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Talk to Real People that have been there, done that!
Our Travel Consultants have personally dived & fished the sites, skied the slopes, and stayed in the accommodation we recommend, right throughout the world. They are dedicated to giving great service, and their expertise is second to none. Not to mention the fact that they are passionate about what they do, so you benefit from their first hand experience.
Ron & Christine Blake, Directors & Consultants
Ron and Christine have personally visited, skied, fished and dived at every location we sell, plus quite a few others we don't sell because they don’t meet our standards.
As company directors, they have the job along with the rest of the team of checking out products so they can honestly give you a first hand opinion of the best places to go. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!
They have both skied Whistler/Blackcomb, Sun Peaks, Big White, Silver Star, Apex, Red Mountain, Fernie, Kimberley, Panorama, Kicking Horse, Lake Louise and Sunshine Village in Canada. In the USA they’ve skied Heavenly Tahoe, Vail Resorts, Copper Mountain, Steamboat, Aspen, Snowmass.
As for diving, they have dived in practically every dive destination in the South Pacific plus many in Australia, Micronesia, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Together they’ve logged a combined 12,000 Dives over 28 countries and 36 years of diving experience.
Steve General Manager
 Steve has a diploma in IATA - UFTAA as well as a NZ Certificate in Commerce. He has worked in the NZ travel industry for over 25 years and was appointed General Manager of Dive Fish Snow Travel in March 2010.
Originally part of the dive team, Steve has dived or fished in many South Pacific destinations including Borneo, Tonga, Fiji, Niue, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. One of his favourite trips was to Micronesia where he dived the WWII wrecks of Truk Lagoon and then dived the incredible islands of Palau, which he regards as one of the most beautiful parts of the world. In addition to diving there, he also caught a marlin during a morning fishing charter.
One of his last trips was on the MV Bilikiki, a dive liveaboard in the Solomon Islands, and he highly recommends liveaboards as a way to experience the full underwater potential of a destination. One of the highlights of this trip was diving with a saltwater crocodile.
In 2010 Steve experienced the Canadian resorts of Big White, Silver Star, Sun Peaks and Whistler.
In 2011 he visited 8 of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado and is happy to share his knowledge with anyone heading that way. All this and the day-to-day running of the sales team will certainly keep Steve busy as Dive Fish Snow enters an exciting era of expansion.
Testimonials»
Mike Dive Consultant
 Mike joined Dive Fish Snow in December 2004. He completed two part-time dive courses and is a qualified Open Water Instructor. His overseas diving experience includes liveaboard Dive Trips on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea - Australia, Port Vila - Vanuatu, Beqa Lagoon, Coral Coast and Tokoriki Island in Fiji, the Vava'u and Ha'apai Islands in Tonga, Rottnest Island (WA Australia), the Maldives, Niue and Papua New Guinea.
Mikes most memorable dive thus far is the Shark Encounter dive at Fiji's Beqa Lagoon! His greatest ambition is to dive with large schools of pelagic sharks or marlin and sailfish herding and devouring bait balls. Mike’s Diploma in Travel and Tourism opened doors into the tourism industry, in which he worked for four years before leading to his current position at Dive Fish Snow Travel. Mike’s PADI Open Water Instructor course provided great under water experiences while providing an opportunity to learn more about diving!
Testimonials »
Markus Fishing Consultant
 Markus joined Dive Fish Snow in a sales support role in Feb 2007 after completing his Advanced Travel and Tourism Certificate. In 2010 Markus was appointed as our dedicated Fishing Consultant in recognition of his total passion for the sport. Although, he still moonlights as a dive holiday consultant as well. A mad keen fisherman and an advanced diver, he spends as much time as he can on and in the water. He has logged hundreds of dives in New Zealand and has also dived at Kadavu in Fiji and Vava'u in Tonga. Markus's most memorable holiday experience was snorkelling with humpback whales in Vava'u, "The sheer size and grace of these creatures is amazing!!!"
