“When you come to New Zealand, you change your view about your relationship between the weather and the economy,” Edmonds said.
“We’re haemorrhaging money at the moment because you have to take staff on in anticipation of the guests coming.
“We’re going to have to have a spectacular November and December to balance the books.”
Later on, Edmonds admits that New Zealand “is a great place to come to” but has found that “it’s not the easiest place to set up a business”.
“We’ve done a fascinating thing with the River Haven adventure. Will it be the move that sustains us for years to come? Watch this space!”
Despite the economic turbulence experienced at River Haven, Edmonds said he was optimistic they would be able to make a turnaround.
“I believe in the cosmos. I believe everything happens for a reason … Just struggling at the moment to come up with a good reason here!”
Edmonds left the UK six years ago in pursuit of a quieter life with his third wife, Liz Davies, who he married in 2005.
The father-of-four and Davies initially moved to Matakana north of Auckland, but upon craving a more rural setting, they bought their 800-acre property in the Motueka Valley.
Edmonds unpacked what drove him to immigrate to New Zealand further in the series.
“When people say to me, ‘What do you miss at the UK?’ I find myself going back to why I left.
“Because all the things I miss about Britain are the reasons I left. By that I mean that the country changed so much, so fast, so fundamentally, that I found myself missing a quieter country … We are not trees so you can move.”
Davies also explained how she and Edmonds had never expected to have the lifestyle they now have.
“There was no plan whatsoever to buy a vineyard and do this. I don’t know it was just a feeling of we could work on this, we could develop this.”
In 2024, 17 River Haven staff were allegedly sacked and given one day’s notice after Edmonds abruptly closed the vineyard, with one claiming the news came “right out of the blue”.
Edmonds and Davies were in the UK at the time for the European summer, with the River Haven website updated to reveal a temporary closure over winter.
The ex-Top Gear presenter told the Herald at the time that the claims by staff were “lies, lies and more f***ing lies”.
“Contracted staff were kept fully informed by the managers,” Edmonds said.
“A few casual employees think they can blackmail us into giving them cash in hand.”
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