OMAKA LODGE – Your Hosts
When you make the journey to Omaka Lodge, you’ll be met by the owners and hosts, Chris & Scott, and the resident pets – Millie, an American Cocker Spaniel, and cats Baz and Mrs Poulouvitska (known as Mrs Poo in honour of the character in To The Manor Born).
A qualified landscape designer, Chris has two decades’ experience in hospitality management, wedding planning and management, and, more recently, interior design. Scott, meanwhile, followed up a History degree with nearly two decades in sales and marketing and, more recently, as an administrator in the accounting and real estate industries.
Given his landscape and interior design expertise, it’s only fitting that Chris spends his time maintaining the extensive gardens at Omaka Lodge, while Scott takes care of Omaka Lodge’s sales, marketing and administration – before joining Chris in the grounds.
Throughout 2016, becoming more and more fed up with the rat-race and increasing pace of everyday life, Chris & Scott began thinking about moving from their home in Cambridge to somewhere more relaxed, somewhere tranquil. Several locations in New Zealand were considered, among them Taumarunui, where Chris’ late father was born, raised, and farmed. So, in January 2017, Chris & Scott and some friends visited Taumarunui to experience two of the local attractions – a RailCart tour with Forgotten World Adventures, and a jetboat tour along the magnificent Whanganui River to the Bridge To Nowhere. Both tours were fantastic, and Chris & Scott fell in love with Taumarunui, the friendly locals and the unique attractions. They spotted Omaka in a real estate window, viewed it twice in one week and bought it shortly afterwards. Moving in on the second-coldest day of the year, they haven’t looked back as they set about transforming Omaka Lodge into a boutique bed and breakfast venue in the heart of New Zealand’s Forgotten World.
Should you wish to find out more about what’s on offer at Omaka Lodge, check out our Accommodation page and our Gardens page, and for ideas on what you can do in the surrounding area, our Experiences page has some useful suggestion. Omaka Lodge is also an ideal location for Occasions such as boutique weddings or small gatherings. Whatever you choose, Chris & Scott and the animal helpers look forward to welcoming you to Omaka Lodge, a tranquil oasis amidst New Zealand’s Forgotten World.
We would like to thank the following for allowing us to use some of the images shown on this site:
Visit Ruapehu, Taumarunui Canoe Hire, Shirley Barton (Photographer) and Kathryn Davis by Design.
We would also like to thank the following for their support during the creation of Omaka Lodge:
BuildBusiness Internet Marketing, Balance Design And Marketing, Katie Walker and Property Brokers Taumarunui, Buchanan Building, Ecoefficienct Solutions, Maurice’s Pools & Spas, BA Heat Pumps Ltd, Visit Ruapehu, and last but certainly not least, Ken & Gaye Street, without whom Omaka would not have existed.
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