Noel Edmonds, UK TV and radio personality, takes on a Kiwi hospitality challenge in a new show coming to our screens next week.
It was 2018 when Edmonds and his partner, “earth-angel” Liz, first travelled 11 thousand miles to New Zealand. Looking to pursue a new life in the hospitality sector, the couple opened a boutique vineyard-style establishment called River Haven in Ngātīmoti, Motueka.
The show Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure, launching on Monday night, is the result of their experience.
Edmonds, not one to shy from a challenge, leads the establishment hosting a vineyard, coffee-cart, general store, restaurant and pub, forcing him to wear a bevy of different hats.
The River Haven venture also exposes Edmonds’ alternative beliefs, featuring spaces such as the energy garden, where sound-frequency healing is applied to topiaries in hopes of enhancing their growth.
While the Edmonds credit feelings, spirituality and heart as central to their choice of the small town Ngātīmoti, their journey is not without its strife. They face an uphill battle against uncooperative machinery, weather emergencies and negative press coverage.
Thanks to shows like Noel’s House Party and Deal or No Deal, Edmonds is a household name in the UK, the same place his show received harsh critique.
UK tabloids reported ITV had cancelled the show after a three-episode run. Edmonds denied these claims, saying the show had never been slated for longer than three separate one-hour episode documentary episodes in the first place.
Edmonds also faced local criticism on his venture, reported in local media for allegedly letting around 17 workers go with less than 24 hours’ notice. Those workers were apparently blindsided as the establishment’s summer shutdown was prolonged indefinitely.
Edmonds called these claims “lies, lies and more lies” but did acknowledge the business was “costing [me] a fortune”.
He was also in the news when June’s Nelson-Tasman flooding dramatically affected the River Haven property. Acknowledging the struggle he said: “When you come to New Zealand, you change your view about the relationship between weather and the economy.”
Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure is on TVNZ1 at 8.35pm on Monday, November 17 and then available on TVNZ+
