Hangar an awesome base, say rafting operators

Stephen McNab (left), Kylee Stevens, Justin Hutton and Joann Hutton-Smith are pleased with their move.

Well-established Bay of Plenty adventure rafting brands River Rats and Raftabout have moved into new premises, taking over the hangar at Rotorua Regional Airport formerly occupied by Helipro, which went into receivership last year.

River Rats and Raftabout merged their operations five years ago. Stephen McNab, who operates Raftabout with his partner Kylee Stevens, said they reached an agreement with River Rats founders Justin Hutton and Joann Hutton-Smith to bring the two families' operations together.

"Instead of fighting each other, we decided to create economies of scale so we could work together and offer the customer a better service."

Both brands were still maintained, he said, while noting that River Rats had been established for more than 30 years and was New Zealand's first rafting company.

The rafting operations were previously in premises about five minutes drive away in Mourea , where they were spread over two buildings.

"The key reason we moved was the opportunity to create an awesome space. Now we are in one big building and we have designed it around having the nicest way to get people changed out of their everyday clothes, into rafting gear and down to the river."

And while an airport seemed an unusual location for a rafting base, it was excellent from the point of view of logistics.

"Very few companies anywhere in the world have their rafting operations actually based on a river," he said.

"A lot of our customers drive and the airport is very easy for people to find. And it's also very handy to whip into town and pick people up. We're in the middle."

River Rats and Raftabout provide a variety of rafting experiences on the Kaituna, Rangitaiki and Wairoa rivers.

Rotorua Regional Airport chief executive Nicole Brewer said the leased hangar was privately owned but sat on airport land.

"We've got several parties who want to build hangars for aviation purposes and we have land available for that."

There was currently one hangar available for lease.