River Valley Adventures

River Valley Adventures

River Valley Adventures
5
River Rafting & TubingBiking TrailsEquestrian TrailsWater SportsHorseback Riding Tours
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Monday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Friday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
About
River Valley is an adventure company that operates from River Valley Lodge, an Adventure Lodge situated 32 kilometers east of the central North Island town of Taihape. What is River Valley all about? River Valley is all about rafts and horses. In fact 3 generations (since 1982)of guides have brought adventures based around river rafting and horse back riding to the general public. Rafting ranges in duration from half day Grade 5 trips on the Rangitikei River - often called one of the world's top half day Grade 5 trips - to gentle floats in the midst of spectacular scenery on our Scenic rafting trips. Horse Trekking. The core of the River Valley Stables riding experience is the natural horse training techniques used to train our horses. This produces horses that are responsive and happy. All riding takes place over the beautiful hill country of this area - the northern Rangitikei.
Taihape, New Zealand
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024

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Tours and Tickets by River Valley Adventures
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles295 reviews
Excellent
274
Very good
15
Average
3
Poor
2
Terrible
2

Mark B
Lima, Peru37 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
An amazing, awesome, adrenaline packed adventure which we would highly recommend to others seeking fun, thrills and the occasional spill.
Tom our guide was masterful in mentoring and coaching the four of us through, initially grade 2s and 3s, in preparation for the more challenging 4s and 5s ahead. This stuff is for real and if that is what you’re looking for, go for it with River Valley Team.
In addition to this it is one of the most beautiful canyons you’ll ever see. I for one can’t wait to go again. Thanks Tom, Hannah and the team!
Written 8 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deborah Hudspith
Hamilton, New Zealand5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
The good Kiwi ride was a 3 day trek over beautiful countryside it was amazing from start to finish.
The food was delicious and being vegan I was well catered for with 3 delicious healthy meals. The hospitality and accomodation is faultless
Would recommend anyone that was a fun but challenging ride to book this, horses are so well trained and a pleasure to ride
Written 22 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora Deborah, Thanks for joining us for yet another ride :) Glad you enjoyed our new Good Kiwi Ride and also the food! I'm sure we'll be seeing you again. Kind regards, Dani
Written 22 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Brian R
Decatur, GA8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
Location, amazing down in the river valley - quite private and beautiful. It was so dark at night! Food, amazing the chef is brilliant, ingredients all fresh and local, unique and flexible for this vegetarian. Lodging, amazing we had “the bus” would recommend all day long. As unique as advertised, slept warm, heater and hot water both worked fantastic and the el fresco shower nothing but fun! Hosts, amazing joined us for dinner and wonderful to talk to. Even after multiple generations running the business, it’s a family affair and obvious they still enjoy hosting people and showing true hospitality. Last, horses, amazing. Nicola clearly loves what she does and the animals are well taken care of. I’m sure the rafting is killer too, Brian is very clearly an expert riverman and training guides under him to provide a top notch experience. Oh and the host dogs! Friendly and always appreciate a good skritch. The only bad thing was leaving!
Written 7 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Simon
36 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Overall this was a great trip. However it wasn’t quite what we planned. We signed up for the 3 day ‘Epic’ rafting trip. Before we arrived we received an email warning us that due to a major land slip the itinerary may need to change. We met our guides (Hazel and Jacob) who were enthusiastic and eager. Day one was fun despite the rain. Camp and food very good. Day 2 was due to be on the grade 5 rapids. The guides worked really hard to come up with an alternative due to the slip which still allowed us to complete half of the grade 5 rapids. Well done to everyone for thinking out of the box at such short notice. The walk around was ‘interesting’ but in the end the rafting on day 2 was excellent with great guides throughout. We were then given the opportunity to finish the trip in Duckies (inflatable kayaks) which we accepted. Unexpected but in the end this was a great choice. Again another fun filled day in exceptional surroundings in the gorge. Overall the trip was very good. Sadly we couldn’t do all we had hoped to do due to the slip but that is nature in NZ! We can’t fault any of the team for their efforts to try and make the trip successful. We stayed at the lodge the night before and the night after. Stunning setting and soaking in the hot tub with a glass of Prosecco ( thanks Jacob) was perfect!
Written 15 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Noel B
Palmerston North, New Zealand7 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Friends
This is an excellent three day bike ride. The highlight is conquering the infamous Gentle Annie hill. Steep enough for this septuagenarian, even on an e-bike going up and exhilarating on the descent. A good mix of shingle and asphalt surfaces with plenty of undulations. The River Valley staff en bloc are superb. Fully catered and the food was extremely good. Learned a lot about the area we rode with Brian our guide knowledgeable. Even the Taihape weather in the main played its part. Camping out on the last night made this a rather unique experience. Recommend - Noel B.
Written 11 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anna D
Upper Hutt, New Zealand4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023
Janie was so flexible with options to suit us all. My daughter had a fantastic time on her half day horse ride with Katy. The river was too full for rafting after heavy rain but my son and I had the best time following the Smiling Moa trail on River Valley E-Bikes. Both complete novices to e-biking, we were given all the instruction and preparation we needed by Max, who made sure the bikes were perfectly set up for us. The smiling Moa trail took us through stunning country-side on mostly quiet gravel roads. All the locals we passed were full of smiles and friendly. No time pressure to complete, and delicious refuelling back at the lodge when we returned.
Written 25 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora, Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a review. Glad your enjoyed your horse trek and e-bike ride with us. We hope to see you again. Kind regards, Dani
Written 25 April 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jenny M
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023
We did the 3 day scenic rafting trip down the Rangitikei River and it was great, beautiful scenery, great food and accommodation. Everyone was really nice and very helpful. We had lots of rain and the river flooded but they worked around this to enable us to still do our rafting and bike riding as well. Highly recommend this trip
Written 30 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora Jenny, Thanks for leaving us a review. Glad you enjoyed the rafting and biking even though the weather hasn't been the best! Hope you can visit again. Kind regards, Dani
Written 2 February 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Robyn S
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023
Just back from another amazing 8 Day Horse Ride with this amazing place. Its my second year in a row and I have plans to go back again in 2024. If its possible it was even better this year than last. Amazing horses, incredible hosts, scenery and food (grown organically on the property). Such an epic place and people. Experienced riders only on this 8 Day'er and it benefits everyone
Written 28 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora, Thanks for leaving us a lovely review of your 8 day ride :) awesome to have you back for another one and we hope to see you again! Kind regards, Dani
Written 29 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Fiona S
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2020
Fabulous friendly people. Great accommodation. Fabulous food. My 2 daughters and I enjoyed a horse ride with great views and horses, We have mixed riding abilities and this was well catered for.
The rafting was fantastic fun. I highly recommend this place to anyone who loves adventure and seeing great scenery in a quiet corner of New Zealand.
Written 17 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robert P
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
Floating effortlessly down the picturesque Whanganui river. Four amazing days, great food and interesting company. Would recommend the Whangaui River experience in a River Valley Dory to anyone.
Written 25 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia Ora Rob, Thanks for leaving us a review. We don't run many dory trips as much as we would like to so your feedback is definitely appreciated. Glad you guys had an amazing time, the photos looked magical! Kind regards, Dani
Written 28 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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