Outside The Box
It's back, our third annual awards honouring the essential human contribution to the way we travel, both here and abroad. This year, following T+L's expansion to New Zealand, we've reached across the Tasman to include the most imaginative figures from Kiwi tourism.
1. John Sax
Founder and owner, Treetops Lodge and Estate, Rotorua, New Zealand.
Innovation A long-term commitment to a luxury retreat.
The low-down John Sax had a dream. He wanted to create a place that would do justice to the wonders of the New Zealand wilderness. That place is Treetops Lodge and Estate, outside of Rotorua on the North Island. Such was his commitment to achieving his dream that it took Sax 16 years to build Treetops into what it is today, a world-class luxury lodge in managed private wilderness. In his first year of ownership, Sax planted 77,000 trees on the valley estate. That level of detail, concern and care for the environment continued through to the final fit-out of the stone and wood lodge. Today, six years after opening Treetops, the lodge, and the 1000-hectare estate in which it sits, is feted worldwide as a cutting-edge example of ecologically sustainable tourism and luxury. Notably, Sax is the only New Zealander to own a top-tier Kiwi lodge.
On his philosophy "I hope that people who come here will get a fresh perspective on life and perhaps have time to think about the things that really matter, such as family, friends and relationships."
On the New Zealand way "We wanted to offer a unique experience that you could only get here. And that encompasses largely New Zealand produce, its food and wine, and an assortment of adventures you could only have here that move guests to explore the wonders of nature."
Treetops took more than a decade and a half to build. Why? "I wasn't in a hurry. We wanted something beautiful, something that would do justice to the area. It had to be right if we were to inspire those who come here to feel a little more environmentally responsible."
treetops.co.nz
2. Rachel and Nick Hannaford
Founders and owners, LifeTime Private Retreats, Kangaroo Island.
Innovation Thoughtful hospitality in a very remote location.
The low-down Rachel and Nick Hannaford spent much of their childhood on the family farm above the glorious white sands of Snellings Beach on South Australia's Kangaroo Island. There, they learnt about freedom, about fun, food and how nature soothes and restores. Sitting around the dinner table they learnt about conversation and friendship. As young adults, they went off in different directions to hone their hospitality skills. Then, predating the acclaimed Southern Ocean Lodge on the other side of the island by four years, they returned to the area to put all they had learnt into practice at LifeTime Private Retreats.
What you do at Lifetime Private Retreats? "Basically it is three perfectly positioned and thoughtfully furnished homes – Cliff House, Sky House and Stone House– overlooking Snellings Beach at Middle River. The reality is a magical experience that enthrals those who find their way there," says Nick.
How so? "You have to slow down on Kangaroo Island. It's an opportunity to buy back time, to reconnect with yourself and your loved ones."
What's your role then? "We truly tailor-make the stay for our guests. Things like music from one of their favourite performers on the sound system, or their favourite cake in the oven when they arrive. Or setting up a tent on the beach and then delivering a picnic."
So the food experience is a key LifeTime aspect? "Not many places can offer dinner amid the boughs of a 150-year-old fig tree but we do. You can also have a barbecue on the beach in front of the property in our own taverna – it was the boat shed. And we serve dinner by candlelight in our shearing shed. Rachel is committed to fresh ingredients, simply and beautifully cooked and presented."
life-time.com.au
3. Ian Johnstone
Founder and owner, Maria Island Walk.
Innovation Establishing a tourism product with big principles.
The low-down Ian Johnstone, construction engineer, decided he had had enough of the short-term thinking of the rat race. Johnstone's solution was to create Australia's first island-based walk on Maria Island, seven kilometres off the east coast of Tasmania. He knew that in Maria Island, a place blessed with an abundance of beauty, history, climate, wildlife and only two permanent human residents, he had found what he had been looking for: an island of tranquillity. But Johnstone, known for his unstinting passion and persistence, also wanted to create something he was proud of, a business based on solid principles.
On Maria Island's appeal "It's a place where time has stood still over the past 100 years. All the different eras of Tasmanian history – the Aboriginal history, the explorers, the convicts, pastoralists – are here."
