Reflections on Contrasts
Reflections on Contrasts What a difference a few days make! A little over ten days ago, the primary weather concern in our area of the world was an unfolding drought. The landscape was parched, turning from that lovely golden summer brown to the grey-brown of dust. Trees were quickly becoming the only green things to [...]
No Person or Business is an Island
No Person or Business is an Island A highlight for me, having worked at River Valley for almost 36 years, has always been the people you meet. Most guests only stay for a night or two, and pre-covid, they were primarily from overseas. This meant we seldom, but not necessarily never, got to see them [...]
Respect Goes Both Ways
Respect Goes Both Ways Recently the New Zealand government came out with a new system of covid alert levels called the traffic light system. This new system will come into effect on the 3rd December 2021. There are plenty of details online about how it works in general, so I will not take up any [...]
Staying in the Current
Staying in the Current Since I guided my first raft in 1986, the rafting "industry" has seen many changes. One of the most important of these has been the development and improvement of guide skills. Being a raft guide in New Zealand now means holding a qualification, with sections of that qualification needing to be [...]
The Reluctant Wedding Planner
The Reluctant Wedding Planner Back in what seems to me to be the distant past, River Valley was first and foremost an adventure company. We cut our teeth in the early 1980s on the Grade 5 white water rafting section of the North Island’s Rangitikei River. This stretch of river, voted by Red Bull as [...]
