There was no end to the adventure activities in New Zealand. As if I hadn’t pushed my boundaries enough by bungy jumping in Queenstown, Brecht somehow managed to convince me to go white water rafting in Rotorua. I honestly had no idea what I got myself into. Looking back, that was probably for the best.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about some epic white water rafting in Rotorua.
White Water Rafting in Rotorua with Kaituna Cascades
There are a bunch of companies offering white water rafting in Rotorua. They all offer pretty much the same experience, all claiming to be the best and safest company on the river. How do you decide which company to book a white water rafting expedition with? It depends on your priorities. We went with the best deal we could find on BookMe: the Kaituna Cascades White Water Rafting Expedition for NZ$65 per person. When you go through the Kaituna Cascades website you’ll pay NZ$89.
There are several departures from Rotorua daily, but you can choose to make your way to the Kaituna Cascades hangar yourself as well. At the hangar are dressing rooms where you can change into your bathing suit. They won’t send you white water rafting with just your bathing suit on though. You’ll receive a wetsuit, booties, a fleece top, a life jacket and a helmet to put on as well.
After a full and comprehensive training it’s time to hit the water. The Kaituna River is said to be a white water rafter’s dream come true, as it has the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. Once you set foot in the raft, there’s no way around it: you’ll be dropping down the 7 metre Tutea Falls. And those drops, rapids and waterfalls you’ll encounter before getting there won’t truly prepare you for that. We survived, even though I nearly peed my pants. No one would have noticed anyway, as we were already soaking wet. More on that in the next section.
When all the action is over you can relive your white water rafting trip by watching the high quality photos made from ashore. For NZ$30 you’ll get all the photos on a cute raft-shaped USB stick.
How we survived White Water Rafting in Rotorua
On a regular NZ autumn day we arrived in our campervan at the Kaituna Cascades hangar. You might ask yourself who in their right mind would go white water rafting in autumn. I feel you, but to my surprise it wasn’t really cold, not even when we were soaking wet. Might have had to do with the adrenaline rushing through our bodies. And the wetsuit, booties and fleece top we were wearing.
OK, back to when we weren’t wet yet. So we put on all the gear they gave us and were waiting for further instructions outside of the hangar, when our guide announced it was time for our onshore training. They handed out paddles and ushered us to our seats in the raft. There were 8 of us, including 2 guides. One would be with us in the raft, the other one would be tagging along in his kayak for assistance.
They explained us how to react in each scenario and made us practice our moves several times. Worst case scenario: our raft would flip over at the Tutea Falls and we would all end up in the powerful rushing water. It probably wasn’t going to happen, but we knew what to do if it did. Even more nervous than before (I was silently freaking out, praying I would stay inside the raft), we climbed in the van that would take us to the launch spot. Note: I’m really not that great of a swimmer.
Our guide was super enthusiastic, kind of funny, and we were enjoying our first white water rafting experience. We even posed for the photographer on the shore a couple of times. Until suddenly our guide stopped the raft and gleefully announced we had reached the Tutea Falls. I remember myself thinking “The end is near!”.
Everything happened really fast, and before I knew it I was rolling myself in a tight ball (I think), waiting to get above water again. Classic: everyone was sitting in the raft, Brecht and I were in the water.
Nobody knew what had happened exactly, but our guide thanked us for sacrificing ourselves to keep the raft from flipping over. I thanked God I didn’t drown and our guide in the kayak for helping me back to the raft.
We continued our white water rafting trip over the Kaituna River, doing some tricks like surfing and nose dunks, getting everyone wet.
After about 50 minutes of white water rafting fun, we had reached the end of our trip. We carried the raft (it’s heavier than you’d expect) to the van and drove back to the hangar. We quickly changed back into our dry clothes and watched the photos from our near-death experience. Turns out it was all Brecht’s fault! In the photos you clearly see him dragging me into the water. Ha! Not my fault! (For once.) I happily paid the NZ$30 it took to take the proof home with us.
I’m not sure how we survived our afternoon of white water rafting in Rotorua, but I do know it was a lot of fun! Our guide was pretty awesome, doing all these cool tricks, and safely getting us through our first white water rafting experience. We can’t compare with any other companies, but if you decide to go white water rafting in Rotorua, we can recommend Kaituna Cascades! Ready for an adrenaline rush?
