Columnist Craig Orr reaches new heights with the Mt Everest Challenge

Our Bayleys columnist is hitting new heights at work and play, and has ideas for how you can too.

Well, I did it! I officially conquered the More FM Mt Everest Challenge, and I’m stoked to be able to say that I raised more than $1000 for St John. Climbing the Mount 38 times in 50 days was so tough that I gave myself two weeks off walking up any kind of hill afterwards.

We’re so lucky to have Mauao Mt Maunganui to exercise on. I love the way it sits proudly at the end of the peninsula and has such an amazing presence to it. My seven-year-old daughter was one of my best supporters. She has a real competitive streak and would join me walking up the Mount a couple of times each week, often picking a fellow climber halfway up and trying to beat them to the summit. I made it my mission to beat my best time of 13 minutes from the base to the top. I ended up 11 seconds off it! But I definitely felt my fitness improve.

I recruited some of my colleagues to join me for the odd climb and managed to get a few other mates up off the couch. Overall, it was super fun and a fulfilling experience – particularly the mental challenge and camaraderie. I’d highly recommend anyone considering tackling it next year to go for it.

Speaking of the couch, my wife Natasha and I have recently finished some exciting home renovations at our place at the Mount. We’ve just had a pool dropped in, and added a cabana and done up the deck. It completely opens up our property and stretches out to our neighbour’s. We feel really lucky to be part of such a cool neighbourhood.

Tash and I lived here before we had our daughters, and we’ve always loved it. Investing in our first house in Bethlehem was a big step. It was a big home with plenty of space inside, but two years ago we found a 1960s-style home at the Mount and couldn’t resist getting back to beach life.

Our kids don’t seem to mind having less space – they’re happy being by the beach, the mountain and their friends. It’s super convenient and offers a really relaxed lifestyle. I’ve enjoyed getting involved in my daughters’ school, establishing local friendships, giving back and feeling like we’re part of the community.

At Bayleys, I’ve just had the biggest month ever. I’m 10 years into marketing properties for sale and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I’m a bit of a late bloomer in terms of my career trajectory, as I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I was about 35. Real estate was always of interest, but it wasn’t until I took the leap that I realised how much of a passion it was. I just love helping make people’s dreams become reality.

We’ve been in a really buoyant market recently, but it feels like it’s beginning to cool slightly. With a short supply of options for potential vendors to purchase and a tight market, replacing housing stock can be challenging. That’s why winter’s the perfect time for people considering selling to take that step, because there’s less competition.

I’ve been sharing some videos about open homes and the market on my Instagram page, so have a look for the inside scoop. I do free market appraisals, so if you’re curious as to what your place is worth, give me a shout and I’ll be happy to help.

All roads lead to real estate: the diverse pasts of local Bayleys salespeople

WORDS MONIQUE BALVERT-O’CONNOR

What does it take to make it in real estate? For these professionals, innate skill, learned experience, special gifts, and backgrounds that are anything but ordinary all have something to do with it.

Carmen Dickison

Tauranga Bayleys salesperson Carmen Dickison is a brave woman with a gold medal to prove it. Not only is she a recipient of the New Zealand Police Gold Merit Award for Bravery, she was also the first female police officer to formally achieve a bravery award. According to the citation, constable Dickison had only been in the police for six months, when, “without regard for her own safety, she apprehended an armed violent offender who was terrorising a family in their own home.” Carmen’s gold was later joined by a medal for services to the police, in recognition of time spent doing a sterling job as a police presenter on the TV show Crimewatch.

Now based in Tauranga, Carmen spent her 16 years in the police force in Wellington, also working in Youth Aid and as a detective. “Youth Aid was most rewarding,” she says. “I felt like I made a difference and helped turn lives around, whether it was helping youth find a passion or linking them with mentors.” While doing all that, Carmen was also studying part-time, gaining a marketing and communications qualification that she later used in her roles as marketing manager for an art gallery and then an architecture firm – eventually leading to her current position as a residential salesperson at Bayley’s Tauranga.