He realized one of his biggest goals in 2010 to fish the Solomon Islands and experience the abundance of WWII wrecks, not to mention the warm clear water. In April of 2011, Markus joined Mike on a very exciting trip to experience the remote beautiful diving and fishing sites in Papua New Guinea. Markus looks forward to many more South Pacific adventures as well as sharing his knowledge of the best fishing destinations with you.
My Fishing Trip to Solomons 2010 »
Testimonials »
Phil Snow Consultant
 Phil has been in the travel industry for the last 10 years in roles varying from trek guiding in Morocco and Nepal to working as a consultant in NZ's biggest corporate agency looking after travel for goverment ministers and trade delegations. Phil has a Commerce degree, an Iata diploma of tourism and travel, Ski patrol qualifications and is also a qualified sailing instructor and race coach.
Originally from a mountaineering background Phil is a keen telemarker, ski tourer (when his legs hold out) and alpine skiier and spent 3 seasons in France where he managed ski chalets, completed the Haute route and toured extensively through the Haute Savoie region of France.
He has now moved onto discovering the resorts of North America, Canada and Japan where he is enjoying the wide open spaces and lack of lift queues.
Phil has skied most resorts Canada and Colorado. In March 2009 he had one of the best powder days ever in Niseko, Japan and also enjoyed Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen. In March 2010 Phil visited the Mammoth/Tahoe Ski resorts and in 2011 experienced some awesome powder in Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Phil is also a keen diver and after getting his Padi open water in Thailand in 1999 Phil has dived Thailand , Red Sea, Fiji, Australia and all over New Zealand. One of Phils favourite memories was telemarking in thigh deep powder with Al Raine from Sun Peaks 2 weeks after the last snowfall. Trust the locals to find a good spot on the mountain.
Testimonials»
Amy Snow Consultant
 Amy has been in the travel industry for over 7 years now working both in diving and snow travel. After several months break from the industry traveling through America, Amy has rejoined the team here at Dive Fish Snow Travel as a Snow Consultant.
Amy’s expertise have increased incredibly in the ski department over the last couple of years having visited the following ski resorts:
- BC, Canada 2010 - Sun Peaks, Silver Star, Big White & Whistler
- Hokkaido, Japan 2010 - Niseko & Rusutsu
- Colorado, USA 2011 - Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Steamboat & Winter Park.
Amy is definitely bitten by the bug and keen to share these experiences with her clients so they too can experience all Canada, USA and Japan have to offer.
Our multi-talented Amy is also an open water diver and keen angler. Amy has fished in Tonga and the Solomon Islands along with diving in Fiji (Beqa, Taveuni, Rakiraki); Tonga (Vava'u); Vanuatu (Port Vila); and The Solomon Islands (Munda, Gizo, Tulagi).
In 2007, Amy took some time off to do Camp America where she was a lifeguard at a Jewish Camp. Afterwards she spent 4 weeks travelling across America with Contiki visiting 20 states!!
Amy has taken other personal holidays to Egypt, Singapore, Australia (Melbourne & Gold Coast), Thailand (Phuket).
Testimonials
Kristy-Ann, Snow Consultant
 Kristy recently joined Dive Fish Snow Travel as sales support, coming from 8 years retail travel agency experience where she was a leisure/corporate/groups Travel Consultant.
A keen open water diver, Kristy’s favourite places for diving is the Maldives, Tahiti and our own NZ waters – Tauranga Bay, Lottin Point, & Waihau Bay.
Kristy is also a keen boarder & cross country skier after living in Norway for 1 year, and thoroughly enjoyed her trip to Canada in March 2010 with the snow team. Having now added Sun Peaks, Big White, Whistler and Silver Star to her ‘I’ve boarded there’ portfolio, she is now pumped and ready to share these experiences with everyone.
