We employ a small team of local wilderness guides who are dedicated to New Zealand’s environment, culture, history and heritage. Your expert guides are passionate about the Fiordland area and in particular the Hollyford Valley, they are extremely knowledgeable about the flora, fauna, geology and geography as well as the rich Maori and pioneering history of this spectacular part of New Zealand.

Your guides are natural leaders and story tellers, and with 2 guides to a maximum group size of 16, often less, they are able to deliver an unrivalled level of individualised interpretation and guiding. Hollyford Track is a personalised experience and with your guide sharing their intimate knowledge of the area with you, it’s a wonderful way to explore the very essence of New Zealand’s wilderness.

Meet your team of friendly professional Wilderness Guides

Bard Crawford - Senior Wilderness Guide

As the senior guide now into his ninth season, you could say that Bard is addicted to the Hollyford Valley. His enthusiasm for the area and its history, both human and natural, is infectious. After three days in his company you will find yourself totally adsorbed in the fascinating flora and fauna of this spectacular part of the world, as well as finding yourself an expert on Bard’s favourite subject - the legendary Davy Gunn.

Forever the storyteller Bard enjoys sharing many a tale of endeavour, discovery, hope and hardship of early pioneer life in the Hollyford Valley. Bard is also a keen gardener and keeps the lodges supplied with a stash of fresh herbs, in return for the lodge hosts making his favourite desserts!

As your average kiwi bloke his spare time is spent with his beloved family and the family’s ferocious dwarf rabbit, Stuart, as well as exploring, hunting and adding to his already extensive knowledge of this area.

A trip down the Hollyford with Bard will be a journey you’ll never forget.

Tom Ives – Senior Wilderness Guide

Tom grew up in the Nelson area, but has since spent time in Central Otago and Dunedin.  He has always had a keen interest in the outdoors and thinks nothing is better than being out roaming in the bush.

Tom’s love of the environment took him to the University of Otago to undertake a degree in Botany and Ecology.  After finishing, he spent a summer working in Fiordland before coming on board with Hollyford Track as one of the Wilderness guides.  He has experienced a lot of what this area has to offer and has developed a real passion for this part of New Zealand. He is really looking forward to some further exploring, and sharing the experience with others.

Tom enjoys a good read, a ‘cuppa’, and hanging out with family and friends.  He also dabbles in the guitar, crochet and photography.

Brendan Barry - Wilderness Guide

Brendan has a long association with the Hollyford Valley with his family, since his grandfather, involved in Martins Bay and owning a ‘Bach’ in the bay. Many a moon ago Brendan’s granddad guided people on Hollyford Track so it runs deep in the family. Brendan has spent a lot of time in the area not only guiding but in his own time tramping, fishing, kayaking and exploring.

Brendan has travelled the South Island extensively in various as a tour guide roles, biking, skiing, kayaking and exploring. He has also travelled overseas working as a kayak guide, ski guide, bus and truck driving, drilling holes in Australia, and even a brief university career!

He rates the Hollyford Valley as one of the best places on earth he's been so far, ‘everything is more dramatic down here – the weather, the mountains, the sea, the raging rivers - it has a much more elemental feel about it’.

Ashley Murphy - Wilderness Guide / Operations Assistant

Ashley is a local Queenstown lad, and with growing up in the Southern Lakes area he has naturally acquired a passion for the great outdoors. His first introduction to outdoors pursuits was as a 2 year old taking to the ski slopes of the local ski fields.

From that moment there was no turning back, he was hooked!! Now days he spends his winters as a professional trainer for ski instructors at a local ski field and the occasional winter overseas and has spent over five seasons in the Fiordland area guiding and looking after lodges in the National Park.

As well skiing Ashley also spends a lot of time tramping, mountain biking and running. He really enjoys being in the company of others, relaxing with a guitar close at hand.

Your friendly team of experienced lodge hosts are there to ensure your time in the lodges is as memorable as your time on the track. Your lodge hosts all have extensive backgrounds in the hospitality industry and are experienced chefs and entertainers, they will welcome you into your comfortable lodges as if they were welcoming you into their own homes

With your well appointed lodges, fine cuisine and sociable attentive hosts you’ll be more than comfortable in your ‘home away from home’ – Pyke River and Martins Bay Lodges.

Meet your team of friendly professional Lodge Hosts

Michele Rutherford - Lodge Host (Pyke River Lodge)

Michele has recently come on board with us at Hollyford Track after several seasons working on other tracks in the region. Michele is based at Pyke River Lodge and is passionate about sharing the incredible beauty of Fiordland with others.

Considering herself fortunate to have been able to stay at home during the years her children were growing up, Michele now enjoys providing a home away from home for our walkers in the depths of the Hollyford Valley. Every day she is amazed at the diversity of the area and in her own words comments “from the tiniest lichen to the vastness of the night sky there is this huge wonderful symphony going on so perfectly and with no assistance needed from man. It's a wonderful thing to be part of! You simply MUST come and be part of it yourself to see what I mean!”

