Providing opportunities to a wide range of clients

A proudly Southland owned and operated business, established in 1999, Adventure Southland now has new owners.

Long term employees David Fenton, Amy Sutherland and partner Will Impelmans, along with David’s wife Kristin, purchased the business in July this year.

David says after working so long in the business, when the opportunity to purchase came up, it was the perfect next step.

‘‘It’s an industry we love and we have the best backyard to play in, both at the ropes course and Southland in general’’.

David has worked for Adventure Southland for over a decade and has a wide skill-set that is utilised right across the business.

Whilst studying a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation at SIT, he was offered a position as a climbing instructor at the old Stadium Southland, where he spent most nights climbing.

From there he carried out work experience for Adventure Southland and after completing his degree was employed full time.

David has worked in a variety of roles, including youth mentoring for some of the business’ government contracts for youth development.

‘‘We run a few different programmes in this area now, but at the time he was working one-onone mentoring with children under Oranga Tamariki supervision,’’ Kristin says.

‘‘In the last few years he has taken on a training role within our industrial sector.

‘‘He teaches working at heights, confined spaces, and first aid to tradespeople, theatre workers and anyone else needing these skills across the country.’’

David is passionate about the outdoors and enjoys being out and amongst it.

‘‘He is an avid climber, kayaker, mountaineer, tramper and skiier, says Kristin.

‘‘Basically, if it’s outdoors, he will do it. He goes on school camps, he takes ropes course groups, he tutors an outdoor paper at SIT, and when he has spare time, he volunteers for LandSAR.’’

Amy and Will also have significant experience in the industry, both working at Adventure Southland for over 10 years. Amy is the managing director of the business and an amazing programme developer.

She works with clients to tailor programmes to their specific needs, Kristin says.

‘‘She has a heap of skill and experience in the field, so if you manage to get her out of the office and instructing your group, you’re pretty lucky.

‘‘Amy’s previous experience also includes working as a Cadet and then later as a Mate on Spirit of New Zealand. She also volunteers with the Bluff Ambulance.’’

Kristin has a background in graphic design and is involved in the administration and marketing side of the business. Together the very experienced team agree that the variety of work, the locations they work in and their clients, make the business very enjoyable to work within.

‘‘We have so many activities on offer, including climbing, caving, abseiling, kayaking, alpine and bush skills,’’ Kristin says.

‘‘No two days are ever the same. We get to play in some of the most beautiful parts of Southland and Otago, and often get to give students experiences they would never otherwise have. It’s great to see a student’s face light up when they achieve something they thought was too hard.’’

The team are taking on an apprentice in the new year, who was a work experience student on the Gateway programme.

They are looking forward to the experience and Kristin says he will get hands-on experience in the industry as well as complete qualifications through the business.

As a business, Adventure Southland provides an environment of safety and support for those wishing to explore their limitations. It has three branches – education, recreation and industrial.

Our education branch deals mostly with schools; facilitating or instructing on school camps, assessing unit stands on the ropes course (high ropes, low ropes, adventure-based learning), and instructing at a tertiary level, says Kristin.

‘‘Our recreational branch is more for teams, families, friends etc who want to go on an adventure or have a go on the challenge ropes course,’’ she says.

The on-site facilities are well suited for corporate team building sessions, birthday parties, sports teams’ break-ups, or if someone just wants to bring the family out for an hour or two. They have a couple of big camps to run each year, including the Lions Leadership camp scheduled for April next year, and are developing a few more for 2019.

‘‘Our instructors can take you and your group for an adventure, whether you have some skills you want to learn or brush up on, or just want to get out and about, but need some help doing it.

‘‘We also have a couple of contracts with the Ministry of Social Development and Oranga Tamaraki, working with youth in and around the outdoors.’’

Kristin says the third branch of Adventure Southland, Industrial, completes work at heights and trains others to work safely at heights.

‘‘Will is our Industrial Co-ordinator and works right across the country using his broad knowledge and high level of experience to deliver training and unit standards for height safety and confined spaces.

‘‘As the head of our Rope Access Team, he often completes industrial maintenance and cleaning, including clearing gutters at Alliance, repainting steel work in the roof of Splash Palace, re-sealing the museum roof, cleaning inside manufacturing plants etc.

‘‘We also sell the gear to carry out the job. ‘‘Because our staff are actually using the gear on a daily basis, they know what is practical for your staff to use and can teach you how it works.’’

Adventure Southland provides opportunities to a wide range of clients, from families and school groups to tradespeople requiring training, and large-scale industrial plants requiring scheduled maintenance.

‘‘Our ropes course is open to the public and caters to people of all ages and abilities,’’ says Kristin.

‘‘We also do corporate team building, and love the opportunity to get work teams out of their comfort zone and up on the ropes.’’

Kristin says they would really like to see more people of all ages and abilities taking advantage of the fantastic facility situated on their back doorstep.

‘‘We were established as a resource for Southlanders to use.

‘‘We are open to the public and would love to see more members of the community utilising the high ropes, pushing themselves and getting excited about the outdoors.’’