Rotorua

Kaituna River White Water Rafting from Rotorua

Badge of ExcellenceRotorua, New Zealand
Kaituna River White Water Rafting from Rotorua

Overview

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 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Minimum age is 13 years
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • 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!
  • Near public transportation
  • 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 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

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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
343 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 343 reviews
A great way to wake up and connect with NZ’s nature
Matthew_H, Mar 2024
Zack was an awesome guide, and rafting through the lush river scenery was a must-do experience! We always felt safe, in control and most of all, had a thrilling time. Would recommend to anyone!
All. Very good. Very...
Rafael_S, Feb 2024
All. Very good. Very nice experience and very well Service , information all. The river and boat very safe. Many many natural
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Thank you for taking the time to post a review.
Fantastic
Richard_S, Feb 2024
Best trip we did, Amy zach and Neville were brilliant! Great memory made, good value for money, well worth it
Give it a go!!
Cara_F, Dec 2023
The experience was amazing. From start to finish the crew there were bloody awesome. Listen to the saftey brief. Love the karakia that was given by our guide. We have decided to go back in Feb 2024 with more of our whanau.
Premo experience! Totally recommend
Tiffany_E, Oct 2023
The most amazing experience! Would recommend to anyone physically able!! me and the boyf want to go again now!
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Cheers for taking the time to post a review. Hopefully we see you back on another trip soon.
Total adrelin
Aditi_R, Sep 2023
Cool people and adventurous. It's not very easy .. few of the falls are really difficult.. but you will experience total adrelin..
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Thank you for taking the time to post a review.
Don't just visit it - raft it.
Nicki_T, Mar 2023
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.
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, Sep 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.

From $78.87

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 3 hours
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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