You can be among the best in your industry, hosting enthusiastic adventurers in some truly spectacular areas of New Zealand wilderness but COVID-19’s impact on tourism spared no one. Overnight, your bookings are gone and your livelihood in jeopardy. 

What did Hawea neighbours Paul Nicholson, of New Zeal, and Bob McLachan, of Best Foot Forward, do? 

They got together over a series of boundary fence meetings to hatch their plans for Fresh Adventures to offer world-class wilderness experiences in New Zealand’s backyard.

Paul says 90 per cent of his New Zeal customers were from overseas and, obviously, they won’t be coming back any time soon.

“The impact was dreadful,” Paul says. “We’re no different to any other operator in international tourism. It’s been a hell of a job to ride that wave and stay positive, as we work out how to deal with this.”

Bob’s business is more local, but the impact similar. “We lost Australian and domestic bookings for guided missions. The athlete training side of things obviously slowed down as well with no events to train for and lockdown restrictions. Essentially Paul and I were in a similar boat that our businesses weren’t viable. This started the seed to create Fresh Adventures.”

For the foreseeable future, New Zealanders won’t be taking overseas holidays, so Fresh Adventures aims to reach those couples, families and groups of friends looking to share a special experience. 

Their vision is to wow Kiwis with multi-day hiking and rafting expeditions in areas such as Fiordland’s Hollyford and Wairaurahiri rivers, the West Coast’s Landsborough River and Canterbury’s Ahuriri Valley. The all-inclusive adventures will see travellers and guides camp expedition style or overnight in backcountry huts. Helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and/or jet boats will be used for access, depending on the destination. Daily itineraries include activity and adventure, as well as time to stop and savour the scenery, explore, stroll or just chill out.

Paul and Bob want to share the sort of wilderness experience they do with their families all the time. “This is a great opportunity to explore some of New Zealand’s special and remote places; to enjoy those earthy, authentic New Zealand experiences that most of us grew up with. The beauty of our wild and remote places is breath-taking. Many international trips aren’t a patch on what we have here.”

The combined pool of knowledge, experience, training, certification, and resources shared by Paul and Bob is extensive and potentially unrivalled in the New Zealand adventure tourism sector. Between their two original businesses, they have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in resource consents and Department of Conservation concessions for several key waterways and regional parks the length and breadth of the South Island. Rafting activities operate with Maritime New Zealand code of compliance and according to adventure activity regulations. The pair also have a swag of qualifications as guides for rafting, hiking, outdoor instruction and pack rafting, plus first aid and neuro-linguistic programming.

Paul says: “We have access, sometimes exclusive access, to some incredible parts of New Zealand not easily reached by the average tourist. There aren’t many adventure operators who have the resources we have, let alone a couple of guides in their mid-40s with the experience we have.”

The establishment of Fresh Adventures has involved Paul’s wife Katarina, a graphic designer who created the logo and website, and Bob’s partner Catherine Pattison, a journalist who created the website copy and will help implement their launch and media strategies. Paul puts his business nous to work on budgets and pricing while Bob contributes route planning, packages and logistics. The whole venture has been created in-house, even the photo shoot which was done by a French boarder, Sebastien Francotte, a drone pilot and photographer who has stayed with Kattis and Paul during lockdown.

Word of mouth and social media are important tools to help Fresh Adventures reach the New Zealanders who are fortunate to be able to plan a holiday in coming months. The team is also working on media famils, and with agents and other influencers to spread the word.

While winter’s approach limits the full scale launch of Fresh Adventures until spring, they have made an offer to Wanaka employers, asking them to nominate an essential worker from their business who would enjoy a guided rafting trip down the Hawea River. “We want to say thank you to those who have worked so hard during lockdown to help ensure we had access to essential services,” Paul says. The scenic float will finish at a riverside property, where another local supplier, Tipi Village, will host a meal. Business owners are asked to nominate their workers for the special Hawea River thank you trip by messaging Fresh Adventures via their Facebook page. 

More information about Fresh Adventures can be found on their website. 

This story was commissioned by The Wanaka App and written by Kate Gordon-Smith of Relish Communications.