Our Story

In the Beginning………..
Kaituna Cascades was the first operator to start rafting the Kaituna River way back in the early 90’s! Long time raft guide and local guru kayaker Keith Hughes, started this legendary company in 1991 – Obviously only after a lot of practice runs down the formally considered “un-raftable” river with any willing friends, family or whoever was brave enough to test it out…..! The stoke was high, the river was unique and amazing, and it proved to be as safe as grade 5 can be – the rest is history.
After 26 awesome years of business, Keith retired and handed the reigns over to Pete Lodge, a Rotorua local who had been working for him since finishing high school, & Christchurch born, now local – Julian Mathison aka “Blue”, both who have been rafting for 20+ years. With a bunch of enthusiasm and new ideas, they continue to develop and pioneer new ways too have the absolute best time on our home river – the now world famous Kaituna River and “Tutea Falls” the 7 meter waterfall.
Our super friendly staff are our biggest asset, and are all hand picked due to their love of the outdoors and years of river experience in both extreme kayaking and white water rafting. The guides love being day to day comics with everyone that walks in the door! Having years of experience means that they can relax and entertain while keeping you safe! It’s like always hanging out with your mates at work having the best time, and that vibe generates the best atmosphere to create epic rafting trips, great banter and memories for you and the crew!
After 33 years of safe rafting, we are locally owned and operated by a couple of mates still currently raft guiding and loving life.
Being out on the river is our absolute passion, We look forward to meeting you!!
Meet our epic crew
Meet our epic crew
Sam aka Ricky Bobby
Chris aka The Megaphone
Malcolm aka Wind Rider
Cobba aka Tom
Hayley aka H-Dizzel
Omayra aka Omy aka The Italian
Christy aka Christie
Pete aka Dante
Blue aka Boss Man
Rob Aka Robadile
Cobba aka Tom
Malcolm aka Wind Rider
Sam aka Ricky Bobby
Elvis aka The King
Ollie aka Young Shaver
Hayley aka H-Dizzel
Eoin aka Owen
Chris aka The Megaphone
Omayra aka Omy aka The Italian
Christy aka Christie
GO EXPLORE
Come Join us and our awesome crew!
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Bloody awesome experience. Blue and the boys were great, taught us about the area and made sure we had as much fun as possible. Would definitely recommend this trip, great... read more fun!
May 16, 2022 -
An amazing afternoon with Ben at the helm. The staff were all amazing, friendly and very professional with many laughs. An absolute fun and challenging couple of hours. Would also... read more like to thank the staff for helping me sort a GrabOne issue- without your help we wouldn’t have been able to do the trip last weekend.
March 1, 2022 -
my three friends and I came down for a weekend and we knew we should do some rafting! i’m absolutely stoked that we chose to do it here, everyone working... read more was kind, funny and very helpful. i was a bit nervous before hand but our guide ben was fantastic at explaining everything clearly! will definitely revisit if we are back in the area, and everyone if you’re wondering if you should go or not, absolutely go!
January 1, 1970 -
This was such a fun experience. The guides were terrific and very experienced they kept us safe at all times and provided us with all the right sized gear at... read more a glance. The waterfalls were fabulous and the added enjoyment of being able to swim in the river and float down rapids was unexpected. Water temp was 23 deg, beautiful. I wasn't ready for the trip to end. We took the whole family, our teens just loved it. Would love to do another river with this great bunch.
February 1, 2022 -
Had a fantastic experience with these guys. Top quality service and professionalism. Sam was an awesome guide who went above and beyond to ensure we felt safe and comfortable while... read more having an exciting and thrilling experience rafting. My partner was having a tough time overcoming her fears of the water and the guides could not have done a better job throughout the trip. This was by far our favourite activity in the north island. I would highly recommend using these guys to guide you down the Kaituna falls which is perfectly topped off by a mud bath and thermal springs soak.
Cheers Guys
May 24, 2021