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Michael Parker

Hamilton Fresh out of law school, Michael Parker headed not to chambers or a courtroom, but to the ski fields. “When I graduated, I decided to follow my absolute passion of ski instructing full-time,” he says. It was a job he’d worked at part-time during his university holidays, including on North American slopes during New Zealand summers. Michael started his full-time career at Tūroa in 1996, working as a race coach and general ski instructor, then moving up the ranks to become fully certified under the New Zealand ski instructor system. Further progression led him to ski school management positions in New Zealand and the US. He spent 16 consecutive southern and northern hemisphere winters in the job before deciding it was time to enjoy a summer and stay put in one country. “It was a fantastic industry to be in and I met some interesting people,” he says. Those people included Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld and Dick Marriott of the prestigious hotel chain, no less. “It’s a part of my life I’ll never regret –I even met my wife through skiing,” says Michael, who made the move to real estate after returning to Hamilton to give his dad “a hand” in the property development industry for more than 10 years.

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Aaron Paterson

Hamilton Teaching and rugby paid Aaron Paterson’s bills before he joined the Bayleys team. After spending a gap year working at a private boys’ school in London, he decided to return to the school armed with a teacher’s qualification. And he did, six years later – qualified as a geography and physical education teacher with two years experience under his belt. During Aaron’s second stint abroad, he met his wife Shani Paterson in Spain – a long way from her Dunedin hometown – and had his time as a teacher interrupted by two years spent living in Japan and playing rugby for the Hokkaido Barbarians. Ultimately, he and Shani growing family was a catalyst for their subsequent move to the Waikato, where Aaron initially returned to work at Cambridge High School. Then, in 2005, a friend encouraged him to become part of the Bayleys family – and he’s never looked back. Today, rugby remains part of Aaron’s life. He referees for his local senior premier competition; does TV match official work for the NPC, Super Rugby and international test matches; and thanks to his children, coaches junior rugby too. “I’m passionate about giving back to the game that’s given me so much,” he says.

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Angela Finnigan

Hamilton Before she worked for Bayleys in Hamilton, Angela Finnigan was a high-level equestrian, a role that saw her eventing at England’s famous Badminton, as well as identifying local equine talent and accompanying the promising horses to their new homes in the US, UK, Italy, Ireland and even Tahiti. Although, she says, “That part wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds. I’d be with the horses in cargo planes. On one trip, for example, I was on the same cargo flight as 40 horses. I sat on the floor amongst the hay. It was pretty rough!” In the ’80s, Angela lived in England, where she produced young horses for sale as eventers. She also owned the equine stunner Face the Music, which Mark Todd rode to success at the Burghley Horse Trials in the ’90s. When Angela returned home to New Zealand, it was to Cambridge, where she continued producing young horses, ready for export. Today, her home base is surrounded by racetracks, but her equestrian days are over. “I’m a bit of an all or nothing person, and these days my all is real estate,” she says.

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Rachelle Jackson

Hamilton An invitation to Rachelle Jackson’s for a meal is a covetable prospect. She is from a large “food-focused” family and has been a foodie for as long as she can remember. Rachelle headed straight into the food scene as a school leaver. Armed with a polytechnic qualification, she then spent nine years as a chef in top restaurants in Auckland and Hamilton (a “pretty magical” time as she recalls it) before fulfilling a long-time ambition to open her own café. Circa Espresso was the name of the Hamilton eatery she established at the tender age of 26 and owned for nearly four years, until deciding the hours weren’t compatible with having babies. (It’s now named Scotts Epicurean.) “I had a huge passion for cheffing and culinary culture, and I still have – you don’t get rid of that,” she says. “It’s now a hobby and part of my creative side. Being a foodie is neat – everyone loves you!” The bookshelves in Rachelle’s Hamilton home are laden with cookbooks. She makes everything she can from scratch, is a fan of Italian food and has been dipping into Asian cuisine of late. Oh, and her hero is Al Brown.

