19
th Feb 2009
Another cruise ship day and another group wishing to head over to
Rotorua. Their preference was rafting so off we went to
Raftabout. As on every tour we try and fill in the journey over to
Rotorua with a few stories about the
local history and
culture, a quick stop if we can at a kiwifruit orchard and anything else that may catch the eye of our customers. Today it
was Stu, Joy, Steve and Patricia. We booked the 12.30 trip on the
Kaituna River which is approx 45
mins on the river and boast the highest commercially rafted water fall at 7 metres. First though I showed them a few of the geothermal areas in
Rotorua. When we arrived at
Rafttabout they had room on one of the rafts so I was once
again given the opportunity to go down the river. Needless to say I was glad to accept. I know I have already
mentioned this but in my opinion
Raftabout is the best rafting company in
Rotorua. The
Kaituna river takes you down a narrow gorge covered in native bush and of course several large rapids, but you really need to do it to appreciate how amazing it is. After the trip it was time to head back to
Tauranga. Again if we have time I like to take people up one of the highest hills in the area which provides them with panoramic views of the Bay of Plenty. I am glad to say we had time today to do just that.
A few weeks ago after dropping some passengers back off at the port I was approached by Warwick who worked at the casino on the ship. He saw the smiles and excitement on the faces of the group and asked what we did. I explained to him we mainly customised our tours to suit the groups but largely dealt with the more adventurous type. So, on the 14th Warwick had rounded up 12 staff from the ship who wanted to go rafting and zorbing. first stop was Raftabout and a ride down the Kaituna. Once again I was offered a trip down the river and once again I accepted. I was placed up the front of the raft and Albie was back guiding us after being away for a couple of weeks. We had a pretty strong team and negotiated the river pretty well. Albie set me up again but testing my balancing skills on some of the more gentle rapids. To be honest I had a feeling what he wa
s up to when his first attempt to dislodge me from the raft failed and he returned to the rapid and did it again this time with success. Always up for a challenge I remained perched precariously on the front of the raft for the next rapid which again saw me swimming. It is the type of guide I am, willing to take one for the team. Another great trip down the Kaituna. Next we were off to the Zorb. Once everyone was signed in they headed up the hill for the ride back down. They all seemed to enjoy themselves with at least one trying a couple of times to stay standing up the whole way down. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. Time for a quick feed before showing them a few of the geothermal areas and then we had to head back as one of them had to be back on the ship by four. They have told me they will be back in April and want me to take them out again. They will be staying for a bit longer so hopefully we can show them more of our lovely country.
Adventure Bay of Plenty 
