About Us
The Salvation Army Blue Mountain Adventure Centre (BMAC) is an outdoor adventure centre in the heart of New Zealand. Our mission is to help people discover and live out their God-given potential through the challenge of adventure.
Our Story
The centre was established in 1990 and has become a well-known and trusted outdoor education centre that is used by organisations, schools and various groups from around the country. With a strong focus on safety and an enthusiastic team of staff, BMAC is the perfect choice for a safe, fun and memorable adventure.
Surrounded by the stunning adventure playground of Tongariro National Park, BMAC can be a place for reflection, learning, and of course, fun! This natural landscape provides the space for a wide range of outdoor activities, and the excellent on-site facilities allow for a comfortable stay.
With many years of combined experience in outdoor leadership and instruction, our team are one of the many reasons people come back year after year. Our staff are trained in outdoor safety management and our centre maintains excellence in safety procedures.
We are totally committed to providing a high-quality experience that will allow your group to grow physically, mentally and spiritually.
Come along for the adventure!
Safety Management
The safety of your group is our top priority and we have an excellent safety record spanning over 30 years.
BMAC complies with National Safety Standards and is audited by AdventureMark for all outdoor activities. This means that we meet or exceed benchmark safety standards and demonstrate a commitment to safety and quality.
In addition, we:
- are audited by The Salvation Army Health & Safety Department
- have our ropes course inspected annually by Dynamic Access and Adventure
In all cases, we continue to receive excellent feedback on our systems.
The nature of our activities and the unique character of the outdoors, means that risk cannot be completely eliminated.
To manage the risks inherent in what we do, BMAC has an extensive safety management system which includes:
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comprehensive policies on all aspects of our operation including staff, equipment, activities and safety procedures
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AMP’s (Activity Management Plan)
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emergency procedures
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instructor competencies
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safety checks & logs of safety equipment
Although there is always a level of risk in any outdoor activity, our goal is to provide the safest experience possible, in a supportive and fun environment.
Staff and Instructors
Kyle Aitken
Centre Manager
Kyle has come back to BMAC. He started here 2006 and worked as an instructor for 6 years. He left with his wife Hania to travel and see more of the world spending time in Aus, UK and the Czech Republic before hearing the call to come back to BMAC. He and Hania left with two kids and arrived back with four. Kyle is keen to see BMAC help ignite a fire in those that come, they can take away and pass on. He has been known to pull some epic pranks, loves his rafting and pushing groups to the max, but is equally at home in the office pushing paper around.
Qualifications: NZOIA Rock 1, Bush 1, Canoe 1, Sea Kayak 1, Senior Grade III Raft Guide, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care.
Stephen Ward
Operations Manager
Stephen is one of our very own, walking talking Soldier from The Salvation Army. He brings his brilliant accent from the UK, along with 10 years work experience in the outdoors over there.
Joining the BMAC team in 2016, Stephen keeps our team current, providing staff with up to date training, and maintaining the highest quality in the delivery of our programmes and adventures, sharing his wealth of knowledge and skills with our staff and clients alike.
Not only does he love the outdoors, he also loves to dance, and teaches modern jive. He gets right into gaming on his PS5, and thrives of his new-found skill of backflipping off waterfalls!
He brings with him a relentless enthusiasm and optimism that the outdoors can have a positive impact on people’s lives if used well… and a cookie monster onesie that he refuses to apologise for.
Qualifications: NZOIA Bush I, NZOIA Rock I, Raft Guide Grade III, National Certificate in Outdoor Recreation Leadership in Tramping and Mountain Biking, BCU Five Star Kayak and Kayak Coaching Award, Level II Canoe Coach Award, Swiftwater Rescue, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care.
Lynnelle Jellyman
Office Manager
Lynnelle comes to BMAC having grown up in the Salvation Army and with 20+ years study and experience in Youth Work and Human Resource Management.
Alongside this, she worked for 4 years in overseas mission, which gave her a real passion for people and travel.
Life now sees Lynnelle adjusting to off-grid living, with a couple of cats, and some cows, enjoying her proofreading side-hustle.
She loves her whanau and friends, being in nature, dancing, having a laugh and good food.
Her dream is to run a retreat centre at the foot of mighty Koro Ruapehu.
Steve Parker
Instructor
Qualifications: Rock I, Alpine I, Diploma in Theology, Clifton Strengths Coach, Outdoor First Aid, BMAC competencies, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care
Hania Aitken
Instructor/Marketing Coordinator
Hania is a grassroots feature at BMAC. Married to Mr Kyle, she trained as an apprentice back in 2006, and worked full time until 2009 when the first of their 4 children was born. Aside from bits of contracting in between babies, her main role until this year has been focused in the homefront and on growing her other hobby of personal training.
Our resident racing enthusiast, she loves OCR (Obstacle Course Racing), quickly followed by trail running, and adventure racing.
We are stoked to welcome Hania back in a part time role as an Instructor and Marketing Coordinator. She brings a steadfast passion for BMAC and the mission here, and is loving getting back into the outdoors in a greater volume.
Quals: Grade II Raft Guide, Outdoor First Aid, Certificate IV in Youth work, Level 4/5 Personal Training.
Olivia Limmer
Instructor/Peak Coordinator
Olivia grew up in Hamilton and as a kid, came through church to a couple camps at BMAC.
She has always been pretty active and enjoyed doing a lot of different sports growing up, including: competitive swimming, representative hockey, dancing, and soccer.
Joining BMAC as one of the apprentices in 2024, Olivia has taken her love for the outdoors to the next level now as an Instructor here.
She loves hanging out with young people and seeing the passion and spark they have for life. Livi is super excited to see people try things at BMAC they never thought they'd be able to do whether that’s physically, mentally or spiritually, and counts herself lucky to be getting amongst it!
Some fun facts: she is fluent in NZSL, and is a Salvation Army Senior Soldier.
We love having you here Liv! Looking forward to seeing you grow in the outdoors both personally and professionally.
Qualifications: Grade II Raft Guide, Outdoor First Aid, Swiftwater Rescue, BMAC competencies
Kara Baxendine
Instructor
Sam Herring
Instructor
Christina McLachlan
Apprentice
Sophie Burgess
Instructor
Sophie is one of our locals who has joined the BMAC team! She's originally a Waikato kid but she now calls the mighty Tongariro home.
She studied outdoor and adventure education at Hillary Outdoors and joined the BMAC team because she loved the small family-like work culture here. In her spare time, she loves getting up to all sorts of shenanigans in the great outdoors, as well as enjoying a good arts & crafts sesh with her sisters.
Sophie brings an incredible passion for helping people have a positive experience in God's beautiful creation.
We are so happy to have her join the BMAC family and can't wait to see the awesome impact she has on the people she works with!
Qualifications: Level 5 Diploma in Outdoor Education, Rock Leader, Abseil Leader, Kayak Leader, Bush Leader (with Overnight Endorsement), Swiftwater Rescue, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care.
Could this be you???
Apprentice
Did you know we offer a paid Apprenticship poisition here at BMAC?!
We're consistently looking for the next amazing human to come and join our wonderful team. If you love to work with people, and are interested in training as an outdoor instructor, plus explore more of creation through the great outdoors, maybe this could be your perfect fit.
If you think this could be a bit of you, please get in touch and register your interest through this link.
Positions Vacant
Join the team
Already trained in the outdoors and looking for your next adventurous place to call home?
Check out our current job vacancies and see if there’s a fit for you.
Address
17 Pito Street, Raurimu
RD 1, Owhango, 3989
Central North Island
New Zealand
Call Us
07 892 2630