Let River Valley, our New Zealand Adventure Lodge, be your destination of choice as you enjoy the beautiful scenery and the pace of adventure within the Rangitikei region, NZ
Duration: 1 Days
Grading:MODERATEMax Group Size: 12
Type:SMALL GROUPPrices from: p.o.a
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Tour Overview
Day 1 - Self drive to River Valley Lodge, or be picked up at Palmerston North or Wellington Airports
Day 2 - Explore the Scenic section downstream of River Valley Lodge by raft or inflatable kayak. Enjoy a riverside picnic lunch. Take in the immense cliffs that start at water line, the forested slopes and crystal clear water. Also included in a 4 or 5 Night Package
Day 3 - Explore the beautiful countryside of the northern Rangitikei region with a full day horse back Trail Ride. Let our guides take you exploring over the sheep and cattle stations (ranches) around River Valley Lodge. Also included in a 4 or 5 Night Package
Day 4 - Get adrenalised - half day Grade 5 white water rafting trip - free half day for enjoying a massage or simply relaxing, enjoy a sauna or spa. Also included in a 4 or 5 Night Package
Day 5 - Immerse yourself in the flora, fauna and history of Mt. Aorangi with local Maori guides on a heli-hike. Mt. Aorangi is steeped in legend. It is a table top mountain that dominates our area.
Day 6 - Visit Mokai Gravity Canyon to experience the full meaning of gravity! Free half day for enjoying a massage or simply relaxing.
Day 7 - The highlight trip of the week - a full day heli raft trip into the beautiful and remote headwaters of the Rangitikei River. An early start, a short drive then a helicopter flight into the wilderness. Also included in a 5 Night Package.
Day 8 - Either be dropped back at Palmerston North or Wellington Airport, or self drive to your next destination
All tours are based from River Valley Lodge, Mangahoata Rd, Taihape, North Island, New Zealand
Guiding and support
So, just who is River Valley?
We want to paint you a picture of a company that is amongst a tiny handful or operators who have been involved with adventure in New Zealand, right from the beginning. A company whose owners and staff are passionate, and professional about what they do. Interested? Then Read ON!
River Valley was registered as a company in 1982, though the family (more about them in a minute), had been involved with white water rafting since 1978. This is about the time that white water rafting as we know it started in New Zealand.
For the first few years, the operation was carried out from what is now the River Valley Homestead. The original part of the Lodge not being built until 1987. Brian and Robin Sage were the original owners of River Valley, with River Valley Lodge being built on what was originally the back of the family farm. Brian and his sons, Richard and William, along with a few mates were the original guides.
The present owners, Brian (another Brian) and Nicola Megaw became involved in 1986, and owners, (along with the Bank!), in 1991. Nicola is Brian and Robin's eldest daughter.
We can now say that we as an extended family have been here for 5 generations, with three of those generations having been, or still are, active river guides. Janey, Brian and Nicola's eldest daughter is also a river guide, having worked in the USA for 3 years, and here for a few more than that.
So there you have it, in a nutshell.
Of course, I am missing out a very important group of people. That is the staff. Many of our guiding staff work with us for quite a few years, sometimes full time, sometimes by the season.
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Tour Highlights
On a multi adventure holiday:
You will feel the excitement of Grade 5 rafting on the Rangitikei River You will gaze in awe at the stunning scenery encountered on the Scenic section of the Rangitikei River You will be immersed in Maori lore while heli - hiking on Mt. Aorangi You will get the John Wayne gait while taking part in a full day trail ride as you explore the hill country of the area by horseback You will be marginally terrified during a visit to Mokai Gravity Canyon, To wrap it all off, you will feel the specialness of being one of the few people to experience a one day heli rafting trip into the Headwaters of the Rangitikei River
And at the end of each day you will return to River Valley Lodge for great food, great company, and a touch of rustic luxury.
Itinerary
Start Saturday evening, conclude 7 days later on Saturday morning, November to end of April
What is included?
All meals from the time you arrive at River Valley Lodge to the time you leave. This includes 3 course dinners at night featuring local produce, breakfasts with cooked and continental options, freshly prepared lunches. Accommodation in one of our deluxe guest rooms, either beside the river, or situated in the Lodge gardens. These rooms are all ensuited (have their own bathrooms) One hour massage Use of Lodge saunas and spa Use of the River Valley Golf Course Equipment, gear, guides and rafts Horses,saddlery, riding gear, guides Helicopter transport where included in the adventure A DVD of your stay Transport to and from Wellington or Palmerston North airports
Staying at River Valley as your lodge, Please enquire for prices
1
p.o.a.
