fbpx
0800 772 384

ABOUT US

Rotorua Rafting was established on the Kaituna River in 2011 with the goal to provide the best white water rafting in New Zealand and the world. Not only have we set out to be the best rafting in NZ but also to bring the best value for money rafting on the market. To date, we are stoked with how we have been doing with so many people saying their Kaituna River rafting adventure has been the highlight of their holiday.

Alongside the best kiwi senior guides, Rotorua Rafting has fast become the best white water rafting company in the region, this may not be measured in numbers but in the stoke that customers receive from coming down Kaituna River with us.

We are bringing the fun back to white water rafting, and with the Kaituna River located in our backyard, we are here to share our dream with you.

“Our goal is not to be the biggest raft company nor is it to make the most money, our goal is to love life, live life and have the best damn time doing it.” – Sam Sutton

HOW WE ROLL

Rotorua Rafting has proudly been created and operated by Kaituna River born and bred, four-time Extreme Kayaking World Champion
Sam Sutton. As we say in NZ, he’s a GC (Good “Character”).

Native Tree Seeds
Planting Native Trees
Making Okere Falls even better

MAKING ŌKERE GREAT AGAIN

Our commitment is simple.  We want to set a benchmark for sustainable tourism with the goal of becoming the first carbon-positive company in Rotorua and the first Tourism operator in NZ by 2021.

On the Kaituna River (Ōkere awa), we are proud to be actively showing manaaki (to support) Predator Free Ōkere Falls in trapping rats, mice, and possums looking after two trap lines in the Ōkere Falls reserve.

We have also cleared 12’000 square metres of surrounding farmland of blackberry and gorse and have replanted 2000 native trees. Our goal is to plant 10’000 native manuka trees on the river edge, which will also enable us to rid a bit of gorse from the area too.

On our roto (lake), we are working with the Te Arawa Lakes Trust and the ‘Catfish Killas’ in the eradication of catfish in Lake Rotoiti, by checking, clearing and monitoring the nets, to keep these pesty fish out of our waterways.

Our staff initiative is our Monday ‘clean up Ōkere Falls mornings’, where our staff donate an hour every Monday to pick up rubbish around the Kaituna River area.  At the base, we have taken this one step further, minimising our waste by recycling, composting and have reduced our waste to landfill from three bins a week to one.  We use environmentally friendly cleaning products, keeping our waterways clean.

Educating our tamariki (children) about the importance of Kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection of the environment) and the work we do as a community to conserve & care for our surroundings is hugely important. Together, with our school rafting trips post-trip, we plant native tree seedlings that will be nurtured in our Rotorua Rafting nursery to be replanted into the reserve. That learning and engagement have been so overwhelmingly popular that we have now extended this out to all of our rafters, to take a moment post-trip to share our manaakitanga and plant a native tree seed/s to give back to the awa (river) that we have just rafted.

This investment into sustaining our backyard will later bring restoration to our surrounding native forest and in time we hope that we can create a bird sanctuary to bring the native kiwi back up to Ōkere Falls.

We are stoked to have this opportunity to invest and involve as many people in our vision of enhancing our backyard of Ōkere Falls and protecting our Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).

What can you do?  Easy! When you book from our website, you can donate $2.50 which goes straight into our Ōkere Falls and Rotorua Rafting project.

You can also read a little more about what we are up to by clicking here

SUPPORTING LOCAL

 We are all about supporting our hapori whānui (community) and helping those achieve that step up in all their kōrā (goals) as well as the fact we just love sharing our crazy fun with you all!

Every year we donate around $19,000 of sponsorship to local sports teams, school galas and many other fundraisers whenever we can.

A big thank you for supporting us and we want you to know we will continue to support Rotorua as much as we can!

OUR CREW

All of our Rotorua Rafting guides/staff are handpicked making sure that they deliver you the best trip ever!!

They are all NZ Grade 4/5 certified river instructors, which is the most recognised and highly regarded qualification in the world.  All Rotorua Rafting guides are certified in backcountry rescue and first aid and they are all chosen primarily for their GC rating which needs to be a minimum of 5 stars.

Sam Sutton - Rotorua Rafting

CREW PROFILE

SAM
SUTTON

Owner of Rotorua Rafting and 4x Extreme Kayaking World Champion Sam Sutton is the man behind the brand. He is a passionate outdoorsman with loads of energy and a desire to share with you, the wonders of this place he calls home.

STARTED RAFTING2004
HOME TOWNOkere Falls, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETHalf a man
HOBBIESRafting, motocross, rafting, kayaking, rafting, SUPing, Shark Tank

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
NZ, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uganda, Russia, Iceland, USA, Canada, Norway, Italy, India, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Germany, Mexico, Spain, France, England, Nepal.

CREW PROFILE

CAM
AHLERS

Cam lives for rafting growing up on a farm in Waikato, his sense of adventure has been bred into his DNA. Cam is a Senior Guide who aspires to raft for 60 years.

