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2019/20 Season Wrap & Covid-19: Booking Flexibility
Well, here we all are, facing a situation that’s unprecedented in our lifetimes. A situation that’s impacting everyone, everywhere. Thanks to Covid-19, people are anxious about losing their jobs, their financial security and their health. And in the face of that, I want to talk about fly-fishing at Owen River Lodge. You… Read more
Covid-19 : Owen River Lodge Response
March 14, 2020The world has entered a period of challenge as we all try to manage the risk posed by the Covid-19 coronavirus and deal with its impact on our daily lives. In the face of unrelenting global media coverage about the situation, we understand and acknowledge that you may be nervous about travelling. We therefore hope you find this… Read more
Health & Safety discussions are shown to cause more eyerolls than any other workplace topic
“Health and Safety” might not sound as sexy as “luxury accommodation” or “stunning food and wine” but you can bet that keeping our guests safe and well is pretty darned important to them. Which makes it even more important to us. That’s why we invited New Zealand accreditation agency Qualmark to audit our Health… Read more
It’s official—ORL provides NZ’s best visitor experience!
On Thursday October 24, at a prestigious black tie dinner in Christchurch, Owen River Lodge was announced winner of the Visitor Experience category in the 2019 New Zealand Tourism Awards.This is the second year in a row that we’ve been recognised by our industry peers. In 2018, we took out the Business Excellence Award for… Read more
So you want to be a fly fishing guide ?
Owen River Lodge is one of New Zealand’s premier fishing lodges. We are seeking to take on a guide intern, so they may learn from the very best guides in the business and hopefully become full time members of our guiding team. Owen River Lodge will help perfect your fly fishing techniques. Being a good fly fisher… Read more
New travel rules for New Zealand
The New Zealand Government has introduced new travel requirements for most visitors coming into the country from the USA, UK, Europe and Asia. The first is the IVL (International Visitor Tourism and Conservation Levy) and the second is called the NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority). Travellers need to request these… Read more
ORL Women only luxury fly fishing retreat - April 2020!
Normally at this time of year we’d be winding down and looking forward to a break—especially after the super-busy season we’ve just had—but we’re really excited about this latest development and can’t wait to share it. In April 2020 we’re hosting a six night/five day luxury fly fishing retreat exclusively for women… Read more
2019 was a great season. 2020 could be extraordinary
I’ve been fishing New Zealand for 23 years now and operating the Lodge for 16 of them, so I feel reasonably well-qualified to assess the health of our fishery. And take it from me—I’ve never seen our brown trout in such great shape. Even after our long, hot summer—one of the driest summers on record—the fish have maintained… Read more
Why fly fish New Zealand ?
Why fly fish New Zealand ? Why do people come from all over the world to fly fish New Zealand—a little country tucked away at the bottom of most global maps (if it’s even included at all)? As with most questions in life, the answer is made up of many parts. Clarity of the water New Zealand rivers, especially those in the… Read more
Casting for Recovery @ Owen River Lodge 2019 : Special April Package
For the past 7 years, we have donated the lodge to Casting for Recovery for their Upper South Island retreat. This season we are upping the ante ! In addition to offering lodging for the event, we are offering to donate $500 per person for any new booking of 5 nights or more for stays between April 1st and… Read more
Owen River Lodge wins prestigious NZ Tourism award !
We really hoped for it but we certainly didn’t expect it! Last night, Owen River Lodge became the first fishing lodge in the country to win at the New Zealand Tourism Awards. I accepted the 2018 Westpac Business Excellence Award on behalf… Read more
All the questions you have about fly fishing in New Zealand, but were afraid to ask !
In this blog I shall attempt to answer all the questions about fly fishing in New Zealand - well at least some of them ! Firstly an overview of New Zealand ! New Zealand is a very small country, packed with ever changing geography, friendly people and some of the clearest rivers & largest trout you will ever encounter.… Read more
Owen River Lodge - offically NZ's most highly accredited fishing lodge
Great news! I am delighted to announce that Qualmark, the independent accommodation agency wholly owned by Tourism New Zealand, has just awarded Owen River Lodge its prestigious Luxury Lodge certification. This is the highest level of certification in New Zealand. Qualmark has also given us a Gold Sustainable Tourism… Read more
Casting for Recovery 2018
The last weekend of the fishing season was again taken up by the brilliant women from the Casting for Recovery charity. This was the 6th year we have donated Owen River Lodge to host the CFR South Island retreat. The retreat kicked off late Friday afternoon and went through to mid afternoon Sunday. There were 10 participants,… Read more
Preparing for your trip to New Zealand
For some a fly fishing trip to the South Island of New Zealand is a once in a lifetime event; for many of our guests it’s an annual pilgrimage. In either case there are two things you can do to maximise your fishing success and hopefully also your enjoyment. Practice your casting If there was one thing I would recommend… Read more
Feb 24 2019
My return trip to fly fishing paradise AKA Owen River Lodge! I have traveled New Zealand extensively over 40 years in pursuit of large trout and there’s a reason I keep… Read more
May 2 2018
We are planning our 7th trip to ORL! Felix and staff have become dear friends, and we count down to our trip each year! The accommodations are first class, the food top notch,… Read more
Awards & acknowledgements
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Owen River Lodge NZ: “Fly fishing at its very best”
Ph: +64 3 523 9075 Address: Owen Valley East Road, Murchison, Nelson, South Island, New Zealand
Email: stay@owenriverlodge.co.nz