Firm praised for tourists' care

Brian Morris in Rotorua Hospital with his two sons Liam (left) and Kyle. Photo / Andrew Warner

An Australian tourist injured in a car crash has praised a Rotorua rafting company for coming to the aid of him and his sons after they ended up in hospital.

Brian Morris suffered a broken leg and his 14-year-old son Kyle a broken arm after the van they were travelling in was involved in a two-vehicle crash at the Whakatane turnoff on Friday night.

Eight people were taken to hospital following the crash between a car and a van belonging to rafting company Raftabout at the intersection of State Highways 30 and 33 about 6.15pm.

Mr Morris, from Geelong in Melbourne, said he and his two sons were on a week-long holiday together and had just finished a trip down the Kaituna River with Raftabout.

"We were all pretty happy after our rafting trip and were heading back in the van, then bang, out of nowhere there was this massive impact.

"I ended up in hospital with a broken leg and my youngest Kyle broke his left arm."

His other son Liam, 17, was left with some bumps and bruises.

Mr Morris said the owners of Raftabout had been very helpful and had made what could have been a terrible end to their holiday a lot more bearable.

"They helped check us out of the apartment we were staying in, brought us food, and a laptop and DVDs into the hospital for the kids to watch while they were here.

They also drove our rental car back to Auckland for us so we did not incur any penalties.

They have been very good to us," Mr Morris said.

Raftabout co-owner Kylie Stevens said she did not think they did anything out of the ordinary.

She said a staff member was still in hospital with a broken femur, and another staff member suffered broken bones in his foot.

"They are tourists to New Zealand and if my kids were on the other side of the ditch when something like this happened I'd like to think someone would make them feel safe and secure.

They were a very nice family ... It was an unfortunate way to end their holiday.

Being boys, I made sure we kept their mother updated with what was going on over here, too."