MEET THE TEAM

Each member of the Te Waipounamu team is involved because they love the job they do. John Rains is a CEO who can fill any role within his company, his can do attitude is reflected in all the people who work for him, and it is a measure of his standing that they are all good friends. Our team is not a huge one but then we only run tours in New Zealand, this is our land, our speciality and our expertise.

	John Rains & Alison Fitzgerald John founded the company in 1987 and has since found out the only prerequisites needed for the job were mechanical skills, marketing skills, people skills, employer skills, a sense of humour, the occasional ‘ blind eye ‘ and the ability to fix punctures in the rain. Widely travelled in Europe and North America on motorcycles, and enjoys meeting people and loves riding motorcycles. Has recently been seen on a 2008 Triumph Speed Triple. Alison takes care of tour arrangments, marketing, hire and tour enquiries, accommodations, and anything else that comes along and it's 36 years since her first ride on a motorcycle, she can deal with almost anything in this industry.
	Peter & Kate Colwell Retired farmers from inland NSW Australia, who now have over 30 trips to New Zealand under their belts. A sensible approach and sense of humour has made them favourites. Peter's journalistic skill have seen his articles published in Australian and USA motorcycle magazines. Widely travelled on motorcycles in Europe and North America. July will see Peter and Kate off to do a loop of Colorado and the Rockies. Currently Peter and Kate ride a BMW R1200GS.
	Matt Rogers Originally from Dallas Texas, Matt has been in New Zealand since 1985 and even Americans think he’s a local now. A graduate in Commerce Accounting & Computing, Matt's skills are well utilised with the financial management of the company. A busy man with a young family yet Matt manages to give 150 percent managing the day to day business at Te Wai. Widely travelled in North America, Europe and the Unitied Kingdom, Matt recently attended the NEC Show in England representing us with HC Travel. Currently riding a Ducati 996S.
	Reindert Dirksen A Dutchman born in Egypt who speaks as many languages as there are days in the year. One of our most popular guides, he has been coming to New Zealand for the last sixteen years as a guide for the German speaking tours. Reini is a very experienced international traveller, spending only a short time at home each year. A fine connoisseur of New Zealand beer and a lover of old BMW motorcycles of which he has two; an R90S and R75/5 garaged in Rotterdam awaiting his arrival home.
	Laurie Bycroft Dual Sport Specialist, Laurie is a New Zealander who resides in Queensland during the winter. His experience and enthusiasm have made our Tours a real success. Laurie's calm unflappable manner has been a winner with our clients, nothing is a problem for Laurie. An eye for an interesting route and the ability to fix a problem miles from anywhere make him an invaluable member of the team. Has just restored a Suzuki GS1000S as his transport of choice.
	Allan Ladbrook Allan is the unsung hero behind the reliabilty and sweet running of the fleet. Each bike is completely stripped down during the winter so every nook and cranny is greased, lubed and oiled, and his knowledge with BMW motorcycles particularly is unsurpassed. Allan has a long history with motorcycles, raised in Invercargill Allan started out at the young age of 15 riding motorcycles and now has a stable of around 25! Allan's favourite ride at the moment is the Suzuki 650 Vstrom. Happily married to Andrea and surrounded by women, Allan has 2 daughters and 4 granddaughters so you could say he comes to work to hang out with the guys!
	Rex Knight In a large corporation Rex would be designated Customer Services Representative or something along those line. For us he's the very important guy who makes sure you and the bike are prepared and ready to go. Rex is one of those lifelong motorcyclists who when you visit him has a Triumph Trophy in his hallway and a large Honda off roader in the spare bedroom. Living in Christchurch because of work commitments, he also maintains a property on New Zealands wild West Coast when he feels the urge for some solitude. He splits his time between the Auckland and Christchurch offices and is happiest when aboard whatever he can grab from the shop.... He is widely traveled in Australia, Asia, and North America.
	Perry Rees Perry is another of the all rounders which are essential in this type of business. An organised mind and a tenacious grip on details are vital with so many different things on the go. Some people call it multi-tasking, we just call it another day at work. A long history of motorcycles means he can turn a hand to helping out in the workshop and his former position of CEO at Britten Motorcycle Company means he is well travelled and comfortable with the needs of overseas clients. Perry spends his spare time fishing and out and about on his 06 Speed Triple.
	Sheryl Hunter Sheryl has tremendous book keeping skills, a sense of humour, and a great deal of patience that is required to cope with the constant distractions in the office. When she is not busy raising her son Wade, or helping with her family business, Sheryl can be found whizzing around on her Yamaha SRV 250cc of which she is very proud!
	Aidan Hellyer Aidan manages our Auckland depot during the busy summer months and really is the "man of the match" so to speak as Aidan's roll is so variable from motorcycle maintainance to tour guide, he takes it all in his stride. Aidan's favourite ride at the moment is a Triumph Daytona 675 and he likes to go fast! We are still trying to figure out why Aidan wants to work for us, his career back ground is corpoporate (think suits) and yet he's happy to clean and service motorcycles! Aidan is great with the people, from meeting and greeting to helping clients on the road he handles it all extremely well.

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