Aspiring Guides

As if plucked from a ridgeline and planted straight onto McDougall Street, Aspiring Guides are an adventuring outfit at the heart of one of New Zealand's great playgrounds. With its sage green corrugated exterior, slanted roof, and green gutter trim, their compact HQ looks much like a backcountry hut heli-dropped into central Wānaka.

For over thirty years, their expert team have been taking the courageous into New Zealand's famous southern backcountry. Founded in 1990 by “pioneers of the ascent” passionate about sharing their knowledge, it's the oldest guiding company in Wānaka. In 2023, Doug Beech and Will Radford acquired the brand with an eye to take it to new heights (quite literally). Notable additions include increased community involvement, support for local youth outdoor learning, and training pathways for prospective guides.

The premises span a collaborative office, training room, and the ultimate gear shed: climbing, skiing, and trekking equipment galore, all neatly labelled and organised like something from the cover of your favourite glossy adventure mag.

In the office, a plywood pegboard displays vintage mountaineering kit celebrating the region’s rich climbing history: a coiled rope, well-worn boots, and the ice axes that accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. A framed poster catalogues New Zealand's backcountry huts. Across the room, a 3D relief map of Mount Aspiring National Park dominates another wall. Below it, orange walkie-talkies speak to the adventure that awaits. Every detail here is considered with the mountains in mind: fitting, given they're always watching over.

Offerings range from guided walks in the Matukituki Valley to ascents of the country's most iconic peaks, with trips suited to different abilities, but what sets Aspiring Guides apart is bespoke, custom adventures spanning Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park down to Fiordland, tailored to each client's preferences, fitness, and skill level. Heli-hiking along remote ridgelines, glacial landings, gourmet lunches on mountaintops, all one-of-a-kind experiences in spectacular corners of the country.

Beyond guiding, they're nurturing the next generation of young guides, all the while improving and safeguarding our mighty backyard. The logo itself, inspired by Tititea/Mt Aspiring, the tallest peak in the region, embodies the spirit of adventure at the heart of everything Aspiring Guides do.