The importance of values in tourism "We wanted to do the right thing on all levels – corporate, environmentally, socially. This place demanded that. People appreciate it even if they don't know much about it. They sense it."
The walk "It is a journey of discovery. During the four days you discover lots of things about the island, history, Tasmania, food and wine. You also discover lots about yourself when you give yourself the time and space to slow down and walk. People take home new perspective and knowledge."
On the importance of local knowledge "You can't beat it. Nothing is too much trouble for our guides. We also deliver an authentic Tasmanian experience using local food, wine and produce for every meal. Essentially, we do a three-course dinner party each night in the wild. Not bad, eh?"
mariaislandwalk.com.au
4. Jim Berardo
Owner, Berardo's restaurants in Noosa, Queensland.
Innovation Establishing the Noosa Food and Wine Festival.
The low-down Jim Berardo fell in love with the Queensland town of Noosa the first time he walked through the national park located there. A health-care executive from New York, Berardo was always intensely interested in fine food and wine. He brought his passions together when he retired to Noosa and opened Berardo's Restaurant and Bar with his partner Greg O'Brien.
The two opened the more casual venue Berardo's Bistro on the Beach in 2002. A Celebration of Australian Food and Wine –Noosa Style was their next project. Six years after its inception, the festival attracts more than 15,000 visitors over three days in May. Most importantly for our purposes, it has cemented Noosa's reputation for fine food and produce.
Why start the festival? "It was our way of highlighting this beautiful region's food and produce to the rest of Australia. We also wanted to create a forum for the discussion of Australian food and wine knowing that most food education is hands-on."
How did you achieve that? "Our festival is different to others. You can come and eat, of course. All of Australia's top chefs have been here at some stage over the past five years. But you can also come to learn by joining in a small class, or you can go exploring along our food trails."
How has the festival affected Noosa? "When we started there were little pockets of excellence with someone producing chemical-free tomatoes here or selling hand-picked lettuce leaves there. Now, there's an entire industry producing the finest regional produce in Australia."
celebrationofaustralianfoodandwine.comberardos.com.au
5. John Borghetti
Executive general manager, Qantas.
Innovation A fresh approach for the national carrier's look and feel.
The low-down Under his stewardship, Borghetti has driven the rebuilding of the Qantas brand, recruiting Australian-born Marc Newson, widely considered the world's most influential designer. It was Borghetti who initiated the revolutionary Newson-designed Qantas first-class lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the subtle and successful update of the airline's flying kangaroo logo. More recently, he's embarked on a mission to enhance service standards with the creation of the Qantas Centre of Excellence for customer service. And another initiative is Qantas's Premium Economy service introduced earlier this year.
On his philosophy "Safety, first, second and always. That said, fundamentally all airlines take you from one place to another. For a long time we were all the same, just with different colour interiors. I wanted passengers to get on a Qantas plane and immediately know where they were. And that meant that Qantas needed a signature look that would be unquestionably Qantas: modern, comfortable and practical."
On Australian-made "If it is world-class and it's Australian, we should be using it. It makes sense to have the best of Australian product on Qantas. Newson is the world's best designer. And that's why we also brought in Akira Isogawa and Collette Dinnigan."
The way ahead "The [new Qantas] A380s, which are totally designed by Marc Newson, are a big step forward. The Qantas Centre of Excellence will be another one. Every Qantas staff member coming into contact with the public will undergo training specific to their job."
qantas.com
6. Phil Sexton
Brewer and winemaker
Innovation Reinventing how Australians think and drink.
Ask Phil Sexton to describe what he does and he says he makes things. And it's true. He makes beer and wine. But that's the short of it. The long of it is that the things he has made while also making wine and beer have helped change how Australians drink, and think about drink. And food and coffee, for that matter, too.
Consider the impact these names have had on how we enjoy our lives: Matilda Bay Brewing Company, Redback, Little Creatures Brewing, Devil's Lair Winery and Vineyard, Dôme Coffees not to mention Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander. And then there's also a lengthy list of bars, cafes and restaurants that have benefited from Sexton's frequent creativity.
