River Rats

River Rats was established in 1982 and we are proud to be celebrating over 40 years in business. It is family-owned, Justin & Jo purchased the business 25 years ago.

In Māori culture, there is a strong traditional value known as Manaakitanga. It is the belief that your own well-being, integrity, and standing in society (your Mana) can be enhanced by how well you treat your visitors. It is the Māori principle of hospitality – that every guest is treated with the highest respect and made to feel welcome, safe, and comfortable.

For New Zealand’s Māori people, looking after visitors and caring about how others are treated – no matter what their standing in society – is of prime importance.

While we have staff from all over the world, we believe that encouraging staff to embrace this concept will enhance the experience we give our customers. In 2018, we were very proud to achieve Tripadvisor’s Hall of Fame which is awarded for achieving a certificate of excellence 5 years in a row, and this year we agian received a Peoples Choice Award.

We are lucky to live in a very unique and special part of the world and it is an honour to be able to show off our unique environment, history, and culture by sharing it with our visitors. Most of all we believe in having fun. If we are enjoying ourselves we hope that this will flow through.