STARTED RAFTING2005
HOME TOWNTe Pahu, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETI’m an athlete
HOBBIESRafting, mountain biking, motorbiking, being a pirate, kayaking, rugby, tennis

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
New Zealand, Australia, Uganda, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, Bali, Ireland, England, Nepal, France, Italy, USA, Canada.

CREW PROFILE

KELSEY
EAMES

Kelsey was born on the river and is a third generation raft guide. Her love for the outdoors is expressed with her ear to ear smile and constant stoke on life.

STARTED RAFTING1999
HOME TOWNMangaweka, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETI love making playlists
HOBBIESRafting, biking, dancing and yarning

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
New Zealand, Australia, USA, Indonesia, Japan.

CREW PROFILE

ANDRAZ
KRPIC

Explaining Andraz as a unique individual is an understatement. He has been on the river since most of us were in nappies! Andraz brings a wealth of knowledge. He bounces around the globe checking out the best spots in the world but can’t escape the epicness in Okere Falls.

STARTED RAFTING2034
HOME TOWNLjubljana, Slovenia
A LITTLE SECRETBack in the day I was a rock star
HOBBIESKayaking, surfing, biking, basketball, twister, drums.

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway, Turkey, Indonesia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Colombia, Chile, Argentina.

CREW PROFILE

AMY
TIPLING

Amy moves a raft like an absolute ninja often screaming louder than her customers. Amy gets in there and keep the boys in check.

STARTED RAFTINGYesterday
HOME TOWNTaranaki, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETI am actually really tall… and I can’t keep secrets!
HOBBIESKayaking, mountain biking, surfing, horseback riding.

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
New Zealand, USA, Canada, Norway, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Austria.

CREW PROFILE

BRADLEY
LAUDER

Bradley is a tin ass that is good at everything he puts his mind to. Someone you can hear before you see, he’s a kiwi that has more energy than a keg of Redbull.

STARTED RAFTING2007
HOME TOWNOtaki, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETThe waterfall’s scary…
HOBBIESMotocross, kayaking, skiing, travelling, mountain biking, drifting, surfing, snowboarding

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
NZ, Australia, Indonesia, China, England, Scotland, Tibet, USA, Spain, Canada, Germany, Norway, Italy, India, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Zambia, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, France, UAE

CREW PROFILE

JESPER
SORENSON

Jesper is nicknamed the sloth from his workmates, he is known to woo the ladies with his beautiful blue eyes. He has rafted around the world but can’t stay away from the beauty of Okere Falls

STARTED RAFTING2010
HOME TOWNAalborg, Denmark
A LITTLE SECRETHalf a man
HOBBIESplay some pretty slick guitar licks

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
Kayaking, playing on the river, glow worm tours at night.

CREW PROFILE

TOM
PRICHARD

One of the wittiest creatures on the planet. If your Grandma has said it Tom would have too. He is celebrated as Tasmania’s most ethical citizen. All though as skinny as a rake, he can push rubber harder than most.

STARTED RAFTING2009
HOME TOWNTasmania, Australia
A LITTLE SECRETI have a man crush on Patrick Swayze
HOBBIESFishing, cross stitch, biking, spicy soups, kayaking

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
Australia, New Zealand, USA, Honduras, Costa Rica, Uganda, Zambia, Nepal, Mexico.

CREW PROFILE

JACK
ROBINSON

Jacko is a Sicko, at the tender age of 18 Jacks mum sent him to Uganda to behave. Hmmm was that a good move? Well, we think it was, and he has gone on to be one of the most liked guides on any river.

STARTED RAFTINGWhen Cam gave me a life jacket on the 19th May, 2009
HOME TOWNHawkes Bay, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETDon’t have any
HOBBIESSurfing, messing with people, motorbiking, eating pies, hunting

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
NZ, Uganda, USA

CREW PROFILE

TYLER
FOX

At a young age, Tyler suffered a medical emergency when he OD’d on Maple Syrup. Once he awoke from a near-death experience his life path was clear. He was out to become the best raft guide the world had ever seen and he danced and laughed and had a really really good time.

STARTED RAFTING2000
HOME TOWNOttawa, Canada
A LITTLE SECRETI brew the best beer in town
HOBBIESSurfing, mountain biking, being a hero, kayaking, travelling, photography

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
NZ, Canada, Norway, USA, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia.

CREW PROFILE

KIM

DODD

Kim is a bubble of positivity that loves being on the river and hanging out. As the sun rises, you can find Kim leading community Yoga at the rafting base and sipping on Kombucha with turmeric lattes.

STARTED RAFTING2010
HOME TOWNHastings, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETSecretly a witch doctor
HOBBIESSurfing, kayaking, mountain biking, snowboarding, going on adventures and making potions

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
Canada, USA and New Zealand

CREW PROFILE

KIRSTY

WYNDHAM

Kirsty is the glue in Rotorua Rafting operations. Keeping everyone on track and making sure the wheels or in this case, the paddles stay on.

STARTED RAFTING2004
HOME TOWNTimaru, NZ
A LITTLE SECRETI’m the only South Islander in the crew
HOBBIESDiving, cooking, exploring and making punch

PLACES RAFTED / KAYAKED
NZ

Menu