From Photographer to Gondola Operator

I’m a cableway operator at the Christchurch Gondola. I load and unload the cabins onto the cableway, I send stock up for the other departments, banking, serving customers, do cleaning and maintenance. Quite a lot!

My favourite thing about this job has got to be this view. You can’t beat it! People come up and ask “hey, how’s it going?” and I’m like “how can I complain when I have this view?”. No matter how many times I come up, I don’t get sick of it. I’ve seen some incredible sunsets up here too.

I love the people I interact with and building relationships with locals and international visitors. It’s a great industry to be in if you’re a people person. It’s like seeing an old friend when you see some of your regular customers.

I’ve created some special moments for customers - just small things that can have a big impact on people. This one time, I had an Annual Pass customer who had walked down the hill on a really wet day and the key to the car was back up the top with his family. He was soaked and forced to wait, so I just gave him some blankets and made him a cup of tea, making him as comfortable as possible. Later that day he came back with a box of chocolates and a card to show me how much he appreciated what I did. I love moments like that. I just want to make a difference.

What I love about this place is that everyone’s full of banter, got a good sense of humour, very chill. We get along well and it’s great.

I studied tourism and business management at New Zealand School of Tourism; but, really, I got in by applying for a job. I started as a photographer for Magic Memories, working at the International Antarctic Centre and here at the Christchurch Gondola, and I overheard everyone say how they were understaffed, so I sent the manager an expression of interest. He got back to me very quickly, and I had the interview the next day!

It already is! I’ve been given the opportunity to be one of the health and safety representatives, so I’m in the middle of doing those courses now. I’ve been given the opportunity to work down at the head office as well, helping with the marketing. I’m slowly working my way up the ranks, learning more and being given more responsibility over time.

Just go for it. If you're passionate about it, motivated enough and like people, then apply for all the jobs! You don't need to study for it, to be honest, you can just get in.