What Makes Us Different?
We’re a small family-run company, and we see guests as new friends to go on the river with! Also, we really are rafting safety experts. Our founder sits on the boards of the Alberta and BC provincial rafting associations, and in 2019 she oversaw updating the Alberta Rafting Safety Standards. In 2020, she co-authored the Covid-19 Best Practices for River Outfitters for both provinces. Our other owner has taught Swiftwater Rescue since 2001 and has been Raft Guide Examiner certifying guides since 2005.
White water rafting is more than a job for us; it’s our passion, our profession and way of life. And what we love most is to share that with other people.
How It all Began
Wild Blue Yonder started with a young woman who missed the mountains, the forests, and the feeling of being connected to nature. Our founder, Gina Goldie, had grown up in small towns in the Yukon and Alberta and after a few years of city life, decided to find a way back to the mountains. Fast forward two years and add a talented head guide, Johannes Zwart, and there we were: 1 spruced-up old bus, 2 rafts, 18 wetsuits, helmets and PFDs… and a dream to share our love of wilderness with people and keep them safe while doing so. 23 years later, we’re one of the most reputable companies in Western Canada with locations in BC and Alberta and we’ve safely conducted thousands of guests down many rivers.
Even though we’ve grown big in some ways, we’re still a small, family-run business. Our kids still work with us and the rafting facilities are attached to our homes. It really does feel like you’re just over for a visit. Guests comment all the time on how welcome they feel. To us, you’re a new friend we’ve just met.
Our River Family
Over the years, our guides started to refer to themselves as the River Family. Many have become just like family, with several marriages being the result of meeting at Wild Blue Yonder! So when you come down the river with us and we say, you’re part of the family now, that’s genuine. Check out our River Family page to meet our current team.
Gina Talks About the
Importance of Tourism
Gina started Wild Blue Yonder, and she’s just as passionate about it as she was 23 years ago. In the video below, she talks about why tourism matters to her, and as an industry.
Special Things We’ve Done
When you live so much of your life on the river, regular life is a bit tame by comparison. We’ve had so many unbelievable, unforgettable, amazing moments. That first summer in 1998, we lived in a campground – in tents! We pumped water to wash the wetsuits and cooked guests’ meals over a fire. Our kids would haul wood for the fire in their wagon. Now, there are facilities with change rooms, a few buses, lots of rafts and enough gear for about 150 people to go rafting. The stories of how we got from there to here are legendary.