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Stephen O’Byrne

Hamilton When you ask Stephen O’Byrne about his past working life, you’d better make yourself comfortable. This Raglan- dwelling Irishman has many a yarn to share, starting with his 15 years as an underwater cameraman in the dive industry. One day, he’d be photographing the sardine run in South Africa, the next, it’d be World War II wrecks in Papua New Guinea, or great whites feeding, coral spawning or turtles mating. The assignments were many and wonderfully diverse, and that’s how he found New Zealand – he was sent here to get footage of the Poor Knights Islands. Stephen’s underwater escapades have also included being a freediving instructor; the chatterbox can hold his own breath for eight minutes. On terra firma, he worked in the merchant banking industry and serious fraud office in London. He established a sports sales business in the UK and worked in e-learning and web management for leading agencies in the Netherlands. His partner in life and work at Bayleys, residential and lifestyle salesperson Michelle, also has an interesting backdrop to her property career that helps set her apart from the pack. While living in London, the Kiwi worked with the Royal Parks police’s mounted department, and was on horseback duty during the Changing of the Guard.

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Matt Clutterbuck

Tauranga From shearing gangs in Northland and his time spent as a rural banking manager to a salmon farm in the Atlantic Ocean, Matt Clutterbuck has tackled an interesting job or two. And that’s not to mention the prestigious sporting accolades he scored along the way. These days, lifestyle and country sales manager Matt lives in Mt Maunganui, but he was raised on a sheep and beef farm in Northland, where work as a shearer served him well during his school and university holidays. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Otago, but before earning that degree, he acquired a diploma, and between the two had a great gap year in his early twenties, during which he travelled to Ireland, where he played rugby and worked on a salmon farm. Matt has played NPC rugby in Northland and ITM Cup rugby for both his home province and the Bay of Plenty, and another sporting highlight was playing for the All Black Sevens side in 2014. But his prowess extends beyond rugby – he’s also a world-champion waka ama (outrigger canoe) paddler, with gold and bronze medals to prove it.

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Anthony Merrington

Cambridge If Cambridge-based Anthony Merrington suggests joining him in taking out the boat, you’ll be in safe hands. You may not be in for a tame time, though – this sailor has competed at Whitbread and America’s Cup level. At one stage, he had the Olympics in his sights. Anthony, who grew up on Sydney’s northern beaches, has been sailing since he was seven and started competing with his older brother about a year later. Fast-forward a decade or so and he went on to spend 15 years racing yachts around the globe as a professional sailor. He competed in the Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) three times – in 2001-2002 with a Swedish team, in 2005-2006 on an American boat, and in 2008-2009 with an Irish team. More action came courtesy of the 2007 America’s Cup campaign in Valencia, where he was part of the Swedish team that made it to the semi-finals. He also fronted up for almost every major international offshore yacht race up until 2009, when he ended his sailing career. Living landlocked in Cambridge is no problem for this Bayleys star. For the past 15 years, he’s competed on the water with teams out of Sydney. He’s tackled five Sydney to Hobart yacht races, winning four times.

Family with a love for property

Monique Balvert-O’Connor finds out how Kay Ganley combines a record-smashing career in real estate with time for her family – in particular, her beloved granddaughter, Georgia.

WORDS MONIQUE BALVERT-O’CONNOR / PHOTOS BRYDIE THOMPSON

It must be a great day when you realise that the best people to employ in your growing business, are your family.

FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, KAY HAS BEEN THE BAYLEYS MOUNT AND PAPAMOA OFFICE TOP SALESPERSON. She doesn’t simply rank highly on the local stage; in the last financial year she was fourth nationwide in Bayleys’ residential sales, and eleventh over all offices covering residential, country, and commercial property sales. She has been in the top five percent nationwide for a few years now. Three years ago, Kay took on a full-time PA and, this year, family members have joined the winning force.