Each facet of his career has, in its own manner, changed Australian attitudes to food, wine and hospitality. All for the better, we add. Take, for example, Sexton's latest project, the impressive Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander at Healesville in Victoria's Yarra Valley which turns the concept of a serious winery restaurant and cafe on its head to make it fun, but at the same time delivers great wine, food and service.
giant-steps.com.au
7. Bill Peach
Founder and owner, Bill Peach Journeys.
Innovation Armchair travel and air tours.
Peach introduced a generation of Australians to the wide brown land via their television screens in the 1970s. Satisfied he'd done his job, Peach came up with what was then the novel idea of private air journeys around Australia. "I'd bumped up and down enough of Australia on dusty roads because of the vast distances between sites and experiences to know there had to be a better way, and that was flying," says Peach.
He chartered a Fokker Friendship, mapped out a route that took in Katherine Gorge, Kakadu, Arnhem Land, Darwin and The Kimberley, and took off. Twenty-five years later, that 12-day journey, along with Peach's passion, are the linchpins of the company.
billpeachjourneys.com.au
8. Phil Asker
Founder and owner, The Captain's Choice Tour.
Innovation A new level of luxury travel for Australians.
It is Asker's enterprise at the luxury end of the travel market that has earned him a place on this year's list. That said, Asker's entire career in travel, spanning 35 years, has been fuelled by his love of travel and the desire to explore uncharted territory. "We always did things a bit differently, right from the beginning," says Asker. Such as organising the first public tour into China in the 1970s." And Asker always preferred the in-depth look at a country to a superficial glance. "It gives you a chance to get off the beaten track." Which is why he established the Captain's Choice Tour in 1994 and chartered a Qantas jet to take 190 passengers to Asia and Africa.
captainschoice.com.au
9. Bill Spurr
Tourism promoter.
Innovation Creating major events for South Australia.
For Spurr, the answer to how to get more people to visit South Australia lay in major events. This, after all, was the state with the most successful arts festival in the country, the Adelaide Festival of Arts. It was the state that had gone after the Grand Prix and staged it brilliantly until Victoria took the event for Melbourne. Events, all types of events, that was the way to go to build tourism.
To that end, Spurr set up Australia's first major event organisation, and, boy did they come. Events and tourists, that is. Clipsal 500, the Tour Down Under, the world's first ProTour cycling event outside of Europe, and Tasting Australia. Then there's the International Guitar Festival, the OzAsia Festival, and the Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive.
southaustralia.com
10. Mike and Doug Tamaki
Founders and owners, Tamaki Maori Villages, New Zealand.
Innovation Bringing heritage to life.
Mike and Doug Tamaki's motivation for creating the Tamaki Maori Villages was simple. They wanted to tell their people's stories, and in an authentic way. "We wanted people to know who we are and how, in a deep and meaningful way, that affects what modern New Zealand is," says Mike.
To this end, the Tamaki Maori Villages in Rotorua and Christchurch immerse visitors in Maori culture at pivotal points of history using acting, conversation, art, costumes and food. More than 2.3 million have experienced the shows and feasted on hangi cooking since the Rotorua village opened in 1989, but the Tamaki brothers are neither satisfied nor finished. Auckland is to have its own village by 2011. And the brothers are looking further afield to establish a South Pacific trail linking authentic tourism products through the region. Again, their motivation is simple; to tell stories that create understanding.
maoriculture.co.nz
11. Graeme Avery
Owner, Sileni Estates, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.
Innovation Hawke's Bay wine and food tourism.
Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's oldest established vineyard area. But what is surprising is that food and wine tourism in Hawke's Bay is a creation of the 21st century, thanks largely to Graeme Avery, founder of the much-lauded Sileni Estates.
Having sold his international medical publishing business in the mid-1990s, Avery wanted to make a change and move into fine wine production. He knew and loved Hawke's Bay. But for a variety of reasons the area was languishing. Avery was not about to be deterred by that however.
"I always wanted to create more than a winery," he says of his venture. Sileni Estates with its restaurants, retail and cooking school achieves that aim spectacularly. But as is his way, Avery was thinking beyond the boundaries of his own interests. "There were people and artisans around here producing wonderful goods that had nowhere to sell them."
