Q&A: Riverside Adventures

Q&A: Riverside Adventures

Discover the Waikato River at your own pace.

A recent sit-down with Sally Hastie, Business Manager for Riverside Adventures was the perfect opportunity to discover more about natures playground which sits in our backyard!

Riverside Adventures, it looks exciting - in a nutshell what is it and who is it for?

We’re a family owned and operated business based on the edge of Lake Karapiro in the Mighty Waikato.

We put adventure packages together for people to experience our amazing area and offer biking, kayaking, glowworms, shuttles, adventure races and team building. We have something to cater for everyone, from those who have retired, to families, school groups, corporates and more!

Who are the brains behind the business, what were the motivating factors for such an adventurous location?

Riverside Adventures Waikato - previously Lake District Adventures, was a dream of mine from when I was a child, to be able to share the Glowworms with others and to show people their amazing backyard.

With the help of my parents, Ann and Mike Paget and husband Steve, it became a reality almost 10 years ago! The fact that we now have 3 awesome trails nearby as well as the lake, is a bonus and works in so well with everything that we have on offer.

Our mantra is to “come and share the beauty of our surroundings: Riverside Adventures, Waikato invites you to experience pure adventure by bike, kayak or on foot to stretch your body, boost your morale and feed your soul.” We have everything available for this coming summer and we’re offering fully inclusive bespoke packages, which are proving extremely popular.

We also have our shuttles running regularly on the Te Awa River Ride, Waikato River Trail and Hauraki Rail Trails, as well as Kayak Glowworm tours, Daytime Canyon Kayak tours, bike hire, and kayak hire.

We can help with your next adventure from a couple of hours to a multi-day!

Your four pillars are; Play, Stay, Eat & Meet - can you elaborate further on the intention behind each?

The 4 pillars are about getting people to Play all day and stay the night.

We want to offer people the ease of everything being in one spot. No need to travel anywhere else.

After covid we realised that we had an amazing offering which Kiwis and Internationals truly want and need.

In the near future we’ll also have a space for people to meet and include adventures into their next function, meetings, team building events etc. With wellbeing becoming and integral part of teams, we want to be able to offer the whole deal. We also work with a number of other local providers to offer other activities and local cuisines! Lastly, a weekend at Riverside Adventures in summer - what does that look and feel like?

We believe a weekend with us in summer epitomises a kiwi holiday!

The outdoors, friends, whanau, fun, adventure and maybe trying an activity for the first time. There is nothing more magical than being out in nature and exploring our surroundings with your nearest and dearest.

INFORMATION Riverside Adventures WORDS KA Digital Marketing

For a fun-filled weekend with family and friends soaking up the glorious outdoors this summer, you know where to turn!