KAY’S ELDEST DAUGHTER, JANELLE GANLEY, WHO HAS WORKED IN THE BAYLEYS OFFICE FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS, JOINED HER MOTHER’S TEAM ONLY A MONTH AGO. She lists and works with vendors and buyers. Conrad Doyle – the partner of Kay’s second daughter, Chloe – also became part of the team this year, as a buyers’ agent. Chloe, meanwhile, has established a five-star property management company, and that includes house cleaning services for Kay’s clients. Son, Mitchell, though is far removed from the property world. He’s studying towards a PhD in biotechnology.

A TRIP TO SINGAPORE AND THE MALDIVES IN JUNE THIS YEAR, BUENOS AIRES THE PREVIOUS YEAR, AND HAWAII BEFORE THAT, ARE ALL PART AND PARCEL OF THE KAY GANLEY SUCCESS STORY. Bayleys takes their top nationwide high achievers on overseas trips annually, and Kay has got used to packing her bags mid year.

HER WORKING LIFE IS UNDERSTANDABLY BUSY. But as the team has grown, work-life balance has improved. Time for her grandchild, walks around Mauao, and pilates, are now on the radar. “Having a team of four means we provide the ultimate service for our clients, and I get to see my children and granddaughter so much more.”

“A CLIENT TOLD ME RECENTLY THAT I WOULD BE LEAVING A LEGACY. That compliment was hugely humbling. But one day, when I retire, they can carry on that legacy, if that’s what it is,” Kay says.

KAY BEGAN HER REAL ESTATE JOURNEY AS A 42-YEAR-OLD, following years owning men’s fashion stores.

“I OWNED MY OWN BUSINESS FROM THE AGE OF 21. When it was time for a change, I knew I wanted to remain my own boss, have flexibility, and feed my love of people. I hit on the real estate idea.” It was a good fit. She sold her first property two weeks into the job.

AFTER EIGHT YEARS WORKING WITH OTHER COMPANIES, SHE JOINED THE BAYLEYS MOUNT OFFICE IN 2006. Kay deals in high-end properties, from baches to mansions, mainly beach, waterfront, and bordering the golf course at Mt Maunganui, and Papamoa. She’s a record-holder. Her first beachfront sale was over $1 million in the late 1990s – one of the first to sell at that price, and she was responsible for the first $1 million sale bordering The Mount golf course. She also holds the luxury home market record at the office for a $6.6 million Marine Parade sale in 2015.

AS FOR HER RAZOR-SHARP, WINNING EDGE, testimonials are rich in adjectives such as warm, trustworthy, knowledgeable, empathetic, and professional.

“SOME PEOPLE PERCEIVE REAL ESTATE TO BE A SIMPLE BUSINESS, BUT IT’S NOT IF YOU DON’T HAVE DETERMINATION AND COMMITMENT. I HAVE THAT, PLUS I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DRIVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL.”

WITH THAT DRIVE HAS COME COMPROMISE – SHE’S MISSED FAMILY GATHERINGS AND OTHER FUNCTIONS. Before having a full-time PA on board, paperwork would keep her up until midnight. Then there’s the on-call component, and weekends dedicated to taking clients to houses, and staging open homes. It’s fortunate, she says, that her husband, Mike Gallagher, understands her working world – he manages a real estate office. But, with the team now in place, a more balanced life is forecast. And, as Kay says, all the highs in the job are people- related. Now she gets to enjoy the job while surrounded by family and the clients who’ve become like family over the years.

AS FOR HER PERSONAL SLICE OF REAL ESTATE? Kay and Mike live in a downtown Mount apartment and own a holiday home in Ohope. She plans to be at the latter, with her feet up, for Christmas.

KAYGANLEY.BAYLEYSNZ.CO.NZ

Home is where her heart is

From living at the Mount campground to becoming one of Tauranga’s top businesswomen, Sharon Hall of Bayleys Real Estate talks about her remarkable journey and her passion for the Mount.