Steven, Snow Consultant
 Steven recently joined Dive Fish Snow as a ski travel consultant. Steven has spent five ski seasons working in Canada (Big White), the US (Mt Hood Meadows, OR) and NZ (Mt Hutt) in snow sports admin/sales and snowboard instruction. He holds a Level 1 NZSIA Snowboard Certification and has a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University.
Steven’s most recent trip was through Western Canada in January and February taking in Big White, Revelstoke, Kicking Horse, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise plus a powder day in Ontario. Steven has snowboarded at 16 mountains all up and is keen to tick off plenty more on his ever-growing wishlist!
Steven heads north every winter to get his fix of big mountains, epic powder and Taco Bell!
Testimonials »
Barbara, Snow Consultant
 Barbara originally joined Dive Fish and Snow in 1997, co-ordinating our Dive and Fishing Groups. During this time, she gained her Open Water Diving Certificate and visited many of our South Pacific destinations. After 5 years, she took a break to gain further experience overseas and in other areas of the Travel Industry.
She now returns to us with this experience and has joined our snow team, specialising in groups.
Barbara has level 5 of ATITB and a total of 38 years Travel Industry experience.
Barbara has travelled throughout New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands; In Australia - Brisbane, Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Lord Howe Island; In the South Pacific – Fiji, including Kadavu and Taveuni with Dive groups, Vanuatu, Niue, Norfolk Island, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Hawaii; Further afield included Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, UK, Southern Ireland, Paris and extensive touring in Europe.
She looks forward to helping with your holiday requirements.
Michele, Snow Consultant
 Michele has IATA-UFTAA and ATITB2 travel qualifications, and more than 10 years experience in the Travel Industry, working as a Retail Travel Consultant, Travel Agency Manager, and for Air New Zealand.
In 2011 she returned from travelling and working overseas, mainly in California and joined the team here at Dive Fish Snow Travel . She has traveled extensively on Travel Agent Famils, as well as her own personal travels to Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Pacific Islands, with a lot of time spent exploring the Western states of USA and Canada... including ski areas close to Lake Tahoe, British Columbia, and Banff in Alberta. She also had the opportunity to ski in Bariloche, Argentina, on her very first trip as a Travel Agent.
Michele is very keen to promot e USA and Canada as a fantastic holiday destination. America is so much more than big cities, Disneyland and Universal Studios!!! It has amazing beautiful mountains and scenery, and character filled historical "old towns".
Also a keen diver, Michele holds a Padi Open Water Dive Cert. and has dived on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as in Vanuatu and Tahiti.
Rolie, Snow Consultant
 Rolie joins the team with 15 years in the travel industry.
His passion for travel is evident in the fact that he has traveled extensively throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, UK, Europe and the Pacific, and enjoys sharing his stories with his clients to ensure they get the holiday they dreamed of.
Rolie is also a keen snowboarder and has ventured onto just about every ski field in NZ, the highlight being heli skiing the Harris Mountains, as well as Whistler In Canada and Jackson Hole in the US.
Rolie looks forward to experiencing some of the other amazing ski resorts of North America and Japan and sharing his knowledge and passion with his clients.
Kimberlee, Snow Consultant
 Kimberlee has been in the travel industry for over 3 years and has spent a lot of time living abroad and traveling the world. She has completed all of her travel qualifications as well as studying event co-ordination, and loves to help her clients to see the world and experience their ultimate holiday.
To her, new places and different experiences are what make life so exciting and interesting.
A keen skier and boarder, Kimberlee has carved up the ski fields in NZ as well as those in Europe – particularly the Alps and Germany. Kimberlee looks forward to experiencing some of the great ski resorts offered by Dive Fish Snow Travel.
Kimberlee also has her PADI open water dive certificate and has dived the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, Vietnam and Thailand.
Jo,
Senior Sales Support
 Jo has worked in the Travel Industry for 20 years, initially starting in a Corporate Travel Company in Auckland, Jo then moved to Australia and spent 5 years working for a Travel Technology Company in the customer service team and later looking after an installation project team, returning to New Zealand with the same company as their training and projects co-ordinator.
