This Kaituna River rafting adventure in the Okere Falls Scenic Reserve promises plenty of thrills! With an expert guide at the helm, you’ll paddle through Class 5 white-water rapids of the Kaituna River, including an awesome 21-foot (7-meter) drop down Tutea Falls, the worlds highest commercially rafted waterfall. Accessible to adventurous beginners, this 3-hour tour includes a safety briefing with paddling instruction, all necessary equipment and round-trip hotel transport from Rotorua.

Raft down the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world on this action-packed Kaituna River white water rafting tour from Rotorua.
You'll be provided with 15-20 minute training and safety session
All necessary equipment
Hotel pickup and drop off from Rotorua

What's Included

Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
All necessary equipment

Food and drinks
Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

River Rats Raft & Kayak
837 Te Ngae Road, Ōwhata, Rotorua 3074, New Zealand
Hangar 14s, Rotorua Airport. Take the driveway on the left as you enter the airport and follow it till you see our signs. Free parking is available out the front of our base.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Transfers available from central Rotorua commercial accommodation

What To Expect

Fast and furious, the Kaituna River takes you on a wild ride through foamy white water in the Okere Falls Scenic Reserve. The pool-drop nature of the Kaituna River means it is not technically difficult; every Class 5 rapid is followed by calm water — making the run suitable for adventurous beginners.

Start your 3-hour Kaituna river-rafting tour with hotel pickup in Rotorua, and relax on the short drive to the base camp at the airport. Here, you’ll receive instruction on paddle commands during a 15- to 20-minute training and safety session. You’re provided with any necessary equipment (life jacket, wetsuit, booties, safety helmet, and weather-dependent polar fleece top and spray jacket).

Hop back in the vehicle and drive to your put-in point at the riverbank of the Kaituna River. Get right into the action, paddling through the sheer, fern-clad rock walls of a narrow gorge that provides a stunning backdrop throughout your river-rafting trip. Then hold tight for the highlight: a 21-foot drop down the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall — Tutea Falls.

After you’ve caught your breath and made it back to firm ground, relax with return transport to your hotel in Rotorua.

River Rats Raft & Kayak

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Kaituna River

50 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Minimum age is 13 years
Children must be accompanied by an adult
There is a recommended minimum weight of 40 kilograms (88 pounds) for this tour
Please bring swimwear, a towel and a sense of adventure!
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
Not wheelchair accessible

Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Nicki_T

The water level was too high for the Kaituna river so we went down the Rangitaikei instead, and it was excellent! Almost 14 km of good-sized rapids, with great guides, great instructions/lessons beforehand. Do it.

Reviews

5.0

307 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 307 reviews

Don't just visit it - raft it.

Nicki_T, Mar 2023

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Glad you were able to fit in the 'Rangitaiki' Mother nature has been very challenging with water levels on the Kaituna this season. We are very lucky to have a variety of trips in the area so we can usually offer an alternative.

Great time on the...

RILEY_F, Nov 2022

Great time on the Kaituna! Had a small group on my day which I honestly appreciated. They are very good at keeping you prepared and safe. It is a slightly shorter raft -- about one hour on the river -- but you very much get your money's worth. Would highly recommend, especially if they had a combo option that was a little longer :)

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Thanks for your great review. The Kaituna is a shorter trip and close to Rotorua making it nice and easy for those with limited time. We do have other longer rafting options on the Rangitaiki & Wairoa Rivers. We also have combo offers on our website with other operators in Rotorua.

Fantastic experience!

Kathryn_H, Oct 2022

Excellent guides and beautiful scenery. A memorable experience in Rotorua! Would highly recommend to people of all ages!

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Cheers for taking the time to post a review.

Crazy scary & so much fun

Paula_M, May 2022

This was so much fun. My 30 yr old son was doing it for the first time. He had such a great time. Out off the couch & doing things he'd never done before.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thanks for the review.