Spare time finds Michele enjoying time at her Kaka Point crib / batch, gardening, photography, cooking, tramping and keeping in touch with family and friends. When she is not on the track Michele lives in Bluff with her two Burmese cats.

David Ware - Lodge Host (Pyke River Lodge)

David has had an interesting and vastly varied career, and has worked as fireman in the UK, a lifeguard on cruise ships and16 years with Air NZ on international routes. David has lived in Queenstown for the past 18 years setting up speciality cafes and coffee roasting as well as teaching at the local polytechnic in its hospitality and barista studies. David is also a qualified ski instructor and spends his winters at a local ski field in the Ski Patrol department.

David believes that his past endeavours and his love of the outdoors are a perfect combination that suits him well as a lodge host at Pyke River Lodge on the Hollyford Track. David is really excited about being able to utilise his hospitality skills and make the most of his love for the outdoors, especially the mountains, in such a spectacular location.

Liz van Beek - Lodge Host (Martins Bay Lodge)

Liz has been wandering about the northern hemisphere for some time, but there is nothing quite like the lure of New Zealand bush to make her want to come home. Therefore when the opportunity arose to work in the ‘World Hertiage’ area of New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park and specifically amongst the stunning flora and fauna of the Hollyford Valley, the tickets home were booked.

Having worked as a rafting and caving guide for over a decade, Liz has now turned to her next love, eating! Well cooking actually, eating is the prize at the end, while still having the ability to maintain her contact and love with the land. Being a lodge host on Hollyford Track enables Liz to combine both in a unique way and also give Liz the perfect opportunity to combine her other interests of photography, tramping, climbing, New Zealand history and having a creative outlet.

Liz is based mainly at Martins Bay Lodge and is always ready to greet you with a smile and hot brew after your adventures in the wilderness.

Caroline Rosoman and Libby Spears - Lodge Hosts (Ryke River Lodge & Martins Bay Lodge)

Libby and Caroline are new to the lodges this year having travelled to New Zealand from the United Kingdom.  They arrived in Queenstown for a ski season and couldn’t be tempted back home and are staying put becoming lodge hosts for Hollyford Track.  The two girls met whilst working in a French chalet and are extremely keen to transfer some of these skills over to the New Zealand bush!

Their love of cooking, baking and the great outdoors make this the ideal location for them and they are eager to explore in depth one of the finest walks the Southern Hemisphere has to offer.

Over your 3 days / 2 nights with us you will get to know your guides and lodge hosts very well but there are other staff you may also meet along the way such as your talented jet boat driver, personable shuttle host, proficient reservations manager or skilled operations manager, who are all just as gracious, dedicated and professional in the roles they play as part of your Hollyford Track experience. Behind the scenes there is also a dedicated team that aren’t seen but also play a part in your memorable experience on Hollyford Track.

Meet the rest of your friendly professional team

Andrea Schipper – Office / Reservations Manager

Andrea is our Office and Reservations Manager, the hard worker behind the scenes keeping everything and everyone in check! Most of our guest will meet Andrea on the phone or via email as their first point of contact with Hollyford Track, and she is the one that makes sure that all of the details of your booking and trip are taken care of.

Andrea come to Hollyford Track after years of globe trotting, working in the hospitality industry in locations such as South Africa, Germany, England, Dubai, Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as the United States of America and Canada. Her vast hospitality experience is courtesy of working in a variety of roles including at a busy 650 bed airport and conference hotel, a private game lodge, a boutique Caribbean hideaway, and a 2 Michelin Star hotel and restaurant - to name but a few.

Andrea and her husband moved to New Zealand in April 2008 as part of their continued exploration of the globe and they have made Queenstown their home. The great outdoors, accompanied by dog ‘Chance’ and camera always close at hand, remain Andrea’s passion and they so easy to access from Queenstown.

Working for Hollyford Track means Andrea can combine her career with her outdoors passion.

Garry Wright – Jet Boat Driver

Garry’s love affair with the Hollyford Valley started over 25 years ago when he first visited in 1982, rafting down the upper Pyke River, Hollyford River and Lake McKerrow to Martins Bay. Since then he has been back many times, enjoying the great outdoors – one of his many passions.

Over the years, Garry has been actively involved with Hollyford Track with building, renovating and maintenance projects of Martins Bay Lodge and Pyke Lodge, to make them what they are today.

These days, if Garry is not busy driving the jet boat collecting our guests and telling ‘tall tails’, he can be found keeping himself entertained with the ongoing maintenance work at the lodges.

