Adventure takes many forms for Ruapehu company

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 269, 22 December 1988, Page 2

Adventure takes many forms for Ruapehu company

Year-round horse riding, white water rafting in the summer months, skiing in the winter with summer tramping and 4wheel drive options as well. This is the recipe that Sue Allomes, of Ruapehu Outback Adventures, is cooking up for visitors to Ohakune.

And it's a mixture that's working. "Ohakune is an area offering so many different adventurous activities," says Sue Allomes, founder of Outback Adventures, Ohakune. "Skiing is the high profile sport, of course. But there's so much else too." "Ohakune is slowly coming into its own in the summer. It is encouraging to find that I am now having a s many summer visitors as winter in Ruapehu Homestead," says Sue "some get to know the area on skiing holidays and then return for the summer activities. But many are coming to Ohakune as a good summer centre for mountain walks, riding and rafting." Last summer, she was busy developing both the horse trekking and the rafting, with one full timer employ ed for each. This summer, that i s being doubled, with two full timers for each activity plus several part-time riding instructors and rafting guides. She has also doubled

the number of horses from the previous summer - there are 1 8 now - and extended the haybarn to cater for them. A new venture is a two-day guided horse trek through b u s h , rivers and round a lake. First night is in the homestead and the sec-

ond night in tents o n the trek. The length of trek can be extended an extra day or two. A future plan is for a school-age riding holiday course with basic training in care, grooming and riding techniques. Catering for age groups around 10 to 14 years, it will be a 10-day course held only in the school holidays. Rafting too is going ahead. A new raft, taking eight people, is

being designed ana .built to the tune of some $5000. This will be used on the lower Tongariro River which boasts 40 rapids in 13 kms. Most of their rafts have a capacity of four, suited to the smaller Manganui-a-te-ao River. Trained as a school teacher, Sue Allomes got to know Ohakune when she brought school groups to the area for outdoor activities. Realising its po-

tential, she and husband, Don, started the adventure company six years ago as a parttime, weekend venture. Don practiced (and still does) as a physiotherapist; Sue as a

teacher. But teaching gave way to running the company 15 months ago and the full-time commitment to Ruapehu Outback Adventures is now paying off.