Outback Adventures celebrates its success

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 10, 30 July 1985, Page 6

Outback Adventures celebrates its success

Representatives of many Ruapehu region businesses gathered at the offices of Ruapehu Outback Adventures in Clyde Street on Wednesday to mark the start of the second winter season for the Ohakune business.

Ruapehu Outback Adventures came into being early in 1984. This was the first opportunity for the Waimarino to

co-ordinate its wealth of adventure experiences for a wide variety of people, local as well as the increasing numbers of visitors to the

region. Don and Sue Allomes started the business as they saw it as a way of developing their existing business — Educational Tours Unlimited. With Educational Tours Unlimited the couple — both teachers — brought a large number of teenagers to the Ohakune region to take part in winter residential ski packages. Often poor weather prevented skiing, thus enabling a variety of other outdoor activities to be "discovered". This, allied to the fact that other resources were already in place, meant it was an

easy step into the new development. A number of individuals and existing operators were approached with the aim of jointly promoting the outdoor recreation possibilities in the Ohakune region. The company now offers a wide variety of outdoor adventures in both summer and winter, for people of all ages. The success of the business is reflected by the fact that 40 percent of its bookings are made by overseas visitors — although, to date, the company has not advertised overseas.