Challenge yourself against the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall and enjoy outdoor adventure in New Zealand on this 3.5-hour Kaituna white-water rafting adventure from Rotorua. Hop into your raft in the Kahikitea Forest and take to the waves with a guide. During your tour, navigate steep canyons through native forest, and test your nerve over 14 challenging rapids. Splash, paddle and roll through New Zealand’s spectacular scenery and make the most of this North Island outdoor adventure. A full briefing and all safety equipment are included.

3.5-hour white-water rafting adventure from Rotorua
Paddle onto the choppy waters in the Kahikitea Forest with a guide
Head through steep canyons and over 14 swirling rapids
Enjoy sweeping views over New Zealand’s beautiful countryside
Tour includes all safety gear plus pickup and drop-off from your Rotorua hotel

What's Included

100% Pure NZ Kaituna Rafting! (2hr round trip)
Professional Adventure Photographer
Professional Kiwi Guide
Free Hotel/Motel Transfer

Food and drinks
Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Meeting And Pickup

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

Meeting point

1135 Te Ngae Road
1135 Te Ngae Road, Tikitere, Rotorua 3074, New Zealand
Please arrive at our raft base for check in

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Pick ups offered for all central Rotorua Accommodations, including the i-SITE and Information centre - Contact us directly by phone or email if you can not see your pick up in the area.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund.

Wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 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

Francisco_G

The Rapids are awesome! The scenery is amazing! The water fall drop is outstanding! The guides are so much fun to be around! Highly recommended!

Reviews

5.0

525 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 525 reviews

Totally worth the cost!!!!

Francisco_G, Apr 2023

The Rapids are awesome! The scenery is amazing! The water fall drop is outstanding! The guides are so much fun to be around! Highly recommended!

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Kia Ora, thank you for the review!! We hope your rafting experience has taken a top spot in your memory bank :)

Great guide, great ride!

Barbara_B, Dec 2022

We enjoyed rafting with this company. My first time rafting, felt well prepared in both techniques and equipment. Ben was a great guide!

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Kia ora, We’re stoked that you had fun rafting with us, we had a blast with you too! We’re excited to have you back again in the future! Nga mihi nui,

Best Waterfall Ever

Killian_M, Nov 2022

This trip was absolutely amazing. Jackie was an awesome guide and had alot of fun in the kayaks between waterfalls, getting out of the kayak for fun, and paddling back into the rapids. Would recommend to all.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Kia ora Killian, The team and i had a blast with you during this trip and we love that you enjoyed it just as much as we did! We are excited to have you again in the future :) Nga mihi nui,

Highlight of our Trip

Tom_B, Nov 2022

White-water rafting was on my wife’s bucket list, so we did a last minute booking with this company and boy did we get lucky. They did an amazing job from start to finish. We felt safe the entire time and the guides kept us laughing and seemed highly experienced. Hudson was our boat guide and he was absolutely spectacular. He made sure we were prepared for all the difficult rapids and waterfalls in advance and gave us the confidence to push through them as a team. All the employees seem to love what they do and that truly created an amazing experience to be apart of. I would recommend this experience again and again.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Kia ora, We’re so happy you and your wife enjoyed your time with us! We love that you felt safe and encouraged to the point where you could relax and enjoy! We hope to see you again in the future! Nga mihi nui,

An excellent white water...

Chris_F, Aug 2022

An excellent white water rafting trip with no hassle. The staff was friendly and accommodating to all of their guests.

Response from Host, Sept 2022

Kia Ora Chris, Thank you for your awesome review, its awesome to see that you enjoyed your time and experience with us here at Kaitiaki. Looking forward to having you aboard for a second trip! Nga mihi maioha,

Why not?

tu_n, Jun 2022

Great service, nice people, some interesting stories relating to the river. I was hoping slightly longer but that's my problem

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Kia Ora, It was a pleasure hosting you on the trip and we hope to have you back soon for round 2! Nga mihi nui,

Thrill of a lifetime

Laurel_H, Feb 2020

The thrill of a lifetime. Have done many rafting trips but this was one of the best. Great guides that explain everything that is going to happen. Well organized. Would love to do this ride again.

Response from Host, Jul 2020

Kia Ora Laurie, Great to see you enjoyed your time with us rafting! Our guides are great and do try make sure everything is organised and give customers the best experience. Hope to see you in the near future :) Nga Mihi, Kaitiaki Adventures.

Fantastic experience!

simonporter1981, Jan 2020

This was very fun and enjoyable. Our guide Hudson was fantastic, made the experience a whole lot better. Would definitely recommend! What are you waiting for!

Response from Host, Jan 2020

Kia Ora Simon! Thank you so much for taking the time to review your wicked Rafting trip with Hudson! Get thAT INNNDDIIAAA!!!!

Grade 5 white water raft

Oh_H, Nov 2018

I had a wonderful and excellent guide who taught us how to have the maximum fun and memorable experience. He always reminded us that we should "HOLD TIGHT TO THE RAFT!!!!!", "DEEP PADDLE!!". The morale of the rafters in my raft were at sky high throughout the journey and i must admit that we had lots of fun!!!I forgot the name of the guide and i will like to say a big thank you for giving me my first time good white water rafting experience.Cheers,James (Hong Guan)

Response from Host, Jul 2019

Kia Ora James! Thanks for your awesome review! Hope to see you again one day :) Kaitiaki Whanau

Really enjoyed this activity, well...

Andrew P, Jan 2018

Really enjoyed this activity, well organised friendly and definitely worth doing. If you've never done anything like this and I hadn't give it a go - you'll not regret it.

Response from Host, Jul 2019

Kia Ora Andrew! Thanks for your awesome review! Hope to see you again one day :) Enjoy the rest of your Journey! Kaitiaki Whanau

Omg this was an excellent...

Gary W, Nov 2017

Omg this was an excellent experiences, I had never done anything like this before and was very apprehensive about doing this but the guys were very friendly and helpful. They took us through the safety and what to do if we found ourselves in the water. Once we were in the Grafton the water going down the river your addrellerling kicks in and you love every minute of it. The crew look after you and make sure that you have a great time, I would definitely recommend this to everyone as a must do.

Response from Host, Jul 2019

Kia Ora Gary! Thanks for your awesome review! Hope to see you again one day :) Enjoy the rest of your Journey! Kaitiaki Whanau