married in the summer as it’s our high season so we now get to celebrate our wedding anniversary with our foreign clientele! We are often asked as one of New Zealand's most awarded luxury tour operators what sets us apart. It comes down to how we make people feel! It’s by design that our bespoke experiences put our manuhiri (VIP clients) at the centre of everything we do.
It is attention to every detail, the small added touches, always asking and never assuming we know what our clients want, listening and then listening again, attracting kaiarahi (host-guides) who have wide -ranging life skills which we match to align or mirror the types of clients we host.
Happy childhood?
I was privileged to grow up on a family farm in northland. Being a New Zealander of Irish and Maori descent I think I had the best of both worlds. Mum and Dad were active at the local Marae and even ran the Irish Society. Before school we had animals to feed and some house cows to milk. We also lived on the same farm as our grandparents so I learned to cook, sew, bake, raise animals, tend gardens, etc, something I try to pass onto my little girl. We were also
a sporting family which meant we never had a dull lifestyle. We also ran family businesses and so did my husband’s family so it’s no wonder we have our own family business now.
Dream holiday internationally?
Neill and I have visited so many places in the world. We both have Irish parents and family across Ireland, UK, Europe and extended networks of friends and past clients around the world. Neill is wanting to walk to Everest basecamp so I will be cheering him on from some safe point!
Bucket list?
It’s empty as it's end of life focused and I’ve only just begun! More travel and getting quality time to spend with my husband and daughter. We work together but it’s often ships passing so experiencing life to the fullest with the ones you love is priority for me.
Most treasured passion?
I truly treasure the diversity of my heritage and how fortunate we are to live and share our home of Aotearoa. It’s only through travel experiences and our own business journey where we get to showcase all things that make us Kiwis our culture, cuisine.
The most Kiwi thing about you?
I truly love Marmite! (My kiwi husband of Irish-German descent thinks it’s like road tar!) Oh, and Pineapple Lumps and Jaffas.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Um, 10 years older? I still want my own teeth and hair preferably and married to same hubby who also has own assets, an even prouder Mum than I am now of a teenager who will be 18. Scary!
A movie about your life, who would play you?
My daughter, so I could boss her around and loan her the favourite clothes I have kept all these years, hoping desperately I could fit into them again one day soon (yeah, right)
Biggest disappointment?
That I never met my husband sooner.
What do you think happens when we die?
We are carefree, debt free and don’t have body issues or bad hair days anymore!
Give your teenaged self advice?
Remember all your actions have consequences.
Greatest fear?
Living in an apartment.
What superpower would you like?
To fly. It would beat waiting times at airports.
What cliché do you most hate?
It won’t happen overnight but it will happen - up there with sh.. happens’.
Travel light or heavy?
My husband would say heavy, as he has to carry it all.
Favourite movie?
Moana movie is a great depiction of our Polynesian vogaying heritage. Our ancestors were in tourism well before we coined the word and built an industry around it. I am also a Mum of a daughter who loved the Frozen movie and those darn frozen songs! When the Moana movie came out we had great new songs and finally some characters we could relate to. (DAVID HARTNELL, MNZM)