Prices are available on application. For more information regarding prices and offers please make a booking enquiry by clicking the 'Enquire' button.
Accepted Payment Types
• American Express
• Mastercard
• Visa
• Bank Transfer
• Cash
Nature & Kind Factor
River Valley operates beside the Rangitikei River , one of the worlds' most beautiful places. Our family and staff have a huge amount of appreciation of the unspoiled and unpolluted landscape which we endeavour to share with our guests. River Valley is committed to minimising and mitigating the impact of our operations on this environment.
We have introduced a comprehensive environmental plan, which includes measuring and mitigating emissions, recycling, composting, food from our own gardens and livestock where possible, investment in energy saving devices, and planting of native trees.
We have developed some, and will develop further systems to minimise our environmental footprint.
Our Trusted Partner's Responsible and Sustainable Travel Policy
To preserve and enhance our physical environment, making it better than the way we found it.
River Valley operates beside the Rangitikei River , one of the worlds' most beautiful places. Our visitors have a huge amount of appreciation of the unspoiled and unpolluted landscape. River Valley is committed to minimising and mitigating the impact of our operations on this environment.
We have introduced a comprehensive environmental plan, through our involvement with ebex21. We will also encourage our business partners and clients to embrace our environmental vision.
We have developed some, and will develop further systems to minimise our environmental footprint. These may extend beyond the recycling and tree planting programmes we already have in place.
To this end we are currently working through a participation programme with carboNZero. The carboNZero programme is either a participation or certification process to recognise organisations for reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and neutralising their remaining unavoidable emissions. The carboNZero programme is administered by Landcare Research and is the result of over 5 years of credible research.
Environmental results and achievements to date include:
* Commissioning of a state of the art sewage treatment plant that treats our water waste to an extremely high standard and then disperses it to our areas of native plant regeneration. * Meeting of our goals to plant a minimum of 200 square metres of native trees and shrubs per annum - in addition most of these plants are transplanted seedlings grown at River Valley within our gardens and transplanted. * Ongoing opossum control. While the results of this are anecdotal, there appears to be an explosion in the native bird population around the Lodge.
Social
To effectively communicate our values, to stakeholders and local community. To be a catalyst for positive change in our community.
We recognise that we have a profound social effect on the rural community in which we operate. We aim to ensure that we provide a positive interface to our local community that will enhance and improve the relationship between them and the tourism industry.
We aim to have staff that are motivated, happy in their work, and realising their potential. We will provide some of the means for this to be achieved.
About our Trusted Partner
Since 1982, when a white water rafting operation was started by Nicola's Megaw's parents, Brian and Robin Sage, we have taken many thousands of people down different sections of the Rangitikei River in the central North Island of New Zealand. From 1987 they have also been able to stay at River Valley Lodge. Shortly after the Lodge opened a horse trekking operation was also added to our variety of activities.
Nicola and I have now been directly involved with River Valley for 23 years. Our two oldest daughters, Janey and Melissa also have important roles within the company.
Our focus is on being able to provide guests with not only uplifting adventure experiences, but experiences that are also fun, and that does not have to mean a Grade 5 rafting trip. It could also have them enjoying a beautifully cooked country style meal, with much of the produce coming from our own gardens, a glass of wine overlooking the river, or picking up their camera or paint brush and taking part in one of our Art or Photography workshops. Our Sauna and Spa development is part of our desire to create a more holistic experience for our guests that incorporates adventure, local food and wine, deep relaxation and a degree of comfort.
We have also developed a business relationship with our local Maori Iwi (tribe). This has lead to the development of a guided walk on the sacred mountain, Aorangi. This walk, or hikoi in Maori, is not only rich in scenery and flora and fauna, but our Maori guides also give the participants an insight into Maori lore associated with the mountain, and its natural inhabitants.
Our future plans involve a greater emphasis on encouraging guests to stay longer and giving them more opportunity to immerse themselves in our unique environment, providing them with a more meaningful experience. With changes we are presently implementing in our overall operation, this will see us reducing the number of people who can stay overnight at River Valley Lodge itself.
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The judges, who came from the Massey University School of Business, had this to say - "One business - the Supreme Award Winner - was identified with world-class performance in their respective industry, and is a credit to New Zealand......................and exhibit an overwhelming desire for excellence."
NZ Tourism Award 2004 Small Operator of the Year
Awarded to NZ's top small tourism operator in 2004. A small operator had to have less than 12 full time employees.
