According to documents provided to the Otago Daily Times, the strained relations between staff and directors of Nomad Safaris reached a crescendo at an explosive staff meeting in July last year.
Staff complained co-owner David Gatward-Ferguson was "yelling and erratic", "holding intense glaring eye contact and standing over people".
The stand-off prompted the firm to call in lawyers and a review was filed in December, making a series of recommendations for a more harmonious work environment.
Mr Gatward-Ferguson, former national champion gold-panner, told the ODT he was the victim of a conspiracy by a small number of influential employees who no longer worked there.
He said the workplace culture had since improved "greatly".
"Everything’s going nicely, sweetly, no angst, apart from the normal workplace stuff that happens sort of every day when you’re dealing with a lot of humans every day."
That was not the case six months ago.
Minutes from the July meeting noted things "descended to a level of disorder".
When a local lawyer was called in to mediate, several staff were interviewed and raised a slew of concerns with Mr Gatward-Ferguson’s behaviour.
One employee described it as "disgusting" and said he left early because he felt so uncomfortable.
Another also took aim at Mr Gatward-Ferguson’s wife and co-owner Amanda, who they said was snappy and unwilling to help.
Staff said the man threatened to force people out of work and shut them down when they tried to respond.
"They are saddened to hear that some staff view the work culture to be toxic as they have thought the culture has been OK," the lawyer wrote in her report.
A week after the fiery meeting, 21 staff had their own behind-doors get-together to crystalise their concerns.
The following month they met with the mediator to stress their desire for an independent review, which subsequently took place.
In a final report a range of recommendations were made, including that meetings should be chaired by someone other than Mr Gatward-Ferguson and if they got "out of hand" they should immediately be adjourned.
Nomad Safaris should define company values, engage in staff surveys, "build psychological safety" and set up an email suggestion box, it was advised.
Other disputes over payroll, rostering, company attire, CCTV and drug/alcohol testing were dealt with more briefly by the mediator.
"There were some holes in our operations which were exploited, which the ongoing thing is to tighten up on," Mr Gatward-Ferguson said.
He told the ODT the clashes of the previous year had taken their toll.
"I mean, it was tough.
"It was very hurtful, of course, because, like employees, directors and shareholders are also humans.
"And I have feelings too."
One of the staff members involved said he and other disgruntled workers had left the business and they remained sceptical the culture would change.
"At some point employees get fed up with fighting for their rights and just move on so nothing ever gets sorted," he said.
Nomad Safaris, which employs 50 staff, has twice won operator of the year in a national tourism awards and had also received prizes for environmental sustainability efforts.
In 2021, the company was on the market for $4million.
While it remained for sale, Mr Gatward-Ferguson said business was "phenomenal".
"The quality of business to Queenstown has probably never been better because of the lower New Zealand dollar attracting a huge number of those ideal target markets."
