When Patrick and Amber Tyrrell were filling out their entry form for the Grand Business South Awards 2023, it made them realise how far they have come.

“If you told us seven years ago that we would be where we're at now, when it was just the big thought process at that stage, I'd be like, ‘oh, really? That would be nice, but I doubt it’," Amber said.

The couple run Valley Views Camping, just off State Highway 83 between Duntroon and Kurow, and “Googling” themselves was a great exercise in looking back over past achievements, she said.

Valley Views Glamping, which won the excellence in tourism and hospitality award for the Waitaki Business South Awards in 2022, was announced as a finalist in the same category for the Southern region earlier in October.

The Tyrrells are joined as finalists by other Waitaki businesses RWK Holesaws NZ (excellence in retail), AcuCut Ltd (excellence in manufacturing), and Milligans Foodgroup Ltd (excellence in primary industry).

Valley Views opened its doors to the public in February 2017, with Lotus Belle tents in the beginning, until it was discovered they didn’t cope well in the wind.

Then the couple made the move to more structurally sound geodesic domes, which can withstand both high winds and a good dumping of snow, due to their make-up of triangular components.

They now have six domes (five with a 6-metre diameter and one 7-metre) and plans for a seventh, larger 10-metre dome which will be more for events or sleeping larger groups.

“That's our plan,” Amber said. “It's going to be seriously cool. I'm really excited about it.” 

For some, running an accommodation business through the years of Covid lockdowns and border closures could have brought them to the brink, but Amber and Patrick found the opposite was true for Valley Views.

When international tourists couldn’t get into New Zealand, Kiwis filled the gap, and visitor numbers continued to climb.

Before Covid, it was about half international guests and half New Zealanders, Patrick said. 

“Now it's more, sort of between 40-45% international. But we've always grown each year. 

“So we didn't get hammered by Covid at all, and that's good. We got a lot more cyclists coming through. And we tend to sort of have more older folk than younger folk . . . So that's sort of changing as well, as the age is getting older. 

The secret is to cater for all markets and ensure the price for a night at Valley Views is attainable, he said.

“So we've never aimed for a real specific market, we've aimed for everybody, and you had to price according to that . . . meaning international, local, you know, students to, you know, to older folk, to cyclists, the whole lot.

“So we had to find that balance, and that's what spreads it out . . .  you don't put all the eggs in one basket.”

The domes work in summer and winter - with built-in log burners - and are particularly special at night, Amber says.

“On a moonlit night you're looking up at the stars and the moon, with the fairy lights, and it's really magic. People love it.

“We come down here and stay every now and then and it reminds us of how cool they are,” she said.

“It's a real authentic off-grid experience for people because we don't have electricity or wifi“It's a real authentic off-grid experience for people because we don't have electricity or wi-fi and we encourage people to disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature while they're here. It's kind of got a healing energy to the place, you know?”

The couple’s favourite part of running the business is the people they meet. 

“We meet cool people, from all over the place . . . and we get to know people and we hear about their stories and there's so many interesting people that do all sorts of interesting things.” 

The Tyrrells are “very honoured” to make the finals of the awards, as a small business run by two people, with a bit of help of family.

They are also grateful for the support they have received from the community, and return the favour when they can. 

Waitaki Business South navigator Rebecca Finlay said the variety of Waitaki businesses selected for the Business Award finals represented “the breadth of our economy”.

“We’re really proud of the four businesses that have been selected as finalists in this year’s Grand Business South Awards.

“We’ve had the pleasure of working with some of these businesses and they’re great business citizens that enjoy collaborating with other businesses and their communities,” she said.

Winners of the Business South Awards will be announced at a special dinner in Dunedin on November 17, in front of a crowd of about 600.

People can vote online for their favourite Waitaki Business to receive the People's Choice Award.