Social Outings
Pre Workshop Activity
Thursday 19 March
Fieldtrip – The Remarkables Ski Field site visit
Take a closer look at surveying in one of New Zealand’s most striking alpine environments.
This optional field trip to The Remarkables Ski Field will be hosted by AJ Harford-Brown from Southern Land, who will share insights into the surveying and design work completed across the site.
The visit will include a walk around the base area, with a focus on the Shadow Basin bottom terminal and lift towers. AJ will discuss the team’s involvement in the earthworks design, precision set-out of lifts and buildings, and erosion and sediment control monitoring — offering a practical look at the technical challenges of mountain development.
The coach departs The Rendezvous Heritage Hotel at 9.30am, returning back approx 12.30pm in time for the start of workshop.
Please register for this field trip when completing your workshop registration.
Workshop Social Outings
Thursday 19 March
7.00 pm - 10.30pm
Included in Earlybird/Full registration otherwise $120 per person
Welcome dinner at Soda
Dinner is included if you have purchased either an earlybird or full registration package.
Invitation to one day attendees and any partners, tickets must be purchased at time of registration, $120 per person
Evening includes: sharing plates & drink on arrival.
Evening includes: return coach transport, sharing plates & drink on arrival.
Transport from The Rendezvous Heritage Hotel to Soda departs at 6.45pm. Please ensure you are in the lobby to board the coach at 6.30pm.
Dress Code: Dressy casual
Please advise if you have any dietary requirements.
Friday 20 March
6.15 pm - 11.00 pm
$209 per person
Steamer Wharf, 88 Beach Street,
Walter Peak Gourmet BBQ (optional)
Walter Peak High Country Farm sits at the base of the mountain bearing the same name, accessible by a roughly 45-minute cruise from Queenstown. It’s a working high-country sheep station of about 25,758 hectares, home to thousands of merino and Perendale sheep plus beef cattle. Over its history, Walter Peak has combined farming heritage with visitor experiences, letting guests step into rural life amid gardens, historic homesteads and pastoral vistas.
Your evening begins with a stunning return cruise across Lake Whakatipu aboard the vintage TSS Earnslaw, winding through alpine panoramas and mirrored lake reflections before you arrive lakeside at Walter Peak. Once there, you’ll be welcomed into the Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant, where a sumptuous gourmet BBQ buffet awaits. The menu balances hearty wood-fired meats with fresh seasonal salads, vegetables and accompaniments, paired with vegetarian and dietary-sensitive alternatives. After the main course, dessert is served. Then, as night settles in, you’ll be treated to a farm dog show—a lively demonstration in the amphitheatre where agile working dogs round up sheep and perform their traditional herding roles in real time.
Includes, return coach transfers from The Rendezvous Heritage Hotel to Steamer Wharf, return cruise upon the TSS Earnslaw, welcome drink on board the TSS Earnslaw, gourmet BBQ buffet dinner and farm show.
Please advise if you have any dietary requirements?
Saturday 21 March
7:30-8:20 am
$55 per person
The Rendezvous Heritage Hotel
Breakfast with Carlos Bagrie
Breakfast is included if you have purchased either an earlybird or full registration package.
Invitation to one day attendees and any partners, tickets can be purchased at time of registration, $55 per person
Carlos Bagrie brings a rare blend of grassroots farming wisdom and commercial marketing experience to the stage. A 5th-generation Southland farmer, he shifted from a career in major-brand marketing to co-lead Royalburn Station in Central Otago — now a highly diversified operation that includes cropping, a market garden, beekeeping, a retail arm, and more.
With his Nuffield Scholarship earned in 2023, he’s travelled globally to deepen his understanding of food systems and sustainability.
As a speaker, Carlos delivers a compelling “farm to plate” narrative—cutting through marketing spin, challenging assumptions, and offering practical insights into how we’ll feed future populations ethically and resiliently.