Published on : Wednesday, January 9, 2019
The investment will allow the Turangi-based company, which operates on the Tongariro and Waikato rivers, over double in size, anticipated to serve 30,000 visitors by 2022.
Trust spokesperson Tiwana Tibble explains the joint venture also aligns with the hapu’s main target of having a Maori owned enterprise functioning on the Tongariro River, which feeds into the southern end of Lake Taupo.
“Trees, trout and tourism are what we call the three ‘Ts’ which will form a significant part of Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust’s future business strategy,” he says.
“The river connects two significant taonga of Tuwharetoa, being the Tongariro National Park and Lake Taupo.”
Luke Boddington, who introduced Rafting NZ 30 years back with his wife Pianika, explains that they want to give visitors a true sense of the gorgeous beauty of New Zealand along with its Maori heritage and culture.
He states that the investment should permit the company to take on another 40 staff over the coming three years.
The company invests 1 percent of its sales revenue into Awa Toa Fund, which it has developed to preserve lakes, rivers and streams for the coming generations.
The fund is utilized to train and employ local Tuwharetoa, to plant native trees all along the banks of the Tongariro River, and to help in preserving the natural environment of the whio or whistling blue duck, one of New Zealand’s rarest animals.
Tags: Rafting New Zealand