Top of the Lake Guiding specialises in turning clients into friends. A day hunting, hiking or fishing with Ethan Clark, in some very special corners of Aotearoa, will have you feeling like Glenorchy is your home and Ethan is your family.
Building a family business
The business has only been operating a short while and this personal approach has built a thriving little business for Ethan and his young family: his wife Monique and 4-year-old Koa. It had been their dream to operate their own business and literally turn their passion into work. Covid stalled Ethan’s career driving jetboats and provided the opportunity to develop and launch Top of the Lake Guiding. Ethan describes it as “a dream come true”.
Creating connections through adventures
Ethan is a good keen man. Free-range hunting, back country fly fishing and hiking to explore wild places is what he is all about. Clients from all over the world come to nab that trophy stag or fish in far-flung beautiful places and take a real adventure in remote corners of New Zealand. Time together in the wild provides clients with a unique Kiwi experience, family values and good clean fun. Local clients are able to take the adventure and fill the freezer with ultra free-range, outback-organic, backcountry-grown venison.
A unique feature of the business is the planning. Customers work directly with Ethan to plan their schedule and map out the activities of the adventure. Think ‘boys’ trip’ where girls get to go too. Ethan knows the Glenorchy back country intimately: he knows where the fish are biting, the weather, the seasons and the best places to go. You can heli-hike, multiday hunt, fly fish secret spots and come out with a new friend and your freezer full. Many of Ethan’s clients return. They call their mate and book in an adventure.
A thriving partnership with McClean & Co
Business has been the adventure McClean and Co have been fortunate enough to go on. Thijs has worked closely with Ethan and Monique from inception to what is now a humming little business. Ethan says, “It has been great. The set-up support, getting my head around Xero and ultimately ensuring we pay tax on time has been a huge help. They have pointed us in the right direction and guided our growth with good advice and an ear to listen.”
Here at McClean and Co we are thrilled to work with the Top of the Lake Guiding family. Thijs recently ventured out into the woods with Ethan for the time of his life. They went hunting in some of the most remote country and better still Thijs now has a freezer full of prime NZ venison. It has been a pleasure to watch this lovely family build a business, balance their lifestyle and realise their dream of a business in the outdoors. Ethan and Monique are more than our clients, they are our mates.
