Meet David, Waimangu General Manager
David started as General Manager in December 2017. He enjoys swimming in Rotorua's lakes and is fascinated with the Pink and White Terraces. He says no two days at Waimangu are the same...
David joined Waimangu in December 2017. Originally from Gisborne, he has lived happily in Rotorua for over 10 years and was previously the Sales and Marketing Manager at Skyline Rotorua.
David enjoys open water swims and loves to swim in Rotorua’s lakes. So far, he’s swam in 12 of the region’s fresh water lakes, and is hanging out for warmer weather this Summer so he can get back out there!
When he’s not at work, he can also be found tinkering on assorted woodwork projects.
What does a typical day at work look like?
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from working at Waimangu, it’s that no two days are the same! That’s the amazing thing about this place – the environment is ever changing, and we are doing our very best to maintain and preserve it. That takes a real team effort so daily we are discussing the best approach to doing things. It would be fair to say my days are full of variety which is great. I do love being out in the valley and out on the lake so I take any opportunity I can to do that.
What have you been working on recently?
We have some very cool projects on the go. We’ve just finished installing solar panels on our visitor centre, and we have customer WIFI being installed this month. It’s been a busy Winter! We have rebranded and launched a new website, as well as new systems for online bookings, reservations, point of sale and stock control. We also have a top-secret project in development which we are launching early December…. watch this space!
What is the best part of your job?
The people. I really enjoy being part of the Waimangu team, I enjoy hosting interested people, and meeting our customers… who invariably ask me the one question about Waimangu that I can’t answer… so learning has been a very cool part of the job also!
And the worst?
We had a huge weather event in April which caused some serious storm damage. This has meant some long hours sorting out fixes. Pleased to say though that we are underway with those repairs now and business operations haven’t been massive affected. We are lucky that our team are passionate about the place and we have done everything we can to not let anything affect the customer experience.
What’s your favourite feature of the valley?
The stories and sheer variety constantly amaze me. People, botany, bird life, history, culture, geothermal wonders… I could go on!
I am constantly intrigued by the Pink and White Terraces and the connection with Mt Tarawera… so I guess that is my current favourite feature… so many to choose from.
Tell us something about Waimangu that nobody knows?
We are named after the world’s largest geyser that played here for 4 years between 1900-1904. Waimangu translates to mean ‘Black Water’ – the Waimangu geyser would shoot up a combination of sand, water, and rock that appeared as black in colour. This geyser was truly awe inspiring… it played to over 400 metres in the air... that’s the height of the Empire State Building!