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Wow this is so adventurous! Thank you for all the detailled info, I love to be able to gather all the things I need to know without having to search all over the net!
You’re welcome, Dany! We try to include as much information as possible, we hate to do elaborate time-consuming searches on the internet as well. 😉
That looks so so scary. I always wondered why people would plunge down on a raft until I did it myself. The adrenaline rush is amazing!
Hahaha! You’re right Penny, the adrenaline rush is amazing! Being a little scared is just part of the deal unfortunately. 😉
That looks like SO much fun! I love white water rafting, some of those dips looks insane!
I know right, Kachina?! This was our first time, but we really loved it! Where do you recommend on going white water rafting?
Water Rafting was really exciting thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome, Angela! Where have you been white water rafting?
Wow, this looks really tough. I never went rafting and to be honest am not sure if I would like it. I think you have to be really brave for this 🙂 Nice story-based read.
Thanks so much, Ricarda! I wasn’t sure if I would like it either. But if you don’t mind getting wet, it’s a lot of fun! 😀
Wow what a scary but exciting experience. You are very courageous, I would be really afraid of those big rocks!
Yep, it was pretty scary, Veronica, but we had a lot of fun too! That guide is rafting that same river every single day, so I was pretty confident we were in good hands. I was a little scared too, but had a blast!
Looks cool! We gonna do some small rafting but only in Waitomo Caves 😉 Didn”t know that can be done also in Rotorua – thanks!
You’re welcome, Magda! The white water rafting in Rotorua is epic, highest commercially rafted waterfall! 😉 Oh, the Waitomo Caves, will you be rafting to see glow worms? Nice, but quite expensive no? If you have a car or campervan, you can go see glow worms in the Waipu Caves for free. That’s what we did, it was awesome, we were all alone in the cave! Enjoy New Zealand!
Definitely a helpful post 🙂 Wish you had another comparison, though. Guess, I’ll have to wait for it? Will you do it again?
But DAYUM! It looks so scary. Still – I really wanna do it.
We aren’t in New Zealand anymore at the moment, Jennifer, so we won’t be white water rafting in New Zealand soon. 😉 But we’ll definitely do it again some time, the adrenaline rush is awesome!
What an awesome experience and great story to tell. Awesome photos. My parents are off to New Zealand next month. My mum won’t be keen but as soon as I tell my dad about this he is bound to do this.
Yep, Petro, wouldn’t have been complete without us falling in the water. Quite the adventure! 😀 We have the photographer of Kaituna Cascades to thank for this photos and the proof it was Brecht’s fault we fell in the water. 😉 We’re really impressed with the quality. Hahaha, your mom doesn’t have to come, your dad can do it by himself too. 🙂 Feel free to browse our blog, we have a lot of posts on New Zealand, maybe you’ll find some things your mom would like as well, like a whale watching flight in Kaikoura for example.
This looks epic! I’ve never been whitewater rafting. I think it scares me more than it should. It’s always good to hear that people made it through lol
Also, I really like your writing style.
It really was epic, Rosie! I was pretty scared too, but like you said, I made it out alive. 😉 It’s a little scary at first, but also a lot of fun! Glad to hear you like our writing style, thanks! 🙂
This looks like so much fun! I’ve always wanted to go white water rafting but have never quite gotten round to doing it. I’m sure if they taught me the moves beforehand I’d forget them in the actual moment!
Yep, Tasha, it all happens so fast it’s hard to remember what to do exactly. Guess we did something wrong that made us fall in the water! 😀 You should definitely go white water rafting one day, it’s so much fun!
This looks amazing! Was wondering if you have any advice for someone who had a recent knee injury? (dislocation back in Nov.) My husband and I have planned a trip for the end of January and we would love to do this.
Would this be a silly idea to even try? Just wondering how physical this gets. Thanks so much for the advice in advance!
I’m not sure, Emma. From what I can remember we had to brace ourselves at times, but I must admit it’s been a while. I recommend contacting the rafting company and asking for their experienced advice before booking. If you want to book with the same company we did, you can find their contact information on their website: http://kaitunacascades.co.nz/
Let us know what they said. I sincerely hope you’ll be able to do this awesome activity!