He did simple things like founding a farmers' market in the area, and got to organising marketing groups such as the Hawke's Bay Food Group and the Wine Country Tourism Association. The local industry responded with gusto. And a destination was born.
hawkesbaynz.com
sileni.co.nz
12. Jenny Hunter
Indigenous tourism operator.
Innovation Kakadu Culture Camp, Northern Territory.
A Kakadu park ranger for more than15 years, Jenny Hunter says tourists were always saying she was the first Aborigine they had met in the national park. "They couldn't understand why the people who owned the land weren't telling the stories," she says. Kakadu Culture Camp at Djarradjin, in the heart of Kakadu, is the Hunter family's way of addressing that anomaly as well as providing an authentic experience for travellers.
There, Jenny, her husband Andy, brothers Fred and Doug and sister Dell, who live in the camp eight months of the year, introduce visitors to their land and life. And since building deluxe safari-type tents, offer a slice of family life, Kakadu-style.
For visitors on overnight stays, everything is supplied. Alongside the accommodation tents, there's a camp kitchen, dining area, solar-heated showers and toilets and even a corner with a range of books and DVDs on Kakadu and Arnhem Land. The Hunters cook a slap-up feast for dinner, there's chat around the campfire and an excursion on Kakadu's only night-time cruise.
kakaduculturecamp.com
13. Charles Carlow
Owner, Bamurru Plains and Sal Salis retreats.
Innovation Wild bush luxury.
Between them, Bamurru Plains and Sal Salis have just 14 rooms. Bamurru Plains, a safari-style retreat on the edge of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, has nine cabins plus amenities. Sal Salis, which opened in October, has just five tents in the sand dunes off Western Australia's famed Ningaloo Reef. Small is the way it has to be, says Charles Carlow, the proprietor of the two retreats. The environment dictates what's possible, and small equals less impact on the environment. And for Carlow, the environment is all. Both properties are the essence of simplicity. The accommodation and the amenities are simply the vantage points from which to view the splendours surrounding them.
bamurruplains.com
salsalis.com.au
14. Simon Currant
Tourism entrepreneur.
Innovation Revitalising Tasmanian tourism.
Simon Currant has been changing the way we travel for more than 30 years. He drove the first wine tourism ventures in the Hunter Valley, NSW and was the first general manager of Hamilton Island, Queensland, before heading to Tasmania where he created Cradle Mountain Lodge out of five bunkrooms and a lounge. A destination took shape. He turned his gaze and wizardry west to Strahan, then a rundown mining town and transformed it into Strahan Village, another Tassie travel icon.
Then Currant decided to do something about Hobart, a city with a spectacular harbour but no cruising business. Hobart Cruises was the answer, integrated with the award-winning Peppermint Bay waterfront development. Now comes the development of the Pumphouse Point site on Lake St Clair. When Currant promises he will turn the art-deco pumphouse into world-class wilderness lodge you believe him.
puretasmania.com.au
15. Simon McArthur
Founder and general manager, Q Station, Sydney.
Innovation Injecting history with new life.
It took nine years and more than $17 million but the indicators are that Q Station has a healthy future as one of Sydney's significant tourism experiences. Q Station is, of course, the historic Quarantine Station on North Head. For more than 150 years, the station was the first port of call for thousands coming to make new lives in this country. But after it ceased operations in the mid-1980s no one much knew what to do with it, until Simon McArthur came along.
McArthur and his partners believed that the station would deliver exactly what was missing from the Sydney tourism inventory – a contemporary experience that was both historical and authentic. "And if you are to make history relevant and entertaining it has to be authentic."
McArthur has succeeded on all fronts with brilliantly recreated accommodation, conference facilities, harbour-front restaurant and tours and theatre that immerses the visitor in the past.
qstation.com.au
16. Justin Hemmes
Chief executive, Merivale.
Innovation Adding style to Sydney's CBD nightlife.
Hemmes says he is not certain about how many Sydney hotels, bars, clubs and restaurants and the rest come under the Merivale umbrella. Twenty? Thirty? "Mmm, maybe somewhere in between," he says.
