Lessons in life and business

I've just returned from a business networking and professional development retreat in Queenstown, New Zealand. The forum group I travelled with is part of the Sydney chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO). Once again I was roped into organising the event after delivering memorable outings to the Gold Coast last year, and to Wellington in 2023. Earlier in the year I’d unsuccessfully tried to lobby the group to visit Far North Queensland. This struck me as a far warmer location than Queenstown in June.

However, despite the time of year, we enjoyed partly sunny, albeit, cold conditions most days. We also based ourselves at a luxurious homestead near Arrowtown, a holiday home owned by a forum member’s relatives. Our first evening kicked off with night luge rides at Skyline, a tourism complex overlooking Queenstown, before retiring to a private dining room. Here we were joined for dinner by an impressive guest speaker I’d secured via an old contact in Wellington.

We spent four days learning from some extraordinary speakers, including Jim Boult on our first night. He’s the former mayor of Queenstown (and former CEO of Christchurch Airport and the iconic Shotover Jet Group). The following day we heard from Olivier Ravel (former owner of PDL, a regional shipping company), before Jo Eddington, an incredibly talented serial entrepreneur, joined us for dinner on our final night in town. 

On our second day we based ourselves at the spectacular Kamana Lakehouse. I’d secured a meeting room for the day that offered floor to ceiling windows and an open deck with stunning views of Lake Wakatipu. We later dined at The Nest, the Lakehouse’s onsite restaurant. I can honestly say the venison I ordered was one of the best game meals I’ve ever had.

As a group we also took time out to enjoy a few of Queenstown's classic tourist attractions. Highlights included a rather tame Zipline ride in the Kawarau Gorge and a phenomenal indoor skydiving session. This was a last minute change of plan after a scheduled day flight to Mt Cook was cancelled due to inclement weather in the mountains. Let’s just say indoor skydiving is a lot harder than it looks. Although the “high flight” I took with an instructor was truly awesome. Enjoy the video!

We also enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the lakefront at the Boatshed Cafe, before bearding our flight back to Sydney on Saturday. Our departure was delayed. As a result, we took off over the Southern Alps at the Sun was starting to set. The snow clad peaks simply glowed in the sun’s golden rays. It was a spectacular end to a superb event. It would be fair to say I’ve been permanently appointed as my forum’s annual retreat organiser. I’m not sure how I’ll top this week’s effort.

One final story. One member of our group, Daniel (that’s him on the Zipline above) recently.y became a Platinum One frequent flyer with Qantas. His status was recognised on our flight in spectacular style. We were handed snacks upon boarding, logo emblazoned key rings mid-flight and handed a bottle of wine to take with us as we left the aircraft. The youngest member of our group was simply blown way by the experience. It was fun to see it through the eyes of a newbie after decades of top status flying.