Taken From The Wild The beauty of Autumn has arrived. Once again, I find myself in a quandary. To take or not to take. To save or to leave to the hands of fate. I’m referring to the annual muster of the wild horses in the Kaimanawa Ranges. I have been fortunate to have [...]
It’s a Wrap. The End of the Multi Day River Trip Season. Today the 7th of April, the guests on our last multi day river trip of the season will be picked up and brought back to the Lodge. It has been a bit cooler, in fact yesterday was quite cold, and no doubt [...]
What Is Reductionism? Why Is It a Form Of Thinking That Is So Pervasive And Why Does It Give The Wrong Answers? A term I often see is “reductionism”. This term while increasingly common in articles about regenerative systems, is especially common when used as the opposite of “holistic”. The process of reductionism is [...]
Buffalo and The Benefits of Diversity Meet Buffalo Buffalo is a new, and somewhat unplanned, arrival at River Valley. While we knew and planned that there would be a couple like Buffalo in the Spring, his arrival a week ago – early autumn - was a real surprise. Buffalo is the offspring [...]
Defining Moments There are defining moments in both the lives of people, and the history of nations. Those defining moments often come with options. Those options can lead both individuals and nations down very different paths. To take some of those paths entails a great deal more bravery than others. New Zealand, after the [...]
Memories of Starlings and Streams. Why Are They Important? One of the most vivid memories I have from my childhood was each evening watching the waves of Starlings coming home to roost. Their roost was a stretch of old bamboo, probably about 50 metres in length. The noise of calls, chirps, general greetings, squabbling [...]
Why Sustainable Isn't Sustainable this. Sustainable that. What are your policies on being sustainable? How is your business addressing sustainability issues? Have you signed up to the Tourism Sustainability Commitment? (Which we have because it is a step in the right direction, but will it make a real difference – doubtful) When I questioned [...]
Doers or Viewers? We had a very negative, but short, Trip Advisor review the other day. The issue appeared to be that we would not give out our business Wi-Fi password to a guest while we were upgrading our customer Wi-fi service with new equipment. Of course, if the customer had needed the service [...]
Why Are The Rules Like This? A few days ago, one of our senior river guides gave us a heads up that he had been offered a more “normal” job, a change of career, and that he was seriously considering taking up the offer. The job comes with a reasonable salary plus a house. [...]
Will 2019 See a Return of the Duckie? It was once a regular occurrence, Duckie season. Not for the last couple of years though. Changing weather patterns with wetter summers had almost appeared to make Duckie season extinct. No more people ringing and asking whether they could book a Duckie trip but cancel it [...]