Shaun Bilham – Operations Manager / Jet Boat Driver

Shaun has a huge amount of work, tourism and hospitality experience in Fiordland and has explored the area extensively. Working with New Zealand Fish & Game originally introduced Shaun to the Fiordland area and this work took him into the more remote parts. A stint managing overnight vessels out of Doubtful Sound enabled him to explore the Fiords in detail. Shaun has also owned a café in Te Anau and well as spent a season as Lodge Host for Hollyford Track at Martins Bay.

This is Shaun’s second season with Hollyford Track and enjoys his new Operations Manager role as it allows him to combine his strong work ethic with his love of entertaining and a freedom to continue to explore this special part of Fiordland.

Shaun has an avid addiction for fly fishing, hunting, diving and photography, and home is Manapouri, a sleepy lakeside village that provides easy access to the outdoors lifestyle he prefers to lead.

The Hollyford Valley has become a second home to Shaun and he believes many of his passions are at their best in this valley. Shaun feels privileged to work in such a majestic wild and isolated wilderness, he relishes sharing it and being part of our guests Hollyford Track experience, and finds any excuse he can to get into the valley to mix with our guests.

Mick Holzmann – General Manager

Mick spent his first 20 years in the ‘big city’ but, like many kiwis when young, the call of adventure eventually drew him overseas. What was meant to be 6 months extended leave turned into 5 years of extensive travel through Asia, Europe and Africa. These diverse experiences meant Mick’s now needed certain criteria to consider any future opportunities and these included the likes of wilderness playgrounds, dramatic mountains, winter snow, the ocean and characters of interest to name a few.

It was this list of tick boxes that eventually brought Mick back to New Zealand and South to the Otago and Southland areas and what he believes is some of the best areas in the world. The next 18 years were spent working in the ‘playground’ of what the Southern Lakes is all about, raft and canoe guiding, heli-skiing and jet boating.

9 years with Dart River Jet Safaris up the beautiful Dart River Valley in Mt Aspiring National Park had Mick thinking ‘it’s going to take something pretty special to beat this.’ Little did he know that just over the hill in the remote and stunning Hollyford Valley, a mangers position was going to become available on Hollyford Track. When he did find out and subsequently get the role he just couldn't believe his luck - untouched wilderness, dramatic alpine mountains, deserted beaches and ocean – what he had was ‘pretty bloody good’ but this is ‘even bloody better’.

The ability to mix the enjoyment of a spectacular natural environment with the opportunity to host and share it with people from all walks of life and from every corner of the earth it leaves Mick stating ‘it simply doesn't get any better than this!’

Dzin Alekzander – Marketing Manager

Dzin has lived in Queenstown for the past 5 years and having grown up mainly in Christchurch he spent a lot of holiday time in Queenstown and Wanaka, therefore the chance to move here permanently was one he jumped at.

He originally moved to Queenstown to take up the Marketing Manager role for Shotover Jet and this quickly expanded to incorporate the same role for Hollyford Track and Dart River Jet Safaris which along with Shotover Jet for the past 5 years he has now done for 4 and 3 years respectively. Prior to these roles Dzin’s experience included tourism destination marketing, white water raft and snowboard guide roles and 3 ½ years as a medic in the New Zealand Army.

Dzin went to the University of Otago in Dunedin, NZ and also spent a year at Otaru University of Commerce in Otaru, Japan and has 2 degrees, a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing Management and a Bachelor of Physical Education in Exercise Prescription and Management. He has also travelled overseas for 3 years backpacking around UK, Europe, Scandinavia, USA, Middle East and Africa and rates his travels as the greatest life experience and education he will ever have.

In his spare time Dzin loves cricket, mountain biking and snowboarding and has limited success in his trout fishing endeavours. Having an outdoors disposition means he has a natural attraction to Hollyford Track and despite just recently being married and having his first child due any day he does like to get into the valley whenever possible and loves the diversity and sheer drama of this spectacular area.

Tane Evans – Sales Manager

Originally a farm boy from Southland, Tane now calls Arrowtown home and has lived there for the last 10 years, though growing up he spent a lot of time in Arrowtown as his family has one of town’s original holiday ‘cribs’.

Tane has been the Sales Manager for Hollyford Track for the last 4 years and has a wealth of tourism sales experience also being the Sales Manager for Shotover Jet for the past 7 years and Dart River Jet Safaris for the past 3 plus various sales roles previous to this.

He graduated from Lincoln University, Christchurch, NZ in 1994 with a Bachelor of Commerce in Tourism before heading overseas travelling for 4 years around UK, Europe, USA and Africa. He returned to settle in Arrowtown as he enjoys the community orientation of the town, the laid back lifestyle and the easy access to his hobbies of choice - golf, skiing and dirt-bike trail riding.

Tane is recently engaged and a new Dad so likes to make the most of his time with family.

Spending a lot of time away as part of his role Tane never grows tired of the reactions of absolute awe he receives when presenting Hollyford Track to suppliers.