WORDS DANIEL DUNKLEY / PHOTOS SALINA GALVAN

Sharon Hall lives and breathes Marine Parade. Pick a house and she can tell you about its history. Ask about a business and she knows the owner. Enquire about the landscape and she can give you the details.
“Decades ago when these Norfolk trees were tiny, the headmaster of the local primary school used to tie presents to them at Christmas,” she says, looking across to the Mount’s main beach from her home. “It’s such a special place to be at this time of year – in fact, all year round.”
Sharon calls Marine Parade home, and is also a leading property specialist in the area. Dotted with pristine properties and beach baches, the Mount to Papamoa is her preserve.
Every sun-soaked spot in this picturesque postcode means something to her. With an encyclopedic knowledge of the area, Sharon is a formidable businesswoman. A former nurse, she has invested in property throughout her life, learning from her parents, who scraped together all they had to invest in real estate when she was growing up in Matamata.
“My mother and father started with £10 and a motorbike,” she says. “My parents worked really hard. It was very ballsy of my mother to buy real estate, especially as a woman. Back then, women couldn’t even get a mortgage; the man had to do it. My father was more risk-averse.”

While working long hours as a nurse, Sharon took her mother’s advice and bought a block of four flats in Tauranga. In 1980, she forged a career as a real estate agent before changing direction into other businesses while she had small children. At that point, her life was turned upside down.
In the early 2000s, Sharon lost nearly everything following a divorce. She ended up without a home, living in a horse truck at the Mt Maunganui campground with her two daughters. She had just $40.
“I had nothing. I ended up in the horse truck with the girls, and owed $70,000 to a lawyer,” she says, pointing down the road to the campsite. “We went from living in a beachfront home to living like that. It was actually a relief, because I couldn’t lose anything else.”
Back at square one, times were tough. But the experience gave her empathy and a strong resolve to provide for her children.
“I eventually sold the horse truck and went back into real estate in 2005. I was one of Bayleys’ top agents for five years. And I went on from there.”
Since 2005, Sharon has earned her place at Bayleys and worked her way back to the top, buying an apartment in the Mount, before moving to a basic house on Marine Parade. Now, her traditional white bach is, she says, the perfect spot to watch people having genuine heartfelt fun for absolutely no cost.
After overcoming adversity in her life, Marine Parade will always hold a special significance. She believes it is a privilege to live here. “The Mount is quite spiritual – it’s my tūrangawaewae,” she says. “It’s the ultimate playground. It’s such a fantastic investment. I believe in the product.”
At Bayleys, Sharon has played a huge part in some of the biggest real estate deals in Mt Maunganui. The waterfront has become one of the most sought-after locations in the country,and she has seen it develop and grow in stature.
She says north-facing, beachfront property is one of the Mount’s key attributes, making it increasingly valuable: “It’s paradise,” she says. “It’s a limited product. It’s like the ultimate diamond; there’s no more of this land left.”
While playing a role in Marine Parade’s development, Sharon has also helped to preserve pieces of its past. In 2015, she bought the Mount’s iconic pink bach at the top of Marine Parade, saving it from a fate unknown. The bach was craned over to her section where it still sits today. “I couldn’t have it going anywhere else,” she adds.

After building her life and livelihood in Mt Maunganui, Sharon is excited about the area’s future. As holiday homes give way to residential properties on the beachfront, new restaurants, bars and businesses attract a new generation of visitors.
Yet the Mount’s natural beauty will always remain the main attraction, she says. “It’s synonymous with holidays and having fun. People don’t come here to spend money. They come to enjoy the surroundings. I’m always amazed by how many people pack their bags to come here.”
Marine Parade has played a special role in Sharon’s life so far. After the roller coaster journey to her own slice of paradise, it’s clear she wouldn’t swap the location for anywhere else in the world. “It’s like being on holiday 24/7,” she says. “To me, it’s just heaven on earth.”