A Snowy, Winter Wonderland

River Valley Lodge and much of the Central/South of the North Island have just experienced almost a week of unprecedented snow – a snow storm that brought about 3 days of thick snowfall and almost a week of beautiful scenery and fun snow play.

River Valley Lodge and the Pukeokahu area have been hit by the brunt of it – varying between 40 -75 cm of snow in different areas.

Some of the locals who have lived here for their whole life are saying they have never seen this much snow ever before.

While it is very beautiful and has made for some great snow fun (see the photos of the local kids), it has been rather destructive. Power has been out all through the Taihape district, some more remote locations still without power almost a week on. Many trees and power-lines are still down, making for a massive cleanup job.

The snow is beginning to clear and some of the destruction is becoming more apparent. The local community is in for a hard week or two of cleanup which truly brings out this communities strong spirit for helping each out in these difficult times.

We would like to personally thank a few groups that have been awesome over the last week. Firstly, the local Pukeokahu community – while we were snowed in, so many local farmers came together to clear roads, slope slips, trees and power-lines. Surrounding neighbours shared their food, drinks, warm showers and vehicles.

Secondly, Power Co. and all the staff that have come from as far as Coromandal we have heard; to fix all of the power outages in the district. While River Valley Lodge is still without power, this is been an unbeleivably huge job – see this video captured by Power Co. as they restored power in Mangaweka here.

Lastly, to all the guests that were meant to be staying with us over the last week – thank you for being so understanding of the local situation and we hope that we can still accommodate most of you as soon as we are able to.