Richard & Colin

Richard has called Waiheke home for more than 25 years. With a background in hospitality and horticulture, he has spent much of his life travelling and sailing, including extensive offshore sailing throughout the Pacific and Atlantic.

Since 2008, Richard has been closely involved in the ownership and management of Visit Waiheke, one of the island's established accommodation businesses. More than 15 years welcoming visitors to Waiheke has given him an intimate knowledge of the island, its vineyards, restaurants, beaches and people.

Richard is also a competitive sailor, racing his yacht, which he co-owns. He has built a reputation as a formidable racer.

Richard enjoys getting to know his guests and shaping each experience around their interests — sharing the Waiheke he knows rather than simply following a set itinerary.

Colin's working life began after attending Outward Bound at Anakiwa, when he helped establish an export business and, in his early twenties, began travelling extensively throughout the South Pacific.

That early connection with the Pacific led to a career in the jewellery industry, from learning the diamond trade on Norfolk Island and owning a duty-free jewellery business in Port Vila, to later running a substantial Auckland manufacturing business supplying the New Zealand and Australian markets. More recently, he specialised in Tahitian pearls, creating jewellery for clients around the world.

Adventure has always run alongside business. In the 1980s, Colin and his wife spent three years sailing the South Pacific aboard their 37-foot yacht, Seahawk, dividing their time between New Zealand and the islands.

After more than 30 years on Waiheke, Colin now brings together a lifetime of Pacific travel, business and island living with an easy, personal style of hosting — sharing not simply the places to visit, but the stories and people that make Waiheke special.