What is certain is that Hemmes has changed the way Sydney parties. He has injected new life into the city's nightlife. In 2000 with the opening of Establishment on George Street in the CBD, Hemmes introduced the concept of multiple venues and experiences in one site. Est, Hemmesphere, Sushi e, Establishment Bar, Tank Stream Bar, Garden Bar, Tank nightclub, two levels of event spaces and the Establishment Hotel.
His latest project, Ivy, and all that entails – the Den, the Lawn, Mad Cow for starters – employs the Hemmes trademark of cutting-edge design and sensuous style. And then there's the music at his venues, and his own Good Vibrations Festival.
merivale.com
17. Henry van Asch and AJ Hackett
Founders of bungy jumping.
Innovation Adventure tourism in New Zealand.
When AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch met skiing in Wanaka in 1985 they recognised in each other a sense of adventure and fun. "We also shared a love of defying gravity," explains van Asch. Together, Hackett and van Asch turned an ancient island ritual into the modern business of bungy jumping and so kick-started New Zealand's adventure tourism industry.
While it was Hackett who grabbed the headlines with his leap off the Eiffel Tower in 1987, the two friends were united in the direction the business should take.
"We realised within weeks of the [Eiffel] jump that we had to go commercial, otherwise the cowboys would get involved and compromise the safety of the industry," says van Asch. The 20th anniversary of the first commercial bungy jump at Kawarau Bridge outside Queenstown was celebrated last month.
The two friends separated their business interests in 1997, with van Asch taking over the New Zealand operations and Hackett concentrating on the international companies.
But the attraction of bungy jumping remains the same for van Asch.
ajhackett.com
bungy.co.nz
18. Tony Braxton-Smith
Chief executive, Great Southern Rail.
Innovation Luxury rail travel in Australia.
In the four years that Tony Braxton-Smith has been with Great Southern Rail, long-distance train travel has changed beyond measure. Braxton-Smith recently created an entirely new cabin class, the Platinum. Costing almost $500,000 each, the new carriages, which operate on both the Indian Pacific and The Ghan, are twice the size of the previous top-of–the-range cabins with full-sized ensuites and seating that converts to double and twin beds. And Braxton-Smith also oversaw the upgrade of the Adelaide Parklands Terminal and Alice Springs railway station and then allocated a further $4 million for refurbishment of the Overland service between Adelaide and Melbourne.
gsr.com.au
19. Alex van Heeren
Owner, Huka Lodge, New Zealand.
Innovation The definitive New Zealand upscale lodge.
Like all who have seen it, Dutch-born Alex van Heeren fell in love with the natural beauty of the North Island's Waikato River. An entrepreneur with a shipping and banking background, he decided to create something special on New Zealand's longest river. Van Heeren was also determined to get rid of all the rules that had irritated him on his travels.
He demolished the humble 1920s fishing lodge on the site and then set about building the kind of place he believed the world's travellers were ready for. It would take luxury to a new level and it would highlight the best of New Zealand produce, wine and its people. Nothing would be too difficult at Huka Lodge, all things would be possible for the guests. And thus on the banks of rushing waters of the Waikato River a brand was born: the New Zealand luxury lodge.
hukalodge.co.nz
20. John Anderson
Founder, Contiki Holidays.
Innovation creating The modern tour.
John Anderson was 22 and had just left New Zealand when he pinned a note to the noticeboard of the Overseas Visitors Club in Earls Court. It read: "Fifteen countries, 12 weeks, 100 pounds, food kitty 25 shillings a week, departing April 29, only two seats left. Call John." And with that, one of the world's biggest travel companies, Contiki Holidays, was born. The year was 1962 and the young were on the move like never before. Anderson had no burning ambition to build a company. He simply wanted to see Europe and had no money. But instinctively Anderson understood that the youth market was looking for fun and companionship from their travels. And on that basis he pressed on taking his idea for group travel through Scandinavia, the US and Asia to build one of the world's top travel companies. When he sold the business in 1989, it was turning over $150 million and one van had turned into a fleet of 160 coaches, resorts, villas, chateaux, boats and manor houses, and 700 staff around the world.
contiki.com.au
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