From some "rough diamond" guides to catching wild animals on the river, a lot has happened to Rotorua's River Rats Raft and Kayak in 30 years of business.
The business started in the summer of 1982, offering raft trips on grade three and four sections of the Rangitaiki River.
Company director Justin Hutton said rafting was one of the first adventure activities available to the public in New Zealand and the company were proud to be celebrating 30 years in business.
"In the early days many of the guides were rough diamonds from outdoor backgrounds. In one of the most memorable stories from the early days, the guides caught a pig that was swimming across the Rangitaiki River.
"To the shock of customers a guide killed it with his river knife and threw it in the raft until they could stow it in the bushes.
"On the company's next trip the guide jumped out of the raft, crashed around in the bush, then came running back out with the pig they had caught earlier."
Mr Hutton said that sort of thing wouldn't go down too well these days but it certainly would have made for a memorable trip.
"Rafting has certainly come a long way since those early days, particularly in the equipment and guide training areas.
"In the early days the rafts were what we refer to as 'bucket boats' as it was necessary to carry a bucket to bail the water out.
"These days the rafts have inflatable floors which allow water to run to the outside through drain holes.
"The rafts are also more rigid, so overall they are much more manageable."
Mr Hutton said safety standards had evolved in leaps and bounds since then.
"Companies are audited annually by Maritime New Zealand and guides have to be assessed. The system is definitely the most stringent in the world and New Zealand guides are sought after by overseas raft companies," he said.
Industry changes have also allowed companies to run trips down the grade five Kaituna and Wairoa Rivers.
"With such a wide variety of options Rotorua really is a white water Mecca.
"It really is a pleasure to be able to show visitors the amazing resource we have on our doorstep. We look forward to being able to show it off for the next 30 years and beyond," he said.