“Kia ora, he uri tēnei nō Taranaki Maunga, nō Te Tai Tokerau hoki.”
A proud descendant of Taranaki Maunga and Te Tai Tokerau, Tamati was just 17 when he made the decision to leave the North Island and move south to study Adventure Tourism Management at QRC.
Grounded in his whakapapa and driven by a desire to uplift others, QRC graduate Tamati Te Wai has built a career shaped by people, connection and purpose.
From Queenstown’s adventure tourism industry and Ngāi Tahu Tourism to his current role in private wealth and financial services, his path has taken unexpected turns, but the values behind it have remained firmly the same.
Having never been to the South Island, Tamati made a decision that would introduce him not only to an industry he loved, but also to friendships, experiences and lessons that would continue to shape him more than a decade later.
Queenstown’s reputation for adventure really excited me, there were no opportunities like it, so for me it was a no-brainer.”
A Challenge That Built Connection
Among Tamati’s strongest memories from QRC is The Mule, QRC’s immersive leadership programme through the backcountry surrounding Moke Lake and Ben Lomond Station. Over two demanding days, students carried heavy packs across rugged terrain, tackled river crossings and climbed through snowy alpine conditions.
Everyone made a real effort to lift each other up throughout the experience, and that fostered some amazing friendships which have stood the test of time. Safe to say, we learnt a lot about ourselves and about each other on that trip
That sense of connection would follow him into his first steps in the tourism industry.
Alongside his friend and fellow Adventure Tourism student George, Tamati landed his 9-month internship as a Luge Operator at Skyline Queenstown.
We couldn’t believe our luck when they hired the pair of us. Everything turned into a two-man operation at Skyline.
From Skyline, their careers began to take shape across Queenstown’s tourism industry. George went on to become a jet boat driver with KJet, while Tamati joined Shotover Jet before eventually working alongside the wider team at Ngāi Tahu Tourism.
Working in Queenstown was everything I hoped it would be. I genuinely loved the industry. I always thought my career would be in tourism, particularly working with hapū and iwi and showcasing our taonga and our culture to the world.
A Taonga That Still Carries Meaning
One of Tamati’s proudest moments from his tourism career came during his time with Ngāi Tahu Tourism.
In recognition of his contribution to the business, his senior management team presented him with a pounamu sourced from Lake Wakatipu near the Dart River.
The pounamu was presented in recognition of my contribution to the business. It is a taonga I still wear today.
An Unexpected Change of Direction
Then COVID-19 arrived.
With international borders closed and tourism brought to a standstill, Tamati found himself facing a career decision he had never expected to make.
He chose to take a leap into financial services. Five years later, what began as an unexpected detour has developed into a rewarding new career.
Tamati now works at Craigs Investment Partners in Tauranga, as part of a Private Wealth advisory team, and is proud to have completed his New Zealand Certificate in Financial Advice.
Moving from tourism into financial services was a major career change, and achieving the qualification was an important milestone in my professional development.
On the surface, adventure tourism and private wealth might appear worlds apart. Tamati sees a much stronger connection.
The interpersonal skills, confidence and critical thinking that I gained throughout my journey at QRC and in tourism have been central to my success in finance.
Built for More Than One Career
Looking back, Tamati believes one of QRC’s greatest strengths was that it prepared him for more than a single role or industry.
Alongside tourism-focused learning, he was exposed to lecturers and industry professionals with experience across accounting, law, entrepreneurship, business and leadership. Learning from people who had built and led successful businesses also gave Tamati the confidence to acknowledge his own skills.
That broader understanding of how organisations operate would become particularly valuable when his career took a turn into finance.
Looking back, learning about the many different parts of a successful business gave me a lot of confidence and depth of understanding to go forth.
He Tāngata: Connections Are Everything
If Tamati could offer one piece of advice to current QRC students, it would be to make the most of the opportunities happening around them, particularly the ones that sit outside their comfort zone.
Don’t skip out on those extracurricular activities and be open to trying new things. You never know who you might meet, and you never know what new passion or opportunity may reveal itself through the experience.
More than anything, he encourages students to value the relationships they build along the way.
Connections are everything. The people you meet along the road are important. They help shape you and your experiences, so treat them well, and be kind to yourself most of all
It is a philosophy Tamati sums up through a whakataukī that has particular significance to him:
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Looking Forward, Giving Back
Today, Tamati is focused on continuing to grow his career while working towards something deeply important to him: improving financial literacy for Te Iwi Māori and anyone looking to strengthen their financial position.
Travel has also continued to shape Tamati’s perspective. From the Middle East and Southeast Asia to Europe and Polynesia, experiencing different cultures, communities and ways of life have sparked new ideas about what could one day bring him back to tourism.
New Zealand has a unique landscape and story to share with the world. I would love to bring some of my insights home and explore how we can create distinctive tourism experiences that celebrate who we are.
For now, those ideas remain conversations with friends and his partner, but perhaps not forever.
We’re often plotting and scheming about what kind of new offering we could one day bring to the tourism market in Aotearoa. Who knows…watch this space!
From leaving the North Island for the first time at just 17, to building a career in Queenstown’s adventure tourism industry and later forging a new path in private wealth, Tamati’s journey has taken him in directions he never could have predicted.
Yet through every chapter, the foundations have remained the same: strong relationships, meaningful connection and a drive to create opportunities that uplift others. Wherever the next chapter leads, it is clear that people and purpose will remain at the heart of Tamati’s journey.
