About

This is Us

In 2017, on a hunt for a holiday home in Turangi, we (Dorene and Steve) found ourselves asking the question, "why not move to Turangi?" and before we knew it we were calling this region "home". We had a dream to set up our home to welcome visitors from all over the world. We even seriously considered buying a local backpackers. Well, that didn't work out but we found ourselves packing up and shifting here anyway. It's kind of how we roll. The dream was to be involved in hospitality again in some way. In our early years of marriage we both enjoyed serving in camping and found this foundational to the way we lived our lives. Between us, we have worked with youth groups, school groups, camps, and hotels - the common theme being hospitality. As our children were starting to leave home we saw an opportunity to do our own thing and this has led us here.

But Turangi is a pretty small town and for almost a year Steve did a lot of driving...to Taupo...to get to work. Dorene was working in town already and we began welcoming visitors from all over the world to the area. The only piece missing for us was securing employment for Steve. He was able to secure a position at the local grocery store but found he was lacking a purpose there. Dorene's experience in her position made it clear there was a possible opening for someone to run a small taxi service in town - both for locals and visitors alike. My Waka Your Waka aims to fill that need. Steve holds his Small Passenger License as well as the NZTA Transport Service License and drives his car again - but this time with a purpose. We look forward to driving with you too.