In 2007 Jo decided it was time for a break from the big smoke and she left to fulfil a desire to take part in volunteer work. Heading to El Salvador, Central America, Jo worked in an all girl orphanage and also on a project to minimise child labour. She hopes to complete more volunteer work in the future.
In addition to travelling around New Zealand and Australia, Jo has also travelled to London, Amsterdam, Prague, Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, America, Central America – El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, South America – Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Peru…
Some of her travel memories which stand out, include evacuating a hurricane from Bay Islands (Honduras), hanging out with the llamas at the top of Machu Picchu, and riding a Harley across Route 66….
Jo has dived in Fiji & Honduras, Central America, and skied (badly) in New Zealand. Part of the team to experience Sun Peaks, Big White, Silver Star and Whistler in March 2010, her skiing ability has definitely gone up a notch or three. In March 2011 Jo added to her ski resort experience in March 2011 when she headed off to Colorado and spent time visiting Keystone, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen/Snowmass, Steamboat and Winter Park.
Jo will be looking after the Sales Support Team and various application/process enhancements and although prefers the warmer holidays, did enjoy her time on the slopes of the Canadian and USA Resorts.
Jaimee,
Sales Support
 Jaimee joined us in the Sales Support area in September 2011.
With a Diploma in Travel and Tourism, Jaimee is excited to be able to combine her passion for snowboarding and skiing with her career in travel.
Having skied and snowboarded all her life, Jaimee is a regular down at Mt Ruapehu and gets there every chance she can.
She is very keen to experience the amazing resorts that Dive Fish Snow Travel promote and looks forward to visiting those in Canada, USA and Japan over the coming years.
 Hannah Sales Support
Hannah joined the Dive Team in 2011 in the Dive Sales Support role. With a Travel and Tourism Certificate behind her, as well as a very keen passion for diving and snowboarding, Hannah is pleased to be able to combine these two loves with her career.
As a keen diver, Hannah has yet to try some of the top dive spots in the South Pacific, but has already dived extensively in NZ – The Poor Knights, Great Barrier Island, Goat Island, Kawau Islands Nelson Rock and Bostoque Bay, The Outpost and Daniels Reef at Leigh, and night diving at Wellington Reef in Army Bay. She has also enjoyed some great snowboarding at New Zealand’s Treble Cone, Wanaka, Turoa and Whakapapa ski fields.
Hannah looks forward to visiting some of the great dive resorts and ski resorts that Dive Fish Snow Travel sells, and further developing both her diving and snowboarding skills.
 Angela Sales Support
With 15 years travel industry experience, Angela recently joined Dive Fish Snow Travel as a part time sales support person. Angela’s experience has predominately been in the wholesale travel industry where she has worked as a Consultant, Product Assistant and as an Asia Product Manager.
In between having two children, Angela worked for an online multi-media company producing multi-media sales tools for hotels and resorts in the South East Asia, Australia, South Pacific and New Zealand markets.
She has travelled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States as well as visited parts of Australia, South America and the South Pacific. She is enjoying the balance of working and being a mother!
Deborah Sales Support
 Deborah has an M.A.and an IATA/UFTTA diploma. Her love of travel has taken her throughout Europe, the Middle East, Russia, North America, Asia, the Pacific and around Australia and New Zealand. Deborah first learned to ski whilst spending three years working in several European ski resorts. She then lived and worked in London for a further 3 years for a UK Ski Operator as Manager of their US/Canada Ski Programme and discovered what true powder skiing was all about! .
In 1997 Deborah moved to New Zealand with her Kiwi Ski Instructor husband (whom she'd met whilst they were both working in Kitzbuhel, Austria) and fell straight into working in the specialist ski travel industry again for a further two years before deciding to diversify and move into the corporate/leisure and group travel market for 6 years.
