Donuts on the lake
One couple’s combined love for donuts and boats led them to a ‘first of its kind’ for New Zealand – Donutboats.
James and Laurel Kells, who live in Taupo¯ , had an idea to start their own tourism business in January last year.
Living behind a kayak rental business in Acacia Bay, and watching people head out on them, first sparked their passion to get into the tourism game.
‘‘We found out that wasn’t practical so we thought about setting up a paleo donut business.’’
But after falling pregnant and being sick for four months the thought of donuts were off the cards.
Then, when Laurel was 37 weeks pregnant, James was injured in a bonfire accident and ended up in hospital for weeks with severe burns from above his knees to his toes.
He had skin graft surgery and while he was lying in bed in the hospital, scrolling Facebook, an ad about Donutboats popped up.
‘‘Once we saw them we knew,’’ Laurel said. ‘‘It was the perfect combination of donuts and boats. It was just such a random sequence of events that led us to them, so we just ran with it.
‘‘We would never have come up with this on our own but we took it as a good thing.’’
The following year consisted of figuring out what they needed to do, getting lots of consents, and eventually, buying the boats.
‘‘It took much longer than what we thought it would take [and] it cost way more than what we expected,’’ Laurel said.
With the process taking a lot of effort, Laurel said they were probably a bit naı¨ve about it all – but also said it could be seen as a good thing.
‘‘We were naı¨ve but I think it’s great that we were naı¨ve, otherwise we wouldn’t have done it.’’
The bright pink Donutboats are unique, with a battery-powered motor, a cabanastyle roof, a travel speed of 5 knots, and a round table in the centre with bench seats around it. I love the round table. It means people are able to enjoy wine, cheese, and just connect with each other,’’ Laurel said.