The Queenstown Times was invited to join in the Queenstown Ambassador programme at Queenstown Resort College to see how the initiative links business operators with the community and visitor expectations.
Even those who think they know everything about the Wakatipu will come away with new knowledge and insights after completing the Queenstown Ambassador programme.
Launched on June 13, the programme from Queenstown Resort College has been taken up by many in the hospitality and tourism industries, from newcomers who arrived two weeks ago, to those who have lived and worked all their lives in the district.
Learning and development manager Fiona Boyer facilitated the one-off, three-hour Friday morning course the Queenstown Times attended, alongside staff from the college, Destination Queenstown, BNZ, Aotea New Zealand Souvenirs and Queenstown Lakes district Crs Mel Gazzard and Simon Stamers-Smith.
The 20-strong group started the programme by watching video clips of ambassadors enthusiastically explaining why they took part and what they gained, plus a welcome from Ngai Tahu kaumatua Michael Skerrett.
Ms Boyer explained the significance of his role, his cloak and tribe.
Te Wai Pounamu, or the waters of greenstone as the name of the South Island, and other original names and the meanings for familiar places around the Wakatipu were revealed in a summary of Maori history and legends.
The unusual tidal nature of Lake Wakatipu, or ''hollow of the giant'', was explained from the perspectives of both Maori myth and European science.
Facts and figures about the third-largest lake in New Zealand were jotted down and committed to memory.
Ms Boyer discussed the exploits of explorers Nathanial Chalmers in 1853 and Donald Hay in 1859, then the settling of the Wakatipu by sheep farmers William Gilbert Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelmann.
Their arrival was soon followed by the discovery and pursuit of gold by Europeans, then Chinese, which changed countless lives and the fortunes of the South Island forever.
The class enjoyed learning about the real pioneers who gave their names to mountains, lakes and landmarks and, if anything, more stories about them would be welcome.
The past came into focus as the present when Ms Boyer began the section on tourism pioneers.
The invaluable contributions of Sir Henry Wigley and Bill Hamilton from 1947 and the opening of Skyline Gondola in 1968 were touched upon.
However, the rise and fall and rise again of TSS Earnslaw, the rapid expansion of Queenstown Airport from paddock to international gateway and the development of snow sports in the Wakatipu are tourism topics the programme could delve into as well.
The group split into pairs for a multiple-choice quick-fire quiz on what had been talked about, with almost everyone achieving full marks.
Learning more about the history, culture and nature of Queenstown turned out to be a pleasure and even fun for all, far from the expectation of old school classrooms, blackboards and learning by rote.
Each programme participant was given a pin featuring a silver ''Q'' on a black diamond, which lets people know the wearer is a Queenstown Ambassador.
More than 100 people are now Queenstown Ambassadors and, with the affordable course booked weeks in advance and Air New Zealand about to add to the support shown by the council and business operators, that number is sure to rise to the benefit of the community.
