Caryln Topp - ‘Topp’ of her game

Carlyn Topp has served in multiple voluntary governance and community roles, at times juggling them all at once, while also managing two busy hospitality businesses and raising her kids.

Despite all this, she’s proof that a uni degree doesn’t necessarily get you to the ‘top’, but having the necessary business smarts does.

From managing the finances – international transfers, bank reconciliations and worldwide payments - for the Red Cross in London to surviving fierce competition in Christchurch real estate, all in her late 20s, business and numbers have always been Carlyn’s strength.

“I’d go into a house and see potential and wonder what I could do to improve how it was presented, which led to me studying Interior Design in Christchurch,” she says.

However, this wasn’t before the adventurer that was planted in her during her time at Ashburton College was let loose during two years OE.

Always strong at sport Carlyn was into running, cycling and played Mid-Canterbury rep netball as well as rep Town and Country Football. “We were a small town, and I was the only female in the football team,” she grins.

Sport and exercise have always been her go to – the thing that’s helped her juggle so many business and community roles. “I absolutely loved sport. Running was like my filing cabinet. While I was running or biking I’d filed things away, a good basis for mental health.”

Carlyn discovered skiing during high school and an Open Polytech course in adventure tourism and hospitality with work experience at Mount Hutt. “From then on I wanted to travel.

“Cellphones weren’t big back then and I wrote letters home but would ring my parents once a month to say I was alive,” Carlyn says. “Once I rang while in Germany at the Beerfest and they were in tears as there had been a plane crash in France and they hadn’t heard from me. You forget when you’re young.”

After studying interiors, start-ups became her thing. She began helping friends who’d started importing kitchens from China in the mid-2000s before working for Palazzo Kitchens, importing kitchens from Italy and Germany and launching the business in Christchurch and Auckland. “I was designing kitchens and overseeing orders and installations.”

Carlyn also worked in consumer finance for South Canterbury Finance, but it was in amongst the kitchens that she met husband, Lindsey – a property developer who was building Arrowfield Apartments in Arrowtown’s Butel Park.

Their son, Hunter, then made an entry in 2009. “We came to Arrowtown for Lindsey to work while I was on maternity leave and never left. We were only going to stay until Hunter was five, but Queenstown took its hold.”

That began almost 20 years managing high-end visitor apartments, Carlyn and Lindsey then taking over the management contract on Highview Apartments from Peppers Beacon. “We were running both Arrowtown and Highview, something had to give, so Arrowfield was sold, then daughter Reilly arrived too in 2012.” Carlyn managed Highview as busy mum of two preschoolers – a role she held for 14 years.

“The kids grew up quickly. They learned how to communicate with guests and make beds,” she grins.

Carlyn held the role of president of the Wakatipu Toy Library and chairperson of the new Shotover School ‘Friends of School’ (PTA), leading fundraisers, helping raise thousands of dollars for the playground.

Her ‘can do’ attitude had her nominated for and voted onto Accommodation NZ’s board as regional chair, the Hospitality NZ Central Otago board, the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce, then the Destination Queenstown board just as Covid hit in early 2020. She had just taken over the management rights to Marina Terrace in Wanaka in 2019 as well.

“There was so much policy to deal with, to keep people safe and keep businesses going. There was a lot of dealing with the airport and medical staff to house, getting tourists home safely, but many didn’t want to go home as they thought it was safer here.”

Selling out of Marina Terrace in 2023 and Highview in 2024, Carlyn has had many amusing requests from guests over the years and thrown out the odd electric jug after finding socks left in it that had gone off the boil! “I’d always have to go in first wearing rubber gloves when my kids and other teenagers were helping clean the rooms to ensure there was nothing inappropriate left behind!” she says. “We even had an ironing board stolen once.”

Her years in hospitality have left her with the greatest respect for cleaners. “I tell them, ‘Never say, ‘I’m just a cleaner’. No need for a gym membership when you do that job. We’d have no business without them.”

In 2023 Carlyn was awarded Hospitality NZ’s prestigious Lynn Braddock Award for Life Services to Hospitality.

Probably her greatest passion though is her advocacy for kids, especially those with learning difficulties. “Both of our kids had learning disabilities, so I joined and ended up running ‘Remarkable Kids’ to support other parents in finding the right specialists and help.” Mental health advocate Mike King invited her onto the ‘I AM HOPE’ board, which organises ‘Gumboot Friday’ and free counselling for under 25’s, getting ambassadors into schools to encourage kids and young people to open up and talk about their feelings. “Mental health is a community problem and needs a community solution.”

Carlyn’s also chairperson of the Branches Trust and is on the Wakatipu Netball Association and Wakatipu High Netball Committee, a longtime coach for school netball and basketball. She’s also done her fair share of ‘bench duty’ having just returned as a camp mum and cook from a week at national tournament in Tauranga with a Wakatipu basketball team.