Action-sports stars buzzing in Rotorua (+ video)

Members of the Nitro Circus on the river with Rotorua Rafting, which made the ride non-commercial. Photo / Supplied

International action-sports outfit Nitro Circus has rolled through Rotorua.

The Nitro Circus Live tour bus stopped in Rotorua yesterday for some recreation on the way to their Hamilton show on Friday. The team spent the morning with Rotorua Rafting, and then got in some sightseeing at Te Puia in the afternoon.

Rotorua Rafting operator/owner Sam Sutton said they had taken a group from Nitro Circus rafting when they last came through two years ago.

"They were super stoked, and asked if they could come back this year, we were like 'hell yeah'. It's one of the highlights of the year to get some hardcore guys in our raft and go to town. We made it non-commercial and didn't charge them, so we could push it a bit harder for them," he said.

Nitro Circus Rafting 7 Meter Waterfall with Rotorua Rafting from Josh Neilson Photography on Vimeo.

Te Puia sales and marketing general manager Kiri Atkinson said the team at Te Puia was thrilled Nitro Circus chose to visit, and 45 of the show's stars and crew were taken on a special guided tour, including a behind-the-scenes visit to their carving school.

New Zealander Jed Mildon has been riding with the tour since the last New Zealand tour, missing only six shows in those two years. The Taupo man got the attention of Nitro Circus, and the wider action sports industry, in 2011 when he was the first BMX rider in the world to land a triple back flip.

Mr Mildon said it was good to be touring New Zealand again. "There's a lot of talent here, we're a small country but the internet and social media opens up the world. Kiwis are adventurous and creative, I'm lucky to be from here because that attitude fits well with BMX freestyle," he said.

All the tour riders put in a lot of practice and discipline to get to the top of their game and put on spectacular shows, Mr Mildon said.

"We'd all have PhDs by now if we put the same amount of time into learning to be engineers or barristers ..."

Nitro Circus started with Jeremy Rawle, Gregg Godfrey and extreme-sports superstar Travis Pastrana producing DVDs from a Utah garage in 2003, expanding into a MTV series which has aired in more than 60 countries.

The circus tours began in 2010 and have entertained more than 1.5 million fans worldwide. Tickets to the Hamilton show are available from Ticketek.