Their respective occupations of industrial abseiler and radiographer were not entirely suited to the career opportunities available in the small, scenic settlement.
The couple now own rural tourism company Revolution Tours Ltd and Mrs Belcher is an entrant in this year's Rural Women New Zealand Enterprising Rural Women Awards.
The Belchers were on a ski holiday to Queenstown about eight years ago when it was suggested they take a drive to ''beautiful'' Glenorchy, as there was not much snow around for skiing.
They were ''blown away'' by the area, feeling an instant connection, and ended up buying land and building a house.
But they also had to work out how they could make a living there, so they wrote a list of things they both loved. Cycling featured on that list and they set about establishing a four day, three night all inclusive ''semi luxury'' tour.
It took about two years of keeping the project ''under wraps'' as they gained the necessary consents and concessions, organising accommodation and logistics, while continuing to work fulltime.
The business was launched in 2011 and, while there were not many trips the first year, it has continued to grow. Word of mouth had been the best marketing feature, Mrs Belcher said.
Revolution Tours runs the fully guided and supported cycling and walking tour around Lake Wakatipu and across the area's high country stations on a route known locally as the Paradise Trail.
Last year, it filled all its trips and it was looking for a very busy season this summer, she said.
Originally, the couple thought their target market would be 50 to 70 year olds, but they have since bumped that age up to about 85, having noticed people were staying fitter for longer.
Last year, they had a woman who celebrated her 84th birthday on a tour. Not only did she cycle the entire 70km but she also spent a day walking on the Routeburn Track.
Most customers were domestic, although there were a few Americans and Australians. The tours were fully guided and supported so if people needed a break, they could jump in a van for as long as they liked.
Launching the business was a ''pretty stressful punt'' but Mrs Belcher had been raised to have an attitude of ''you don't know until you try''.
''We've worked really hard and it's all starting to come together nicely,'' she said.
The couple had friends who had run businesses together and who gave them some tips. The pair worked well together, she said.
The growth of the business was ''definitely on the cards'' and they were also considering winter tours.
There are 11 businesses in the running for this year's Enterprising Rural Women Awards, which are now in their seventh year.
The other Southern representative is Chanelle Purser, a dairy farmer from Crookston, who also owns retail business Carvin Streetwear, in Gore.
The business was this year named runner up in the national supreme award at the Retail NZ Top Shop awards.
