Reviewing 2024 as it Disappears in
the Rear Vision Mirror
As 2024 slips away, I thought it might be timely to reflect on the year just gone at River Valley.
Great Things
All the 5-star reviews we keep getting. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to write and share their experiences with us and others on Trip Advisor or Google. Those reviews give us a boost and help other people decide to visit us.
Getting our Tussock to Dune Rides cycle trips going. These four-day rides travel from the high point of the Taihape – Napier Road to the beachside community of Koitiata on the North Island’s west coast. We have experienced great feedback with these rides, which we are still fine tuning, so they will only improve!
The feedback we receive about how happy, kind, professional and friendly our staff are. Thanks to both the staff and especially credit to Janey, who strives to run a happy ship.
The food! Lots of great feedback about the food served at River Valley Lodge. Kudos to Melissa, who grows the vegetables in our organic vegetable garden, and Miranda (ably assisted by Luke – who is finishing up – sob), who turns it all into delicious meals.
Horses. Happy horses and excellent riding conditions. The River Valley Ride, an 8-day ride, is an international hit. Nicola and her small team are passionate about what they do, providing well- trained horses for rides for riders.
The Rangitkei River. From the very first days of River Valley in the early 1980s, the different sections of this river have been our playground and initially, at least, the whole reason for there being a River Valley Lodge. The river keeps delivering fun, exciting experiences no matter what section you raft. It is great to see increasing numbers of people taking up the option of a multi-day river trip. These trips offer much more than the usual half or full day trip.
The weather. No cyclones, no constant rain, in fact, a reasonably ordinary summer. Even winter was not too bad – though that is a relative thing for Taihape!
Challenges
Every year has challenges, and the following is probably the major one for us.
New Zealand has got expensive, and our costs keep going up. We’re sorry, but price increases are unavoidable.
There is a cost of living crisis, and talking to customers from overseas is not just limited to New Zealand. We try to contain our price increases as best we can, but to keep offering the experiences we do, some increases have to be made.
Finally, we thank you, all our guests, customers, fans, and friends. Thank you for your support this last year, and to many of you, thank you for the support you have given us over many years. Without that, we would not still be here.
Happy Holidays, and may 2025 be a tremendous year for you.
All the best
Brian, Nicola, Janey, Tom, Melissa, Miranda, Coke, Hazel, Jacob, Luke, Max, Shaun, Lupe, Mareikura,
Fynn, Ross, Madi, Dani, Isla, Keeva, Luca and Emily
