Family and First-Time Descents
Two-hour runs on wide grade one and two water with gravel bars, swimming stops and enough current to feel like an adventure without demanding technique. Minimum age is six on this section, families paddle together in one boat with a guide, and there is a shallow beach halfway where children can get out and float in the eddies. Wetsuits, helmets, aids, transport and photographs are included, and the whole outing including changing takes about three and a half hours.
Classic Grade Three Runs
The standard half-day trip: fifteen kilometres of continuous grade three with a full briefing, paddle practice in flat water, a safety kayaker on the harder sections and time to play in a friendly wave near the end. Suitable for anyone reasonably fit and confident in water, with no experience required. Groups run with six to eight per raft, and two rafts maximum on any departure so that the guides can watch each other's boats properly the whole way down.
Technical Whitewater Days
Full days on the steeper snow-fed sections at grade four, with scouting from the bank, portages where the level demands it, two safety kayakers and a limit of four guests per raft. Previous rafting experience and a swim test are required, and the trip runs only within a defined level window. Guests are taught to paddle actively rather than to sit and hold on, which is the difference between surviving a rapid and running it well.
Kayak School and Packrafting
Courses from a first day in flat water through eskimo roll clinics in the pool to river-running weeks on progressively harder sections, taught at four students per instructor. Packraft trips combine a walk into a gorge with a descent of the section below it, which reaches water no other craft can access. All boats, paddles, spray decks, helmets and thermal kit are provided, and students who complete a river week receive an honest written assessment of what they should and should not paddle alone.
Canyoning and Gorge Days
Descents of three tributary gorges combining abseils, natural slides, jumps and swims, with routes graded from a family-friendly canyon with no compulsory jump to a full technical day with a hundred-metre abseil. Wetsuits, harnesses, helmets and ropes are supplied, groups stay at six per guide, and every jump is optional with a walk-around alternative. Water quality and flow are checked the morning of each trip, and canyons close entirely after heavy rain.
Expeditions, Groups and Courses
Two- to four-day descents with camps on gravel bars, all equipment and food carried in support rafts and a cook travelling with the group. We also run programmes for schools, clubs and companies, guide training for other operators and swiftwater rescue courses for professionals. Group prices include transport from the nearest town, accommodation options at partner guesthouses, and a photographer on the bank for at least one rapid on every trip.