Deborah's favourite ski resort is Jackson Hole and her best ever skiing day was Snow Cat skiing at Grand Targhee in Wyoming where she spent more time upside down on her head in the waist deep powder than skiing through it but it was great fun!
Now coming to Dive Fish Snow Travel in Sales Support on a part time basis after a few years off with her young family, Deborah is enjoying being back in the world of skiing once again
Admin Team
 Lynda Accounts and Admin
With over 15 years experience in the travel industry, Lynda has extensive knowledge of travel accounting, having worked both in wholesale and retail offices. Lynda has travelled many places and has lived on such beautiful and remote places as Great Barrier Island in New Zealand. Lynda does enjoy fishing, but leaves the skiing and diving to the experts in the team.
Rachael Admin Reception
 Chances are if you ring us, Rachael will be the friendly voice on the end of the phone.
With 10 years in the boating industry Rachael was able to see a bit of the world working as a stewardess on various boats. First she worked with the ferries in Auckland then travelling to Port Douglas to work on the Great Barrier Reef for a year. She then moved on to Super Yachts travelling around Sarong, Palau, Sulawesi, Timor, Greece and the South of France.
On her trip to Europe she managed a 3 week Contiki tour.
Upon joining the team here at Dive Fish Snow Travel in 2011 she has already enjoyed a break in Rarotonga.
Along the way Rachael has also done a Diploma Travel and Tourism and Event Management. She is now looking forward to her next trip to Thailand in February 2012.
Kathy Back Office Support
 With over 30 years travel industry experience, 9 of which have been at Dive Fish Snow Travel, Kathy works part time to fit in with the Kids Club she operates. Involved with every part of the business from sales to marketing to admin, Kathy is a valuable member of the team with her years of experience and knowledge. Being a keen skier, and having discovered the joys of skiing in Canada last year, Kathy can’t wait to get back there or to any of the amazing resorts on offer.
Marketing Team
 Nicole Marketing & Communications
Nicole started with Dive Fish Snow Travel in December 2009.
With a strong marketing and product management background within banking, printing, hospitality, veterinary and finance, Nicole brings over 25 years marketing experience to the team.
Nicole is also a qualified teacher of tap and jazz dancing, an international dog show judge and a top breeder of pedigree dogs.
As a keen learner skier, Nicole has skied most of NZ’s own ski fields and was fortunate to have visited Whistler and Sun Peaks in January 2009; then Niseko, Japan in March 2010 where she experienced the most amazing powder conditions; and in 2011 joined the team on an amazing week visiting Park City & Salt Lake City Ski fields in Utah as well as Jackson Hole in Wyoming! She is now a huge fan of the ski in ski out concept offered internationally and particularly loved the cultural experiences on offer in Japan.
Nicole has also holidayed in some of the wonderful resorts in the South Pacific and marveled at some of the beautiful snorkeling experiences on offer.
Nicole’s traveling experiences has seen her in the USA, Canada, Hawaii, all states of Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, France, Monaco, UK, Vanuatu, Fiji, Noumea and Tonga.
Nicole will be working with the Dive Fish Snow Team to present quality communications to our clients and suppliers, enhancing our customer service and reputation in the marketplace, and continually looking at ways to present Dive Fish Snow Travel as the premium specialist Skiing, Diving and Fishing Travel company in Australasia.
My Ski Trip to Japan 2010 Photos »
Anndie Emarketing Specialist
Anndie came to Dive Fish Snow Travel in November 2004 with a solid background in web design & online marketing. Since then he has completely rebuilt our website, giving it a far more professional, exciting and informative look. The website is a "work in progress" as we are constantly adding more products, so Anndie is very busy keeping up with the constant demands.
Anndie is also responsible for all graphic requirements within the office. Logos, stationery, advertising and promotional material, posters, flyers... it's all produced in house by Anndie.
And being a techno whizz, he is in high demand when anything technical breaks down in the office, especially the computers.
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