People fun in nature’s wonderland

David_B, Feb 2020

What can I say. Amazing! My partner was annoyed I had booked these kinds of tours. Certainly wiped her mind of that thinking! She can’t swim but they looked after her fine and safety briefing was good. She loved it. She Almost came out of the boat but no worries. Such fresh water for me to swim in. Beautiful natural surroundings like a movie or better! The rapids and falls were exhilarating. It would have been great to have one more swim at the end it was so good. Great crew and very well organised tour. Do this one!

Drill Sargent guide minimized overall fun.

Scott, Feb 2020

Good overall experience. However, short thrill ride and too much focus on the staged photos which are then offered for purchase. Our guide was too military drill like which also took away the fun factor. Safe and overall good operation.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Thank you for your review. We appreciate you felt that overall we are a good and safe operation. I do not believe your comment about staged photos is fair as this is certainly not the case. We are lucky on the Kaituna that there are some awesome photo locations and many customers comment that the photos are one of the highlights. We value our customer service and many reviews comment on the friendly guides, so we apologise that you did not feel that was the case on this occasion, we will pass your feedback onto staff as part of our staff training.

Fantastic trip great adrenaline rush

Joe_H, Feb 2019

We went rafting a couple days ago with the river rat crew it was my and my girlfriends first time rafting white water. The team there were absolutely great, really fun positive people who made it an experience we won’t forget and left us hungry to do more rafting in the future. Would highly recommend going to anybody. And the photos that they took and showed in a slide show at the end made it all the funnier!

Fantastic!

Olivia_E, Nov 2018

Had such an amazing experience white water rafting with the guys from Kaituna! Was my first time doing it and Dave our instructor was a dream! Would definitely recommend to anyone in the area to do it!

Great fun, from our hotel pick up to...

Anthony_H, Jan 2018

Great fun, from our hotel pick up to the end. Thanks for the ride

awesome experience. great guides. had a...

Don T, Dec 2017

awesome experience. great guides. had a ton of fun. A must do!!!

Excellent time going, and enjoyed...

Angela B, Jan 2017

Excellent time going, and enjoyed our water time immensely!!! I tell everyone I k ow to do it. Wish there was longer water time, though. But thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

This was our first whitewater...

Kevin L, Jan 2017

This was our first whitewater rafting trip and it was AMAZING. It's an easy yet exciting trip for beginners. The guides were a great. They worked hard to ensure that everyone had fun - and - got dunked at least once. :- Reviewing the photos they took after returning to their office was almost as much fun as the trip itself.

It was awesome! Such a great...

Manpreet S, Sept 2016

It was awesome! Such a great experience and wonderful tour. Plus we got to jump off and swim in the water, hear history of the area, and just had a great time. The guys were awesome in making the experience worthwhile. I would do it again!

This was a very well run activity...

Clare M, Mar 2016

This was a very well run activity and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend this tour group to anyone wanting to do white water rafting in Rotorua.

Great time, wish it was longer...

Lynda B, Feb 2016

Great time, wish it was longer. Definitely recommend these guys.

It was a great experience, even...

griffjames2, Feb 2016

It was a great experience, even though I don't like water. They were organised and professional giving good instructions at the start. On the river was fabulous, building confidence on two smaller rapids first and then the big 7m drop which was awesome.- we did not tip over ! Having done the big one the pressure was off and good simply enjoy the remaining rapids. Totally recomended.

brilliant. Loved every minute of this...

Joanne W, Jan 2016

brilliant. Loved every minute of this. Tour leaders were fantastic.

This is worth a try, good exercise and...

Richard_G, Nov 2015

This is worth a try, good exercise and you get to meet some some people.

The rafting trip was fun but too...

Bonita s, Sept 2015

The rafting trip was fun but too short. The river drops are exciting and guides were professional.

It was great fun with lovely guides. My...

Alexandra K, Dec 2014

It was great fun with lovely guides. My only wish was that it was longer!